History Main / BareMidriffsAreFeminine

** Elisa, the main female character in the show, usually wears midriff-covering shirts, but when she poses as a BadCop to get close to Tony Dracon, she puts on a midriff- and cleavage-exposing tube top.

* Parodied in Creator/StjepanSejic's comic "[[https://www.geekxgirls.com/article.php?ID=1878 Womb Power]]", in which heroines like ComicBook/RedSonja and {{ComicBook/Starfire}} claim that exposed midriffs emanate magical energy that deflects projectiles and fire laser blasts. When he asks his wife [[{{Webcomic/Punderworld}} Linda]] about it, she demonstrates herself.

** A number of female [=NPC=]s also tend to wear midriff-baring outfits. This includes the kind-hearted, pacifistic sorceress Jaina Proudmoore; the DarkActionGirl SylvanasWindrunner; and the humanoid form of the dragon queen Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, who is characterised as being wise, compassionate and in tune with nature.

** In the first two ''VideoGame/MarioStrikers'' games, the football uniform of the two princess characters, Peach and Daisy, come with a crop top instead of regular football shirt worn by the male players. ''Battle League'' would avert this by having them (and the other female players) were more modest attire.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Infamously, there are several armor pieces in the game that look imposing and cover everything on male player characters but shrink into a ChainmailBikini when worn by female characters.

** In the first two ''VideoGame/MarioStrikers'' games, the football uniform of the three princess characters, Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, come with a crop top instead of regular football shirt worn by the male players.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2'': Shanti, Mowgli's best friend in the village is the only prominent female character in the movie, who seems to be very content with her feminine role in the village. Although her outfit in [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967 the original movie]] averted this, in this sequel she wears a bright yellow, midriff-baring choli along with a high-waisted purple skirt.

* ''VideoGame/MarioStrikers'': The football uniform of the three princess characters, Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, come with a crop top instead of regular football shirt worn by the male players.

* In 2016, the newly drafted running back to the Dallas Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliot, wore a cropped button down under his white suit jacket on the NFL Draft red carpet. Elliot was known in the NCAA as "the hero in a half-shirt" for habitually folding his jerseys up and wearing cropped shirts to practice because [[https://www.bet.com/photo-gallery/3izv8f/10-times-ezekiel-elliott-was-a-hero-in-a-half-shirt/qfy044 he didn't like the loose fit of jerseys]]. Many people who were just encountering Elliot for the first time however reacted to the fashion choice with homophobia, critizing Elliot as unmanly and speculating that he was a ClosetGay. This is despite the fact that male athletes wearing crop tops was quite common up until the 90s in the US.

Until the mid-20th century, bare midriffs were mostly seen as obscene in Western culture. The sexual revolution of the 1960s led to partial nudity being more and more acceptable. However, [[NippleAndDimed female nipples are still seen as unacceptable]], leading to outfits that cover a woman's chest but leave the midriff bare, such as belly shirts (a.k.a. crop tops), sports bras and bikinis, becoming popular especially in the younger generation. This, in turn, led to bare midriffs in media being a [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics visual shorthand]] for "teenage girl" or, in some cases, just "girl", or otherwise indicating a character's femininity.

Female characters with bare midriffs often include the AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse, who wear revealing outfits to flaunt their bodies and intimidate their more homely-looking peers; TheCheerleader whose outfit is supposed to look both attractive and athletic (and can overlap with the former if she's a CruelCheerleader); TheFashionista whose UnlimitedWardrobe will likely include a handful of midriff-baring clothes; the TankTopTomboy or {{Shorttank}}, who generally wears a boyish, athletic outfit but will bare her midriff to indicate her femininity (though she can be used as an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] if she's paired up with a girly girl in a long dress); and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple the only female in a team of males]]. The character with a bare midriff is very often a MsFanservice, but it also shows up on young girls and other non-fanservice context.

When a uniform comes in [[GenderedOutfit male and female varieties]], it's very common that [[CustomUniformOfSexy the female variant is midriff-baring whereas the male variant covers the entire torso]]. The DistaffCounterpart of a male superhero will often wear a more feminine variant of his outfit, often incorporating a bare midriff. A {{Sarashi}}, when worn by a man, covers the midriff and bares the chest, but on a woman it's the other way around. This trope can even be applied to [[ChainmailBikini women in armor]], despite that exposing the midriff would leave some vital organs unprotected. And when [[GenderBending a male character gets transformed into a woman]] (especially [[AttractiveBentGender an attractive one]]), he may end up wearing a midriff-baring variant of his usual outfit.

When a culture is portrayed as "exotic" or "primitive", with different nudity taboos from Western civilization, such a BarbarianTribe, HollywoodNatives or an ancient civilization (such as AncientEgypt or {{Mayincatec}}), it's very common to portray men with bare chests and women with bare midriffs, as a way of avoiding NationalGeographicNudity. This often comes with the UnfortunateImplications of exotification and sexualization of non-European cultures, such as {{Orientalism}}. BedlahBabe is specifically when Middle Eastern women are portrayed in midriff-baring outfits. Similary, when [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals cavemen]] or {{Tarzan Boy}}s run around in {{Loincloth}}s, cavewomen and {{Jungle Princess}}es often wear midriff-baring {{Fur Bikini}}s. Women like this will almost always be portrayed as NubileSavage.

* ''[[Manga/FairyTail Fairy Tail]]'': Amoung the members of the Strongest Team Lucy is the most [[TrueBlueFemininity feminine of the girls, which her white and blue outfits emphasize]], with her X791 version of it showing of her midriff.

* ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'': Atlantean women tend to wear midriff-baring outfits, whereas men are either bare-chested of fully robed. Most notably, Princess Kida spends the majority of the movie in a sarong and a midriff-baring top, until the end of the movie where she switches to a more modest royal outfit.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'': All the barbarians that overrun the city, slay the citizens and sack the place are men dressed and equipped for warfare. In particular, the barbarian king has a horned crown + helmet that shields most of his head, and a crimson BadassLongcoat. His opponent, in contrast, is shapely Taarna, whose outfit is mostly a BattleBikini and a sword. Her exposed midsection gets a nasty gash from the barbarian's whirling blade weapon.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'': The denizens of Motonui all wear long, woven skirts, but the men and young children are all bare-chested whereas the women wear a cloth wrapped around their chest. On older women like Grandma Tala and Sina, the skirt has a high waistline that covers their midriff, but on younger women, including the eponymous Moana, the waistline is just above their belly button, leaving most of their midriff bare.

* ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'': Of the women on the titular team, Harley Quinn, Black Carnary, and Huntress all wear high-waisted pants paired with crop tops or bras, paired with [[KickChick feminine fighting styles favoring kicks]]. The exception is Renee Montoya who wears a police button-up, and favors a brawler fighting style. Her more masculine manner of dress reflects how Renee wants to be seen as an equal to the men in her workplace. But when she instead turns towards fighting alongside the women in her life, [[spoiler:she secretly wears a gaudy corset Harley offers her, which saves Renee's life when it turns out to be bulletproof.]]

* ''Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed'': When Scooby and Shaggy end up in an alchemy lab, they try out various transformation potions. When Shaggy drinks one that transforms his body of that of a woman with large breasts and a hourglass figure ([[ButterFace but leaves his face unchanged]]), his green shirt shrinks into a crop top. When the next potion transform his upper body into that of a male bodybuilder, the shirt visibly grows longer and covers up his six-pack.

** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': While [[Film/ThePhantomMenace as a queen]] Padme typically wore massive elaborate gowns, as a Senator her outfits are typically less ornate and more form-fitting. On Tatooine she wears a midriff-baring dress and a robe. On Geonosis she wears a practical bodysuit, but a vicious Nexu's claws tears it open, bewilderingly turning it into a two piece while dealing only shallow wounds. Padme then completely avoids this trope in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', due to having to conceal her pregnancy.

* ''Literature/LordMarksmanAndVanadis'': All seven Vanadis wear midriff-baring outfits, which represents both their power and femininity, since only them would wear such outfits on the battlefield. Limalisha is the only other major female character who also bares her midsection in casual wear, and she's a TomboyWithAGirlyStreak.

* In ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', Quote and Curly Brace are both amnesiac RidiculouslyHumanRobots ([[spoiler:and it's a late-game reveal that they were partners in the backstory]]). Both are dressed in tank tops, baggy pants, and boots. Curly Brace is the female of the pair, so she has short tank top showing off her belly, while the male Quote doesn't.

** The Nuka-Girl Rocketsuit, added in the ''Nuka-World'' DLC, basically combines skintight white leggings with a skimpy long-sleeved top, topped off with heeled boots and a FishbowlHelmet. It ''is'' intended by Nuka-Cola to be worn on a [[FanService pinup model mascot]], afterall.

* ''VideoGame/MarioStrikers'': The football uniform of the three princess characters, Peach, Daisy and Rosalina, come with a crop top instead of regular football shirt worn by the male players.

* In the first few hundred strips of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Haley Starshine, the only woman in the eponymous Order, wears a midriff-baring archer outfit whereas her male companions Roy, Durkon, Elan and Belkar all wear less exposing shirts, and [[AmbiguousGender Vaarsuvius]] wears a long robe. In later strips she starts wearing different outfits, many of which are no longer midriff-baring. Some other female characters introduced early in the comic, such as [[FairySexy Celia the sylph]] and [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Roy's teenage sister Julia]], also wear midriff-baring outfits.
* Parodied in Creator/StjepanSejic's comic "[[https://www.geekxgirls.com/article.php?ID=1878 Womb Power]]", in which heroines like ComicBook/RedSonja and {{ComicBook/Starfire}} claim that exposed midriffs emanate magical energy that deflect projectiles and fire laser blasts. When he asks his wife [[{{Webcomic/Punderworld}} Linda]] about it, she demonstrates herself.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleCampaignTwo'': Inverted. The cutesy and girly Jester always wears a full dress, whereas TheLadette, Beau, only wears outfits which leave her stomach exposed to show off her abs.

** Out of [[TerribleTrio the antagonistic female trio]] dubbed "Ozai's Angels" by the fandom, the [[PerkyFemaleMinion girly]] and athletic Ty Lee always wears midriff-baring outfits, whereas the aggressive Azula and the [[TheStoic stoic]] and straight-faced Mai usually cover up their midriff except for the BeachEpisode.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Kim and Ron's agent outfits look very similar: black shirt, baggy pants with utility belt, gloves and military boots. The main difference is that Kim's shirt bares her midriff whereas Ron's covers it.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Gems usually wear outfits that expose their magical gemstones, the location of which is often an indication of their personality traits. Gemstones on the navel, which go hand-in-hand with midriff-baring outfits, seem to indicate stereotypically feminine traits like gentleness, compassion and naivety.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'': The female [=ThunderCats=] Cheetara and Wilykit wear crop tops, whereas the male Lion-O, Tygra and Wilykat wear longer shirts and [[WalkingShirtlessScene Panthro forgoes shirts completely]]. Interestingly, this was [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in the [[WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985 original series]] where the manly and [[HeroicBuild incredibly buff]] [[TheLeader leader]] Lion-O was the only one in midriff-baring clothes.

** Until [[WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace the fourth generation]], when the girls started to dress more modestly, most of the female characters wear crop tops or at least tops that reveal part of their stomach without necessarily exposing their navel (in the case of Lindsay, Gwen, and Bridget). This often extends to their sleep wear and swimsuits as well. The girls that wear more modest clothing tend to be either those that aren't supposed to be appealing to the boys (Beth, Stacy), or are athletic (Eva, Jo, Sky), although there are other exceptions as well. In contrast, all the boys in the first three generations either don't expose their top at all or [[WalkingShirtlessScene expose it completely]] (Geoff).

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Shoreleave is one of the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Office of Secret Intelligence]]'s top agents. A CampGay AgentPeacock, he's one of the only agents trusted to partner with [[OneManArmy Brock Samson]], and is seen typically wearing an unbuttoned O.S.I. uniform shirt that is tied around his stomach, leaving his midriff exposed. His S.P.H.I.N.X. uniform instead had a NavelDeepNeckline.

* In UsefulNotes/{{India}}, many traditional female outfits include a midriff-baring ''choli'' top worn under the sari (the long fabric that is worn over the shoulder). The midriff is partly bared for practical reasons, i.e. too keep cool in the hot tropical climate, and partly for spiritual reasons: exposing the midriff and the navel emphasizes a woman's role as the progenitor of life.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Mostly {{Subverted|Trope}}. Throughout the series, there have actually been more men ([[RealMenWearPink and masculine ones on that]]) wearing crop tops and clothes that leave their midriff exposed than women, such as [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Jonathan]] and [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Joseph Joestar]], [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Kishibe Rohan]] and [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Guido Mista]]. Of course, notable non-male characters like Jolyne Cujoh and Dragona Joestar also bear their midriff.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Throughout the manga's continuation, there have been many feminine characters, including men, that have worn outfits showing their midriffs. One of the best examples is Dragona Joestar. In his first appearance, Dragona is revealed to be [[AmbiguousGenderIdentity either a crossdresser or transgender]] wearing a bikini.

* In the late '90s and early 2000s, crop tops were almost the mandatory wear for female {{pop}} singers (both {{Girl Group}}s and solo performers) during music videos and concerts, with too many examples to list here. {{Boy band}}s, which were also popular at the time, hardly ever bared their midriff despite often going for an effeminate PrettyBoy look rather than a more traditionally masculine one. In mixed-gender bands (such as Music/{{Vengaboys}}, Music/SClub7 or Music/ATeens), the female members often wore crop tops while the male members wore T-shirts.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioStrikers'': The football uniform of the three princess characters, Peach, Daisy and Rosalina, come with a crop top instead of regular football shirt worn by the male players.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'': Chel wears a midriff-baring outfit that [[MsFanservice accentuates her feminine figure]]. She seems to be the only one dressed like this - the other native women wear less revealing clothes, whereas most native men are shirtless.

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

** Bethany wears a midriff-baring shirt, reflecting her beauty influencer personality, in contrast to Martha, the other girl of the group who is nerdy and {{Booksmart}}. [[spoiler: Her final scene averts this -- Bethany wears a more conservative, outdoorsy outfit, showing how the game has taught her to become less appearance-obsessed.]]

-->'''Martha/Ruby''': ''(covering her stomach)'' Why am I wearing this outfit in a jungle? Tiny, little shorts and a leather halter top, I mean, what is this?

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]

* In the late 90s and early 2000s, crop tops were almost the mandatory wear for female {{pop}} singers (both {{Girl Group}}s and solo performers) during music videos and concerts, with too many examples to list here. {{Boy band}}s, which were also popular at the time, hardly ever bared their midriff despite often going for an effeminate PrettyBoy look rather than a more traditionally masculine one. In mixed-gender bands (such as Music/{{Vengaboys}}, Music/SClub7 or Music/ATeens), the female members often wore crop tops while the male members wore T-shirts.
* [[IdolGenre Asian pop idols]] of either gender often wear midriff-baring clothes. For male idols, it is part of their PrettyBoy look - which can make them appear [[DudeLooksLikeALady androgynous]] in the eyes of Western audiences.

* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'': In the episode "Witch-Ay Woman", a witch [[KarmicTransformation transforms Johnny into a woman to teach him a lesson]]. After trying on various outfits, he decides on wearing his [[LimitedWardrobe usual black shirt - blue jeans - sunglasses combo]], except his black shirt is now a crop top. [[spoiler:At the end of the episode, he fails to notice he's transformed back into a man and [[ManInABikini continues wearing the crop top]], which covers even less of his now [[TopHeavyGuy enormous upper body]].]]

* Female athletes at the Olympic games and similar other sports events often wear only sports bras on their upper body, whereas male athletes typically wear T-shirts or sleeveless, but midriff-covering tank tops. There were attempts to introduce crop tops as athletic gear for men in the 80s, showing off their muscular abs, but these fell out of fashion by the 90s when this trope swung into full gear.

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Indexes: CantStomachThisIndex, FemininityTropes, PartialNudityTropes, CostumeTropes

!!Disclaimer: According to [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16777251030.82619500&page=1 this TRS thread]], BareYourMidriff will be turned into a Disambiguation page due to being a [[Administrivia/ZeroContextExample ZCE]] / [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs Chairs]] magnet. This is an attempt to rework it into something more meaningful.