Basic Trope: Showing your bare midriff (in other words, your lower torso) is considered a feminine act.
- Straight:
- The Five-Man Band is composed of Bob, Charlie, Danny, Eric, and Alice, who wears a midriff-baring outfit.
- Alice wears a midriff-baring outfit, which complements the other Femininity Tropes she plays straight.
- Bob is In Touch with His Feminine Side, and bares his midriff to accentuate that.
- Exaggerated:
- All of Alice's clothing, or even all feminine women's clothing everywhere in the setting, is designed with midriff-baring in mind.
- The open part of the costume starts JUST under the nipples, and ends JUST above the vagina.
- Alice bares her midriff even in the middle of winter, causing frostbite.
- Just as soon as Alice (and only Alice) buys new clothing and wears said clothing, it exposes her midriff.
- Alice, the only woman on the team, is also the only one naked, to her satisfaction more than anybody else's.
- Downplayed:
- Navel Window.
- Alice's shirt is normally long enough to cover her entire midriff, but when she raises her hands up her navel is exposed.
- Justified:
- Alice is at the beach in a two-piece bikini, or Alice is a mermaid who wears a Seashell Bra.
- Alice is wearing a uniform which is a Gendered Outfit and has a bare midriff, which the male counterpart lacks, to keep cool in a hot climate.
- Inverted:
- Alice does wear a midriff-baring outfit, but she's a Tomboy.
- The Five-Man Band is composed of Bob, Charlie, Danny, Eric, and Alice, and all but Alice wear midriff-baring outfits.
- Bob is a very Manly Man who shows his midriff.
- Subverted:
- Alice has an Unlimited Wardrobe and plays many Femininity Tropes straight, but she is never seen with her midriff bare in any of her outfits.
- Alice does not wear her designated Gendered Outfit, instead wearing something that covers her midriff.
- Double Subverted: Later, Alice does wear an outfit that exposes her midriff.
- Parodied: Ms. Fanservice Alice wears a sexy midriff-baring outfit, as do Walking Shirtless Scene Bob and, unfortunately, Big Fun Eric.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice goes back and forth between covering up all of herself, all but her midriff, and just going naked.
- Averted: Alice simply didn't expose her midriff.
- Enforced: Alice works at a gentlemen's club, so baring her midriff is required in the workplace.
- Lampshaded: Bob calls attention to Alice's bare midriff.Bob: Nice shirt, Alice.
Alice: Please stop staring at my belly button, Bob. - Invoked:
- Alice gets a new belly button piercing (a trait that's Always Female) and specifically wears a midriff-baring outfit to show it off.
- Alice sees that she is the only woman in her group, and opts to bare her midriff.
- Alice wants to be seen as more feminine than her peers and does so by baring her midriff.
- Exploited:
- Alice sets up a midriff line to find her escaped clone.
- Alice's lower waist constantly exposed to Tickle Torture, where she always gets tickled in the sides, stomach, back and navel.
- Defied:
- Alice intentionally chooses an outfit that didn't expose her midriff, for that very reason.
- Alice modifies her Gendered Outfit to cover her midriff, like the male version does.
- See most schools and places of worship, such as churches and mosques, in Real Life.
- "I'm not going to wear a midriff-baring outfit for all of you pervert pigs!"
- Discussed: Alice and her friends discuss how midriff-baring outfits are gaining popularity among women.
- Conversed: "This show is filled with Fanservice. Is there any other reason why Alice wears a costume showing her midriff?"
- Implied: Bob complains about Alice's costume, bringing attention to "The one you wore last week." When Alice asks what was wrong with the outfit since she was "covered on top and bottom", Bob replies, "But there was no middle."
- Deconstructed:
- Alice comes from a very radical family that punishes her when they learn that she wears a midriff-baring outfit.
- Alice's midriff-baring outfit attracts the attention of some boys at her school.
- A bad guy jabs Alice in her exposed midriff.
- Reconstructed:
- Alice's family realize they were being strict on her, so they let her keep wearing them, provided she doesn't do it too much.
- Since Alice is the Action Girl, she quickly teaches the boys a lesson about manners when they make sexual comments about her outfit.
- After recovering, Alice starts wearing more practical armor and relegates midriff-baring outfits to her casual dress.
- Played for Laughs: Alice is an Innocent Fanservice Girl from another country/planet/dimension/whatever that wears a sexy midriff-baring costume and doesn't understand why she gets all the attention she gets from men.
- Played for Drama:
- Alice is captured by the Big Bad, and he forces her to wear a sexy midriff-baring outfit.
- A villain curses Alice's midriff to prevent her from wearing anything that covers it, causing her much humiliation and significantly hindering her in a fight.
- Played for Horror: Alice wears a midriff-baring outfit for the express purpose of showing off a tattoo on her tummy that is Nightmare Fuel for everyone else.
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