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Misused: Ill Girl

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To-do list:

  • Move examples of attractive guys/cute girls with a debilitating sicknesses from Ill Girl, Ill Boy, Ill Child, and Ill Man to Delicate and Sickly and remove ones that don't (such as examples that are simply about a character with an illness with none of the trope's connotations).

    Original post 
Ill Girl is a trope describing a character who is debilitatingly ill. Important distinguishing factors are that the character is often a young and innocent child, the ill girl remains cute, despite her illness, and that her illness sends another character(s) off on a mission to cure her or at least ease her suffering.
A Wick Check determined that the trope suffered misuse under a variety of categories, including simply "an ill character”, with only eight checked examples determined as correct usage (9.5%). Both Related.IllGirl and Related.IllBoy were checked due to their large number of wicks, though there are also redirects for Ill Child (31) and Ill Man (16). To summarize the findings found here:
  • 8/84 Correct Usage or 9.5%
  • 6/84 Only Debilitatingly Ill or 7%
  • 17/84 Just sick/weak or 20%
  • 5/84 Character is Mentally Ill or 6%
  • 12/84 Has a disability or 14%
  • 15/84 Other Misuse or 18%
  • 4/84 Unclear or 4.75%
  • 17/84 ZCE or 20%

Combining the various misuse categories, this trope has a 90% misuse rate. The laconic isn’t the worst description in the world, summarized as "Someone, usually female, who’s debilitatingly sick." but I think it is probably one of the reasons for some misuse. A common theme in misuse is describing a character who was sick in the past or before the work takes place, often as a freebie in addition to Sickly Child Grew Up Strong. Tightening the restrictions and/or making them clearer may help alleviate future misuse.
I know renaming is usually a last resort, but I also believe the trope name itself is a source of misuse. It is a cutesy, close rhyme title, but it may be too broad, especially with the trend of swapping out "girl" for the appropriate descriptor (i.e. "boy", "man", "woman"), which doesn't necessarily violate the How to Write an Example rule on not altering trope titles in example lists (gender is an exception) but still not great because of the short trope title, so it'll still affect alphabetization.

Edited by Berrenta on Aug 24th 2022 at 12:32:51 PM

Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#1: Feb 13th 2022 at 11:47:58 AM

To-do list:

  • Move examples of attractive guys/cute girls with a debilitating sicknesses from Ill Girl, Ill Boy, Ill Child, and Ill Man to Delicate and Sickly and remove ones that don't (such as examples that are simply about a character with an illness with none of the trope's connotations).

    Original post 
Ill Girl is a trope describing a character who is debilitatingly ill. Important distinguishing factors are that the character is often a young and innocent child, the ill girl remains cute, despite her illness, and that her illness sends another character(s) off on a mission to cure her or at least ease her suffering.
A Wick Check determined that the trope suffered misuse under a variety of categories, including simply "an ill character”, with only eight checked examples determined as correct usage (9.5%). Both Related.IllGirl and Related.IllBoy were checked due to their large number of wicks, though there are also redirects for Ill Child (31) and Ill Man (16). To summarize the findings found here:
  • 8/84 Correct Usage or 9.5%
  • 6/84 Only Debilitatingly Ill or 7%
  • 17/84 Just sick/weak or 20%
  • 5/84 Character is Mentally Ill or 6%
  • 12/84 Has a disability or 14%
  • 15/84 Other Misuse or 18%
  • 4/84 Unclear or 4.75%
  • 17/84 ZCE or 20%

Combining the various misuse categories, this trope has a 90% misuse rate. The laconic isn’t the worst description in the world, summarized as "Someone, usually female, who’s debilitatingly sick." but I think it is probably one of the reasons for some misuse. A common theme in misuse is describing a character who was sick in the past or before the work takes place, often as a freebie in addition to Sickly Child Grew Up Strong. Tightening the restrictions and/or making them clearer may help alleviate future misuse.
I know renaming is usually a last resort, but I also believe the trope name itself is a source of misuse. It is a cutesy, close rhyme title, but it may be too broad, especially with the trend of swapping out "girl" for the appropriate descriptor (i.e. "boy", "man", "woman"), which doesn't necessarily violate the How to Write an Example rule on not altering trope titles in example lists (gender is an exception) but still not great because of the short trope title, so it'll still affect alphabetization.

Edited by Berrenta on Aug 24th 2022 at 12:32:51 PM

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
Amonimus the Retromancer from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
Orbiting Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
#4: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:02:10 PM

Yeah, it sounds like the issue is that the name implies it's a much broader trope than it actually is. Rename it to something like Ill Ingenue? Innocent Ill Child?

MatthewWayne The Man Outside Reality from TVA Headquarters Since: Oct, 2014
The Man Outside Reality
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#6: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:10:07 PM

[up][up][up]Too much overlap with Healthcare Motivation

I agree the focus on this trope should be the fragility/delicateness of the sick character.

GastonRabbit One album, Please (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I've got the brains, you've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.
One album, Please (he/him)
#7: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:16:01 PM

I'm in favor of renaming, since the name is bad for the same reason Bad Dreams (the old name for Past Experience Nightmare) was a bad name (i.e., the fact that it makes the trope sound broader than it actually is), but I haven't decided on a name yet.

2 ÷ 0
Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#8: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:16:07 PM

[up][up][up] I like Innocent Ill Child and bonus points for it being a gender-neutral title.

ETA: [nja]'d

Edited by Hello83433 on Feb 13th 2022 at 3:16:27 PM

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
Amonimus the Retromancer from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the Retromancer
#9: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:25:09 PM

Since there's a better trope for motivation, I'm okay with Innocent Ill Child or Innocent Sick Child / Innocent Debilitated Child so the "III" wouldn't look hard for the eyes.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#10: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:39:18 PM

[up] That's true as well.

I didn't even know Healthcare Motivation existed. That's good for some of the misused examples.

Victorian Novel Disease appears to be the adult equivalent to what Ill Girl is supposed to be, although it is also an Always Female trope (or at least written like one).

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
Amonimus the Retromancer from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#12: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:48:56 PM

I didn't even know Healthcare Motivation existed.

It's actually wicked in the first paragraph, in the sentence you cited tongue Further proof for my anti-pothole agenda!

although it is also an Always Female trope (or at least written like one).

That's not really damning because of how pervasive Men Are Tough and Women Are Delicate are. A manly hunter guy isn't going to be caught withering away on a fainting couch but a dainty male poet might. It could maybe be rewritten to be more gender-neutral, but I don't think it's automatically a huge problem.

Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#13: Feb 13th 2022 at 12:58:02 PM

[up][up] lol, my dumb brain tongue

Also true, although I'm not sure now what my original point was bringing that up.

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
mightymewtron Angry babby from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Angry babby
#14: Feb 13th 2022 at 3:19:05 PM

Innocent Ill Child / Innocent Sickly Child would be good.

Maybe Sickly Innocent Child as it tracks with Sickly Neurotic Geek, which feels like a sister trope. I wonder if a supertrope for characters defined by chronic poor health is necessary?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Libraryseraph Fearless at the core... from Canada (Five Year Plan) Relationship Status: Raising My Lily Rank With You
Fearless at the core...
#15: Feb 14th 2022 at 6:32:43 AM

I've also seen Ill Girl used for chronically ill female characters who are defined by their illness-induced frailty (the most recent example I remember seeing is Nightingale from Arknights). Would that be worth splitting off into a trope

...and adorable on top!
Reymma RJ Savoy from Edinburgh Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
RJ Savoy
#16: Feb 14th 2022 at 8:19:38 AM

Since Healthcare Motivation exists, I feel the "another character goes on a quest to cure her" part can be dropped, and we define this as a character vignette: an innocent, never-that-strong person who has a debilitating disease for a large part of the story, and looks both cute and pitiable with it. They attract the sympathy of those around, and the intention is that the audience will too. They are most often a girl, but can also be elderly, in which case a key part is that they cared for those around them when younger. They are not defiant about their illness, and if they try to hide it, they fail.

With a definition like this (and a rename) it wouldn't matter what role they play in the plot or how they motivate others; just the fact that they are framed in this way and given some focus would qualify for this trope.

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.
Unicorndance Logic Girl from Thames, N.Z. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Logic Girl
#17: Feb 14th 2022 at 12:31:09 PM

There's also Littlest Cancer Patient.

For every low there is a high.
eroock Since: Sep, 2012
#18: Feb 15th 2022 at 3:45:29 AM

Healthcare Motivation is specifically for morally questionable deeds in pursuit of saving a sick loved one's life. That is beyond just motivating someone to go on a quest to accomplish the same result.

WarJay77 Bonnie's Artistic Cousin from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Bonnie's Artistic Cousin
#19: Feb 15th 2022 at 7:46:47 AM

I'm inclined to run a check on that one now because it seems way too narrow for the title, and it'd be easy to just broaden it during a merge.

Current Project: The Team
Amonimus the Retromancer from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the Retromancer
#20: Feb 15th 2022 at 7:50:45 AM

If neither Ill Girl or Healthcare Motivation can be used as Not-Yet-Lost Lenore, then it's going to cause problems with the examples.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#21: Feb 15th 2022 at 7:55:13 AM

[up][up][up]Perhaps by the description, but the page is already softsplit into criminal and non criminal acts, with the latter category including (just from a skim of the first folder) “becoming a pro athlete abroad”, “become a scientist”, and “overworking”.

Edited by Synchronicity on Feb 15th 2022 at 9:56:19 AM

GastonRabbit MOD One album, Please (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I've got the brains, you've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.
One album, Please (he/him)
#22: Feb 16th 2022 at 2:51:19 AM

Hooked a crowner for whether to rename this since there's already been some support in favor of it.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Feb 16th 2022 at 4:51:29 AM

2 ÷ 0
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#23: Feb 17th 2022 at 5:42:02 PM

I agree that this trope should be renamed. However, I feel most of the suggested examples would likely still cause misuse; this trope doesn't just apply to children. Therefore, I think it should be renamed to "Ill Ingenue".

Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#24: Feb 17th 2022 at 6:21:07 PM

[up] Ill Girl is for children though. That's one of the main parts of the trope.

The adult equivalent is Victorian Novel Disease.

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
WarJay77 Bonnie's Artistic Cousin from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Bonnie's Artistic Cousin
#25: Feb 17th 2022 at 6:22:55 PM

You might be thinking of Littlest Cancer Patient, because nothing implies that this trope is child-specific.

Current Project: The Team

Trope Repair Shop: Ill Girl rename
19th Feb '22 11:16:12 AM

Crown Description:

Consensus was to rename Ill Girl. What should its new name be?

Total posts: 104
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