History Main / AcceptableFeminineGoalsAndTraits

In our culture, there are certain careers, goals, and traits that are considered "feminine". This naturally bleeds into fiction, where we expect a female character to have at least one of these traits or goals. If she doesn't have any of them, she may be criticized as being too masculine or because NoGuyWantsAnAmazon. If she has too many, she may come under fire from the RealWomenDontWearDresses crowd.

* StayInTheKitchen: When a character or the narrative insists that women should only do womanly things.

* StayInTheKitchen: A woman's place is in the home, [[{{Housewife}} taking care of housework, cooking, and child-rearing]], and she is much better suited for that than anything else.

Note that while this can be gender stereotyping, which is a bad thing, it [[TropesAreTools can also be a way of rounding out a character]]. Real people, even an ActionGirl or a WrenchWench, can have interests outside kicking ass or fixing machines. A strong female character isn't any less strong if she's also a SupremeChef.

!Tropes:

-->--'''''[[WebVideo/BestOfTheWorst Best of the Worst]]''''' watches ''{{Film/Supergirl}}''

* ProperLady: The "ideal" woman as defined (usually) by a patriarchal society: nurturing, caring, submissive, soft-spoken, passive, and effortlessly beautiful.

* LadyOfWar: If a woman is a warrior, she should still be ladylike about it, and use properly "elegant" weapons and fighting styles.

** MotherhoodIsSuperior: A perk of being a mother is that it somehow allows you to be perfectly morally right, if you can chalk your actions up to being a MamaBear.

** MotherhoodIsSuperior: A perk of being a mother is that it somehow allows you to be perfectly morally right, if you can chalk your actions to being a MamaBear.

** PowerHair To that end, women in power ''must'' cut their hair short, or else be seen as weak and vapid.

** Related: MenBuyFromMarsWomenBuyFromVenus

* WinHerAPrize: Women want to be impressed by men by winning a prize (or trying to) in a carnival or amusement park.

* LieBackAndThinkOfEngland: [[AllWomenArePrudes Women]] aren't supposed to ''enjoy'' sex, initiate it, or seek it out. Sex is something men ''do to'' women, not that both partners equally share. If a "good" woman has any sex InUniverse, it's only either a) to please her husband or long-term boyfriend (and thus, at least in theory, [[ImAManICantHelpIt keep him from cheating or leaving]]), or b) to make babies, never for her own pleasure or enjoyment. A woman who enjoys sex, has too much of it, or expresses sexuality or sexual desire [[MyGirlIsNotASlut will lose audience sympathy]].

* FashionModel: Since it's perceived as a passive job, and the main task is to look pretty.

* GirlsNeedRoleModels

->''"This movie has done for feminism what ''Film/BirthOfANation'' did for equal rights."''