History RealMenWearPink / Literature

** In ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'' Nanny Ogg mentions that her [[GentleGiant gigantic hulking barge]] of an eldest son, the town blacksmith Jason Ogg, knits socks in the evenings. Of course, he's still, you know, a guy with minivans where his biceps oughta be; the socks he knits are made with the super-tough wool of Lancre sheep, can stand up without feet in them, and can be used to kick down walls in times of incarceration or boredom. He is also known as the kindest and gentlest person around, explicitly because no-one dares to mock him for it.
** Given that the Lancrastian dialect (especially as spoken by Jason Ogg) is OopNorth English, this may be TruthInTelevision; historically the lead miners of Upper Swaledale knitted socks from the wool of fell sheep, often knitting as they went to work with their wool tied to their belts with little hand-carved wooden chains, and these guys were not sissies!

* ''Literature/CagingSkies'': What are the hobbies of Soviet Union fleeing VodkaDrunkenski Russian soldiers Sergey Karganov and Fedor
Kalinin? ''Baking''.

* There is a Russian story in which a teacher asks her class what they like doing in their spare time. The pupils named such hobbies as photography and collecting stamps, and one boy seemed to be ashamed of telling about his hobby, which happened to be sewing. The teacher said it was a very laudable hobby, for there are male tailors out there and a man should know how to sew.

* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Adolin Kholin wears cologne and "[[NeverLearnedToRead reads]]" fashion magazines when he's not on the front line of a battlefield or in a dueling ring.
** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by [[FourStarBadass Dalinar]] in the third book, when he joins a meeting of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Alethi scientists and scholars]], who in their culture are typically [[AlwaysFemale women]].[[note]]Men can be scholars or scientists if they're members of the religious caste.[[/note]] Dalinar isn't much of a scholar or scientist himself, he's there to support his son [[NonActionGuy Renarin]]. As a [[IllBoy non-warrior]], Renarin often faces mockery for not lining up with his culture's standard of masculinity; but if storming ''[[TheDreaded Dalinar]] [[EmpoweredBadassNormal Kholin]]'' shows up to something, ''no one'' is going to suggest it's "unmanly".

** In ''Discworld/TheTruth'', Mr. Tulip is a giant bruiser who can barely think, whose every second word is "--ing" (literally) and whose brain is constantly fizzing with what he ''thinks'' are [[BeatBag awesome drugs]], but show him any antique or work of art and he'll be able to instantly identify the period, creator, history and technique, as well as whether or not the particular example is genuine or a copy, and will often burst into tears because of how --ing beautiful it is.
** In ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'', the Dimwell fan colours are bright pink and green. Nutt theorizes that they're a deliberate attempt to pick a fight.

** In ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'' Nanny Ogg mentions that her [[GentleGiant gigantic hulking barge]] of an eldest son, the town blacksmith Jason Ogg, knits socks in the evenings. Of course, he's still, you know, a guy with minivans where his biceps oughta be; the socks he knits are made with the super-tough wool of Lancre sheep, can stand up without feet in them, and can be used to kick down walls in times of incarceration or boredom. He is also known as the kindest and gentlest person around, explicitly because no-one dares to mock him for it.

* There is a Russian story in which a teacher asks her class what they like doing in their spare time. The pupils named such hobbies as photography and collecting stamps, and one boy seemed to be ashamed of telling about his hobby, which happened to be sewing. The teacher said it was a very laudable hobby, for there are male tailors out threr and a man should know how to sew.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' features many examples of this trope. Knights in Westeros pimp out their armor to show off their wealth, often covering themselves in garish colors. Renly Baratheon wears green armor to bring out his eyes, and Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, covers himself in roses, his house symbol. Thoros of Myr takes the trope literally by wearing his red robes long after they have faded to pink. House Bolton takes the trope to an extreme level. One of their house colors is pink, meant to represent the human skin that they ''flay from their living enemies''. In the Slaver Cities, the warrior caste subvert the trope by wearing ridiculous hairstyles...and leaving the actual fighting to the slaves.

* In a slightly downplayed example, Luke Skywalker of the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse,'' LivingLegend who kinda lives up to the legend, is very affectionate with his wife and son, cuddling with Mara and exchanging good-natured SnarkToSnarkCombat with both. Just don't [[PapaWolf even think about trying to hurt either of them.]] [[OldMaster Seriously.]] ''Don't.''
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* A minor character in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' is called [[MeaningfulName Butch]], a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. His mother is Iris, the Rainbow Goddess, and he has a rainbow tattoo. Got a problem with that?

* Rhett Butler of ''GoneWithTheWind'' is a pretty badass guy who's known for fighting, messing with loads of girls and general illegal stuff. He also reads Shakespeare, always knows the latest fashion trends, comforts his daughter when she gets scared of the dark, and often chats with women about parenthood. This book actually lampshades the fact that no one wants to confront Rhett over his 'sensitive' traits because he's so badass.

* A minor character in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' called Butch, a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. His mother is Iris, the Rainbow Goddess. Got a problem with that?

* Butler, a hulking BadassNormal and BattleButler in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'', claims to only enjoy reading soppy romance novels -- apparently, books with action and explosions and helicopters and stuff like that remind him too much of real life.
** His favorite movie? ''Not'' something like ''Franchise/DieHard''. It's ''Film/SomeLikeItHot''.

* ''[[Franchise/TheWitcher Witcher]]''-styled swordplay is suggested to require a knowledge of ballet, what with mentions of pirouettes and such. Justified because professional dancers tend to be incredibly fit, and the type of flowing movements required of ballet can be useful in dodging the attacks of all the monsters Witchers regularly fight.

* Chris Wohl from DaleBrown's books, a big and fearsome Marine, knows how to look after kids.

* Rhett Butler of ''GoneWithTheWind'' is a pretty BadAss guy who's known for fighting, messing with loads of girls and general illegal stuff. He also reads Shakespeare, always knows the latest fashion trends, comforts his daughter when she gets scared of the dark, and often chats with women about parenthood. This book actually lampshades the fact that no one wants to confront Rhett over his 'sensitive' traits because he's so BadAss.

* ''Literature/PaladinOfShadows'': It's revealed in ''Choosers of the Slain'' that Mike Jenkins is, in addition to being a {{Badass}} AntiHero, a good cook, and not of simple meals like one would expect of "bachelor chow".

* Aerich in the ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'' series' "Khaavren Romances" is a stoic, badass warrior who in keeping with the traditions of his [[PlanetOfHats "house"]], is extremely {{cultured|Warrior}} and wears a skirt as part of his battle dress. When not active, he knits for relaxation.

* A sailor in ''TheAbandoned'' is described as "an enormous giant of a man, whiskered like a Highlander, with arms like the branches of oak trees, horny hands with red, bony knuckles, and fingers as big and thick as blood-pudding sausages." He embroiders detailed flowers on linen cloth. When a new sailor ridicules him, Angus punches him out, and the other sailors tell the newbie how foolish he was not because the mockery earns him a blow, but because when the ship docks Angus can take his embroidery to a certain place and get paid handsomely for it.

* In DeanKoontz's ''Whispers'', one of the side characters is a former drug-dealing ScaryBlackMan who got out of prison and made a fortune designing dresses and other women's clothing. He mentions that even before he was arrested, his girlfriends always got more compliments when they let him pick their outfits.

* In the ''Literature/PhulesCompany'' novels, Sgt. Escrima is an [[SupremeChef exceptionally talented chef]], and chose his Legion name for his preferred fighting style (involving two sticks), which he teaches to other members of the company. Do ''not'' criticize his cooking unless you enjoy pain, since he's been known to [[BerserkButton hospitalize would-be food critics]].

* Billy Bright, the leader of the hooligan firm in ''Football Factory'' is a florist. Sure it also helps as a front for his drug trafficking.

** It was revealed in his biography on Pottermore that Professor Quirrell used to press flowers before he snuffed it. He had Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head for a year. This turned a joke from ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' into HilariousInHindsight and AscendedFandom.