Line #172 Main/GirlsHaveCooties


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/ThePerryBibleFellowship https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cootie_perry_bible_fellowship_1.jpg]]]]
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8	->'''Jason:''' ''[balancing on a brick wall with Marcus]'' I like to balance like this and imagine there's a pool of lava below. Or a pit of snakes and deadly alligators. Or a...\
9	'''Eileen:''' Hi, guys!\
10	'''Jason:''' OK, now I'm REALLY scared to fall.\
11	'''Marcus:''' Does lava burn off cooties?
12	-->-- ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot''
13	%% Only one quote for the main page, please. Additional quotes can go on the quotes tab.
14
15	A law which is especially prevalent in {{Sitcom}}s: If you're a prepubescent male, you have to automatically think romance and females are gross. Prepubescent girls having similar opinions of boys also happens, but is notably less common. What cooties are supposed to be are germs that come from the opposite gender and make you sick and look disgusting.
16
17	"Cooties" do exist; the term just happens to be WWI slang for "body lice" (and is thus not limited to girls).
18
19	It should be noted that Cooties is generally only something that happens to girls their ''own'' age. It rarely, if ever, affects older girls. In fact, a boy can think that Girls Have Cooties even while having a PrecociousCrush on an older girl or woman.
20
21	Arguably becoming a DiscreditedTrope as in RealLife young boys are just as likely to boast about their "girlfriends". This may or may not be due to the increased prominence--compared to a generation ago--of romance and sexuality in entertainment media aimed at or enjoyed by kids. Often leads to jokes about [=STD=]s.
22
23	If the boy does ''not'' get over his dislike of women when he grows up, he might be a HeManWomanHater, or think that heterosexual relationships are disgusting. Likewise, a girl who doesn't outgrow this trope may become a woman who DoesNotLikeMen. Compare AllergicToLove. If a child of either gender hates ''all'' affection, regardless of gender or whether it's romantic or platonic, see AffectionHatingKid. Often results in UnknowinglyInLove.
24	----
25	!!Examples:
26
27	[[foldercontrol]]
28
29	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
30	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': Negi's friend Kotaro plays this fairly straight (especially the romance thing), with a few exceptions in his adoptive sisters and girls who can fight. That said, he still thinks kissing is gross.
31	* Garu from ''Animation/{{Pucca}}'' may or may not have this. In the webisodes where he and Pucca first appeared, he was with her, but was a stoic sort and not fond of her energetic bouts of affection.
32	* ''Anime/SonicX'' is notable for zig-zagging this trope. Tails gets defeated in a match when Rouge kisses him on the cheek, grossing him out and playing this trope straight. This is subverted when he gets a love interest in a plant girl named Cosmo in the third season.
33	* Kanta from ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro'' believes this, whenever he is near Satsuki he backs away from her and refuses to speak to her, when he gives her his umbrella to shield her and Mei from the rain he stands several feet away so he doesn’t have to touch her, he gets better when he learns of their sick mother and sympathizes with them, and later helps Satsuki look for Mei after she goes missing.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comedy]]
37	* Radio/TheFrantics sketch "Outgrossing" involves two boys trying to out-gross each other (turning their eyelids inside-out, etc.). A girl comes along and says she can out-gross them both, which they have a hard time believing -- until she describes exactly how.
38	-->"I can ''kiss you''! And I can be your '''girlfriend!'''"
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Comic Books]]
42	* In ''ComicBook/AdventureTimeWithFionnaAndCakeCardWars'', the slug boys in the gaming club are initially hostile to Cake joining. They claim it's because she isn't a slug. However, when they later insult Fionna as "the chick," their true attitude becomes clear.
43	* In the ComicBook/{{Archie}} spin-off “Lil Archie”, Archie, Reggie, and Jughead believed this when they were kids, they frequently wouldn’t allow little Betty and Veronica to play with them, while Archie and Reggie grow out of it as teenagers, Jughead never really does.
44	* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's biological son, turns up his [[RoyalBrat brattiness]] whenever he deals with Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) or Supergirl. Both of them are blondes with blue eyes, so maybe he HasAType.
45	* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': In ''Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius'', Franklin (who must be 6 or something) initially rejects Katie Power (same age) specifically because she has cooties. In [[AlternateUniverse a different universe of the multiverse]], Katie Power from the future tells Katie Power that Franklin Richards was her first boyfriend; young Katie insists that "boys are gross" but future herself calmly tells her that, in a few years, she'll change her mind.
46	* Referenced in an issue of ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures Avengers''; Ego the Living Planet attempts to [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext seduce the Earth]], but ultimately leaves after finding out it has life on it. The Avengers specifically refer to humanity being cooties in this scenario.
47	* In ''ComicBook/SamAndMax'' this is mostly how Max's dislike of girls is portrayed. Given that his mentality resembles that of a highly impulsive child. In the later video games, a time travel incident causes him to overcome this and become extremely flirty with certain female characters.
48	* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': In one pre-''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' story, [[KidHero Billy]] fights a gang of female villains called the Rainbow Squad. However, their mysterious boss [[spoiler:[[BigBad Mr. Mind]]]] tells them how to fight Captain Marvel off--whenever he shows up, five of them ([[AmbiguouslyGay the sixth]] [[DoesNotLikeMen refuses]]) run up and start kissing him all over. Despite the fact that pre-Crisis Captain Marvel was supposed to be a SuperPoweredAlterEgo, the fact that he's (apparently) based on Billy's own personality means that he freaks out and runs away.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
52	* The title character in ''Agnes'' has the "boys have cooties" variant, although she still engages in a kind of passive-aggressive flirting with a boy at school named Bob.
53	* Calvin's [[FunWithAcronyms GROSS]] ('''G'''et '''R'''id '''O'''f '''S'''limy girl'''S''') club from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''. "I know that's redundant but otherwise it doesn't spell anything. Now go away." Calvin also notably attempts to see movies like "Vampire Sorority Babes". He might just be overacting to shut Hobbes up about [[PuppyLove Susie.]] Calvin wants to see the movies solely because he knows [[ForbiddenFruit they are considered "grown-up" and "naughty"]]; he never displays any understanding of ''why'' those sorts of movies are considered "grown-up" or "naughty". (He once asks Hobbes what "contains adult situations" means; Hobbes says that the movies show people paying bills, going to work, etc., and he's always wondered how movies like that make any money.)
54	* ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'': The eponymous character is once called out on this in a late 2007/early 2008 strip, and he admits it... except that he's fine with his mother, Mrs. Wilson, and the local {{tomboy}}.
55	* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'':
56	** Jason is an odd example. He started out firmly in this trope, but a couple of decades of extremely subtle CharacterDevelopment due to his sorta-friendly relationship with Eileen seems to be weaning him off it. Jason still would rather be caught dead than be known at large as being her friend, but he's not ''quite'' so adamantly paranoid about it recently.
57	** Marcus, on the other hand, started firmly in the trope but seems to have thrown it off completely.
58	* Averted in the comic strip ''ComicStrip/HeartOfTheCity'', where Dean is Heart's best friend and frequent partner-in-crime. He's generally more befuddled by girls than disgusted. (Heart's occasional declarations that Dean's her boyfriend draw a bemused "Um... okay" as often as not.) One New Year's Eve, he actually dressed up in a tux and announced that to celebrate, "I thought I might hang out with the prettiest girl in Philadelphia." Making it clear that, yes, he meant her.
59	* ''ComicStrip/{{Scamp}}'': Being a small puppy, the title character usually doesn't like girls (especially not his sisters), although this varies DependingOnTheWriter.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Fan Works]]
63	* ''Fanfic/ABitOfLuckAndAHospitalVisit'' has [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyoko's]] little sister Momo who likes her sister's girlfriends, but is convinced they all have cooties.
64	* Shutaro from ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'' follows this trope hilariously:
65	-->The dusty blue-haired boy gave Matsuri a skeptical look, and with great decorum noted, "Icky."
66	* PlayedWith in '' Joe's New Look'' when Silvia refuses to put on Joe's battle suit, finding the idea of her wearing male clothes scandalous. As Joe's already unwillingly wearing Silvia's garments, he isn't happy with her reaction.
67	* {{Subverted\|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/TheConcert''. Amy Rose is 8 and says that boys have cooties, but still likes Sonic.
68	* ''Fanfic/{{Evershade}}'': Referenced after some sibling ribbing:
69	-->"HEE!" She squealed out as I grabbed her, and gave her a noogie she'd remember for a while. She squirmed and squirmed, trying to get out of my hold. "NOOOOO COOTIES! COOTIES!"
70	* Gender-flipped in ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'', where Hanabi found the idea of kissing to be gross when she was a child, though Hinata tells her she'll understand when she's older. [[spoiler:Humorously, she's one of a very short list of canon characters who shows up in the epilogue without any mention of a significant other.]]
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
74	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Miguel makes a disgusted face while watching a romance scene in one of Ernesto's old movies.
75	* GenderInverted in ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2''. A flashback to Gru's childhood shows that girls would avoid him for fear of catching "Gru-ties".
76	* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove:'' Pacha gets his two children (one of each sex) to go to bed by claiming that he and wife Chicha are just going to be sitting around telling each other how much they love each other. The kids both gag and flee.
77	* In the [[AMinorKidroduction kidtroduction]] to ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'', Elsa gags at her little sister [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel Anna adding romance]] into their story.
78	* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': After much gender-based rivalry throughout the movie, at one point Carl asks Jimmy for confirmation that they still don't like girls. He assures him that they do [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial in a suspicious sort of way]].
79	* Simba and Nala from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' don't think the other sex is "icky" but as cubs, they don't seem to like the idea of them being mates due to this.
80	* ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania2'': The wolf pup Winnie instantly falls in love with Mavis' son Dennis, but he just squirms away from her. It's pretty clear by the end that [[PuppyLove he does like her too, though]].
81	* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess''. Derek and Odette have an ArrangedMarriage, so their parents make them spend every summer together from a young age. The first time we see this, Derek's mother forces him to [[IKissYourHand kiss Odette's hand]]. He finds this absolutely disgusting and wipes his mouth after (for the record, [[TomboyPrincess Odette looked about ready to sock him]] herself).
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
85	* ''Film/{{Cooties}}'' is a BlackComedy where any kid who hasn't gone through puberty can catch a virus that turns them into savage zombies. Naturally, PatientZero is a girl.
86	* Louis has this reaction in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'' when he sees his brother Alex and Alex's girlfriend Maggie kissing.
87	-->"Diarrhea!"
88	* ''Film/LittleManhattan'' has the narrator, Gabe, discussing girls and puberty. He mentions that, once upon a time, word was they gave you cooties.
89	* ''Film/TheLittleRascals'' and their "He-Man Woman Haters Club."
90	* The eponymous eighteen-year-old trio in ''Film/MysteryTeam''. Jason outgrows this when he meets Kelly, but the others show no signs of progress, going so far as trying to [[ComicallyMissingThePoint pay strippers to leave them alone]].
91	* In the LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/SpeedRacer'', Speed's kid brother, Spritle, and his pet chimp, Chim-Chim, [[NoFourthWall break the fourth wall]] to give a "cooties warning" when Speed and Trixie are about to kiss. Earlier they interrupted a kissing scene and followed up with the classic ''cootie shot''.
92	* ''Film/SpiderMan3'' has a little boy repulsed by the idea of Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy kissing for a picture, and the boy is ''even more'' repulsed when they actually do kiss.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Literature]]
96	* In ''Literature/The39Clues''. [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Dan]] seems to think this. Example: in Book 5, when he is doing something immature and [[SmartGirl his sister Amy]] says something to the effect of, "This is why you'll never have a girlfriend," he replies, "Like I'd want one!"
97	* ''Literature/AngelaNicely'': Gender-inverted for Angela’s club, which is called Girls Only, Boys Smell (GOBS).
98	* In ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': In ''The Time Paradox'', 10-year-old Artemis says of [[spoiler:Holly and 14-year-old Artemis]] kissing that you wouldn't catch ''him'' wasting time like that. Not as vehement as some of the other examples, but does contain built-in proof he'll grow out of it: Within three years, back in the second book (or at least non-U.S. editions thereof), he's consciously aware that he'll be attracted to Holly when he's older.
99	* In the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' novel ''The Wonderful Doctor of Oz'', when the Thirteenth Doctor inadvertently gives Missy (who she's meeting out of order) a hint about her next incarnation, Missy's reaction is "Not back to a stinky boy! I might give myself cooties!"
100	* Danny, the main character in Creator/UrsulaVernon's ''Literature/{{Dragonbreath}}'' series, is shown to believe this in the second book, though his best friend Wendell does not. He's pretty much over it by the end of the book, and in future books hangs out with girl characters with no complaints (or at least, none that are gender-based).
101	-->'''Wendell:''' Name one good reason we shouldn't eat with a girl!\
102	'''Danny:''' ''[stares at him incredulously for a moment]'' Cooties.\
103	'''Wendell:''' Cooties. ''[grimly pushes glasses up his snout]'' Listen carefully to me. There is ''no such thing'' as cooties. What are you, ''five''?\
104	'''Danny:''' ''[takes a bite of corn dog to give himself time to think]'' [[LameComeback There are totally cooties.]]\
105	'''Wendell''': There are not.
106	* ''Literature/GangstaGranny'': When his mother thinks he's "expressing an interest in girls", Ben says that girls are gross.
107	* ''Literature/TheHauntingOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool'', set in an all-girls boarding school, has a gender-flipped example. First-year student Gillian Little shies away from contact with visiting male student Alfred, evidently believing that she'll catch "germs" if she touches him.
108	* Downplayed in ''Literature/HenryHuggins''. Henry is a 10-year-old example of TheAllAmericanBoy who thinks that girls are rather silly, and he reacts with disgust if he sees a girl act particularly girly. However, his usual hang-out group (consisting of himself, Robert, Scooter, Beezus, and Mary-Jane) include two girls, and he regularly visits Beezus' house to play checkers with her, even though he is rather reluctant to hang out with her alone in public.
109	* William Brown in the ''Literature/JustWilliam'' books can be quite the KidAnova with his chivalrous pining for GirlNextDoor Joan and susceptibility to pretty actresses. But Violet Elizabeth Bott leaves him shaken to the core:
110	-->"I'm not going to have anything to do with any old girl ever again," said William.\
111	"It's all very well saying that," said Douglas, who had been deeply impressed that morning by the inevitability and deadly persistence of the sex, "it's them what has to do with you."\
112	"Well, I'm never going to marry any old girl," said William.\
113	"It's all very well saying ''that''," said Douglas. "But some old girl is prob'ly going to marry ''you''."
114	* The book ''Literature/NoTalking'' by Andrew Clements features an entire group of children who are said to be at the point where they should have gotten over this, but never did. In order to try to prove that one group (either boys or girls) are better than the other, they stage a "no talking" contest. In the end, the group largely gives up on cooties.
115	* Bran and Arya Stark of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' dislike -- and complain about -- the "kissing stories" their elder sister Sansa likes.
116	* In ''Literature/TalesOfAFourthGradeNothing'' by Creator/JudyBlume, Sheila Tubman used to tease Peter Hatcher by touching him and saying he's got the cooties, even up to when she is ten years old. It's after Peter's brother Fudge falls off the jungle gym set, thinking he's a bird, and loses his top two front teeth that she finally stops with the cooties.
117	* Jackie and Jaymee's initial attitudes toward each other in ''Literature/WeCantRewind'', though true to the more recent innovations, they're well over it and into being FlirtyStepSiblings by about a third of the way through the novel.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Video Games]]
121	%% * As seen in the other sections, Tails of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' thinks this in a few continuities. While it comes up less often in the games, it is still there. It actually manages to be a PlotPoint.
122	* In Chapter 4 of ''VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma'', Makoto warns Noel that she'll "get Kagura cooties" if she touches a woman's undergarments. Justified on Makoto's behalf in that [A] Noel is technically single-digits in age (most of what Noel knows about sexuality she likely learned from Makoto in the first place) and [B] Kagura is a [[HandsomeLech raging perv]] (not to mention [[{{Fratbro}} hung over]] at the time they meet).
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Web Animation]]
126	* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': Stink is shown in the non-canonical "Two-lloween" stream to believe that cooties exist, and that Trixie, being nonbinary, can't have them. Molly promptly cons Stink into buying a jar of "enby cooties" in order to get some extra money for costumes.
127	* Women are ''crazy''... for WebAnimation/DrTran, who says "Girls are grody!" This doesn't stop a great deal of "[[EstrogenBrigade Tran-sexuals]]".
128	* ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'': This trope was apparently the main reason the Emperor of Mankind refused to create female Astartes.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Webcomics]]
132	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
133	** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0066.html Thog the Barbarian]]. Probably [[PsychopathicManChild an adult, but with the mind of a child]].
134	--->'''Thog: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0257.html thog not scared. nale gave thog booster shot against cooties.]]'''
135	** The Monster in the Darkness acts like this as well.
136	--->'''Monster:''' Great! We can start a "No-Eating-Babies" Club! And Tsukiko can't join!\
137	'''O-Chul:''' Tsukiko {{eats babies}}?!?\
138	'''Monster:''' No, silly! She's a ''girl''!
139	* ''Webcomic/OriginalLife'' did [[http://www.jaynaylor.com/originallife/archives/comic-51-100/ a whole storyline about cooties]], and it's [[http://www.jaynaylor.com/originallife/archives/2009/11/052.html monstrously over-the-top]].
140	* ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'' goes there, too. But not without some fun. Felicia's response to Millie touching her after being 'infested' by boy germs from Ozy? Runs away screaming for various cleaners, culminating with 'Heck, set me on fire!' And you thought it was useless.
141	* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'': [[http://squirrelqueen.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/cooties-perry-bible-fellowship/ A comic shows]] that even hazmat suits aren't safe against cooties.
142	* ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'': A flashback to when Sandra first met Larisa and Cloud shows Larisa [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2017/08/14/0911-source-of-infection/ enjoying the thought of "infecting" Cloud]].
143	* ''Webcomic/{{Precocious}}'' [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this in a [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2016/02/14 comic-within-the-comic]] C.O.O.T.E.E.S. actually stands for [[Main/FunWithAcronyms Camera-Outfitted Observational Trackers, Embedded Espionage Systems]].[[note]]The last two words are cut off in the comic and are only known through WordOfGod.[[/note]]
144	* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'', Jinx would [[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1354.html rather kiss a chainsaw]] than be the possible subject of a crush.
145	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has this [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070523 mentioned]] when Vanamonde was surprised that the Heterodyne heir claimant was a girl.
146	* Akiko Kitsune in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' is happy that her sister hangs out with a girl [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2012-02-17 because boys are weird and gross]]. Of course, from this point, the situation is bound to get more and more awkward.
147	* In ''Webcomic/ThistilMistilKistil'', [[http://tmkcomic.depleti.com/comic/ch06-pg15/ one of Coal's objections to bringing Hedda]].
148	-->'''Loki:''' It amuses me that your emphasis was on "girl" out of all that.
149	* In ''Webcomic/JL8'', which is basically "Justice League in kindergarten", [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce]] always carries [[http://limbero.org/jl8/14 "Anti-Cootie Bat-idote"]].
150	-->'''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark]]:''' DIANA does NOT have COOTIES!\
151	'''Bruce:''' Aggression is the first symptom of infection.
152	* Cecil in ''Webcomic/PS238'' [[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2018-02-24/ freaks out]] after discovering that he's holding a ''girl's'' shirt.
153	* In ''9 to 9'' Wolf (an adult mind you) is convinced he has cooties after an accident with muscle relaxants knocks him out in a [[https://www.tigerknight.com/99/2018-12-02 compromising position]] with Jessie.
154	[[/folder]]
155
156	[[folder:Web Original]]
157	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6ylxWcwkUM One fake]] PublicServiceAnnouncement raises "cootie awareness" by way of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.
158	* Before WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic matured ([[OneOfTheKids physically]], that is), he thought girls were loud and annoying.
159	* ''WebVideo/TVTrash'': Rowdy C is shocked when young kids don't believe that kids have cooties.
160	* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-078-j This joke article]] at the Website/SCPFoundation wiki treats cooties as a paranormal threat which could potentially destroy the world.
161	* In one RT Recap featuring various animated works, [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Team RWBY]] is confronted by the ''WebAnimation/RoosterTeethAnimatedAdventures'' versions of Burnie, Gus, and Joel. Ruby's reaction is to yelp out "Ew, boys! Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!" and run away backwards. Should be noted that Ruby is 15, long past that sort of thinking.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:Western Animation]]
165	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': As in the original film, Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl all exhibit this sentiment from time to time, especially at the beginning of the series. It wears off as the show progresses, however, giving way to DistractedByTheSexy.
166	* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Tails' belief that girls have cooties is very pronounced.
167	* In the ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' episode "Separate But Equal", Phil walks in on Lil and is traumatized at the sight of his sister wearing her first training bra. This results in them throwing their own separate birthday parties, with Phil's guests being all boys and Lil's guests being all girls.
168	* ''WesternAnimation/BackToTheFuture'': In "[[Recap/BackToTheFutureTheAnimatedSeriesS2E5VernesNewFriend Verne's New Friend]]", Verne makes a new friend named Chris, who turns out to be [[SweetPollyOliver a girl posing as a boy]]. When Marty doesn't see what Verne's problem is with Chris being a girl, Verne protests that the kind of interaction he had before learning her gender involves "major cooties."
169	* The eponymous character from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' believes this throughout most of the original series (as he's a teenager in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', he's outgrown it). He does make an exception for Kai Green, a Navajo girl seen in one episode... but Kai takes his attention and runs with it...to creepy, creepy places.
170	* ''WesternAnimation/BeverlyHillsTeens'': Normally averted with Chester, who is quite interested in female attention (and gets much more than some of the older boys). However, in one episode [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Jillian]] responds to a remark about "embracing" boys with "how totally yucky." She changes her mind after a few minutes, when she is thrown into the air and Troy catches her.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'':
172	** In the episode "Operation: O.U.T.B.R.E.A.K.", Sector V is sent on a mission to decontaminate the organization's underwater research center from the much-feared '''C'''oojatisnal '''O'''cto '''O'''ogie '''T'''erta '''I'''nfecto '''E'''pi '''S'''treptacaucus. Also subverted, once the team finds out what they're dealing with (an operative's kid sister), they think said operative is nuts for calling them.
173	** Inverted by Numbuh 86 and (to a much [[BadFuture greater]] degree) Margie, who both hate boys in the same immature way other examples hates girls. In both cases, it seems to be because neither one likes their brother(s).
174	* Cooties actually appear as pastel-colored butterflies which are kept by Dee Dee in her bedroom in ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''. Dexter himself greatly fears them.
175	* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' This seems to be one of the main reasons the Eds flee from the [[StalkerWithACrush Kanker Sisters]]. This doesn't seem to apply to pretty, girl-next-door Nazz.
176	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' has Chester [=McBadbat=], who spends [[Recap/TheFairlyOddParentsS2E12TheBoyWhoWouldBeQueen one episode]] desperately trying to avoid girls, while A.J. keeps offering them a dead frog.
177	-->'''Chester''': (''Screams'') ''Nothing makes sense anymore''!\
178	'''A.J.''': Frog?
179	* ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'': The gang all act like this when forced to hang out with Donald's cousin Betty (who has the double whammy of being a girl ''and'' a southerner) in "The Stranger." She gradually wins them all over, except for HeManWomanHater Rudy.
180	* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'': {{Zig\|ZaggedTrope}}-zagged [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the episode]]. Sometimes, the title character shows interest in girls. In one episode, he's disgusted to have been kissed by a girl.
181	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Having grown up with Kim as his best friend, {{Fanon}} is at odds at whether or not Ron Stoppable went through this stage.
182	* Subverted on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', when Bobby is invited to a sleepover at a girl ([[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend note the space]]) friend's house:
183	-->'''Hank:''' Hey there, Bobby. I guess they found a cure for the cooties, huh? Heh heh heh.\
184	'''Bobby:''' I dunno. What're "cooties"?\
185	'''Hank:''' Well, when I was a boy, that's what we called the germs you get from girls.\
186	'''Bobby:''' [[FromTheMouthsOfBabes Oh, you mean like chlamydia]]?\
187	'''Hank:''' Huh?
188	* On ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', the zoo animals see some boys talking about girls having cooties and are later convinced that Marlene has caused an outbreak of them after they start getting itchy. Turns out [[spoiler:Marlene had mistaken poison ivy for a moisturizing plant and had unwittingly spread it to the others.]]
189	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'':
190	** Inverted in the episode "Cootie Gras", where our kindergartener heroines are terrified of a boy said to have cooties. Mojo Jojo uses this fact to keep the girls at bay until they get over it. Once they do, however, they leave him CoveredInKisses, then go kick Mojo's butt.
191	** In the episode "Equal Fights", Bubbles says that boys "are worse than their cooties".
192	** Also, used in the first episode featuring the Rowdyruff Boys: The girls' ''key'' to defeat them is to look prettily at them and actually kiss them... and it works so well the guys ''explode'' in horror. Lampshaded right after this, when Bubbles and Blossom think kissing isn't ''that'' bad, but Buttercup is shown coughing and almost throwing up in disgust. Note that in their second appearance this doesn't work, as Him had given them a "cootie shot."
193	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': In the episode "A Very [=McNulty=] Birthday", [[TheBully Timmy]] doesn't allow the girls to play party games with him on account that he thinks they have cooties. The other boys, who don't understand what cooties are, try to cure them.
194	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
195	** Because of NegativeContinuity, the show is all over the place with this one. Bart will go from apparently genuinely thinking girls have cooties, to making out with a girl, and then right back to thinking they have cooties.
196	** Played with in one episode. Bart has asked Ralph and Milhouse to sweep up the leaves in the garden (they're presumably getting paid). Then Sherri and Terri come along and ask the boys if they want to play with them. Bart refuses and gives Ralph and Milhouse their "cootie shots". However, when Bart sees their cousin, he's more than happy to play with them.
197	* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'': This version of Tails was particularly disgusted seeing Sonic kiss Sally in the mouth. He didn’t even want to answer Sonic when he asked how serious the kiss was.
198	-->'''Tails:''' Yuck. (''Sonic and Sally are still kissing each other.'') Eww, gross.\
199	'''Sonic:''' Mwah! So?\
200	'''Sally:''' Not bad.\
201	'''Sonic:''' Not bad? Not bad?!\
202	'''Sally:''' Yes. As in, just OK.\
203	'''Sonic:''' Sal, Sal, Sal. I know it was a serious kiss. Right, big guy?\
204	'''Tails:''' Nuh-uh, yuck. Blech.
205	* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' kids have managed to maintain this for quite a while, except for Kenny, who appears to have been horny since age 8 and Stan, who's had the hots for Wendy Testaburger since the first episode. Usually the other boys just think it's stupid to be so interested in girls, not ''bad'' per se. (This, of course, changes when ''they'' get a GirlOfTheWeek.)
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Real Life]]
209	* The term "cooties" originated from the first World War when the soldiers had to spend hours upon hours in trenches infested with body lice, rats, and other gross things. They called the body lice "cooties".
210	* TruthInTelevision for both sexes in many cultures and environments (remember the cootie shots?), but the behavior tends to disappear around fourth grade. The general feeling and how early or late it tends to disappear, however, vary across cultures. Even once it disappears, there's a clear boy/girl divide usually until around the middle of Junior High. Until then, the boys and girls typically sit at separate lunch tables, engage in separate activities at recess, etc.
211	* An article some years back (no link, sorry) about Creator/TamoraPierce played with this trope with an anecdote about the author's eight-year-old son, an avid reader. It was Mum's job just to bring home the books. At one point, Mum noticed that the pictures on the cover were of girls. Not boys, not animals, girls. She asked his son, "Is this a girl's book?" "No, it's not a girl's book," replies her son with all the scorn of an eight-year-old boy. Then he says, "It's about a girl." Later on in the article, the book's author (Tamora Pierce, of course) mentions that parents have thanked her for including the subject of girls' periods. "Hmm, Mum didn't know that."
212	* Cooties can be used as a possible euphemism for the crab lice (a.k.a. "crabs") infesting some people's pubic hairs that one can catch from considerably more ''intimate'' activities with the opposite sex.
213	* A {{gender inver\|tedTrope}}sion occurred during the filming of ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'', when ten year-old Creator/KirstenDunst had to kiss Creator/BradPitt. Most women would have sold their souls for a chance to do it, but Dunst said "I thought it was gross, that Brad had cooties. I mean, I was 10."
214	[[/folder]]

Context Main / GirlsHaveCooties