History Main / CelibateHero

* Joan of Arc: national heroine of France, and she is well known for her virginity.

** [=McGoohan=] stipulated in his contract that he not be seen even kissing a woman. This was not just because he wanted Danger Man to be a contrast to James Bond, though; [=McGoohan=] had the same clause put into ''all'' his television contracts, for personal reasons.

* [[Characters/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shinji Ikari]] of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' shrinks from any and all potential relationships, romantic or not, because it's just too painful and frightening for him. This eventually makes him snap in ''End of Evangelion''.
** It's not like he has any good choices in the relationship department - while he has mutual chemistry with both the girls he works with, they both are bags of issues potentially even worse than him.

* EmilieAutumn has shunned romantic and sexual relationships after the situations which caused her to right the WomanScorned part of her ''Opheliac'' album (Bad situations in the past). Just her crumpets and her plague rats/muffins now....also falls into "Love is A distraction" excuse. She makes all her music on her own and sets up her own tours. Does not have the time, does not want the time.

* General Charles Gordon (of Khartoum). Similar to Lawrence, many historians (notably Lytton Strachey) depict him as a closet homosexual or even a pederast. He certainly spent a lot of time caring for orphaned boys through his charity work. But in all likelihood Gordon was chaste, if not actually asexual, largely due to his devout Christianity. He once wrote a friend that he wished he was a eunuch!

A protagonist who doesn't do the romance thing. Unlike the clueless ChasteHero, who just doesn't get romance, the CelibateHero consciously and actively shuns and avoids it. He turns away every potential GirlOfTheWeek and shuts out the pleas of his [[OfficialCouple official love interest]].

[[ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere Naturally]] [[NatureAdoresAVirgin this results in far more opportunities for romantic encounters]] (particularly TheVamp) than if they were looking for them. This is not to say that the CelibateHero is unable to be affected by the force of a [[TheDulcineaEffect Dulcinea Effect]], only that he either is acting on a higher ideal (chivalry) or resists its power later on.

There are a variety of potential motives for this behavior:
* "Love is A Distraction" - TheHero has a job to do and can't risk being distracted by something as petty as a love life.
* "Love is Beneath Me," related to the above - TheHero believes that to be someone the squad/city/world/universe can depend on, he or she has to be more powerful and more resolved than the average human and above the basest human instincts, especially if he or she is a BadassNormal. See also LoveIsAWeakness.
* "[[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies I'm A Danger Magnet]]" - TheHero is GenreSavvy, and realizes anyone he or she gets close to or they let get close to them is very likely to [[CartwrightCurse shortly end up dead]].
* TheHero is maintaining a SecretIdentity, and fears exposure if he or she gets too close to anyone. A [[TheCape Cape]] will frequently combine this reason with the "danger magnet" excuse, and settle for pining for their love interest from afar.
* [[LoveHurts Bad romantic experiences in the past:]]
** He or she fell for the wrong person, maybe TheVamp([[OurVampiresAreDifferent ire]]) or someone who left them for someone else, and doesn't trust the opposite sex anymore.
** He or she can't let go of [[ILetGwenStacyDie the memory of a dead lover]], especially if he or she feels they're responsible for the person's death.
* Rare today is the idea that the hero's powers ''rely'' on him or her [[VirginPower remaining celibate]], or that he is celibate out of religious or moral conviction. Most commonly this is found in fantasy settings, which may feature religious orders or mystical powers that may be influenced by sexual activity. Male examples, of course, are never in a setting based in the real world, because [[AManIsNotAVirgin a man is never, ever a virgin, and don't you dare claim otherwise!]]
* He or she simply [[DoesNotLikeWomen does not like]] [[DoesNotLikeMen the opposite sex]] (more common among {{Anti Hero}}es, particularly male examples).
* He or she does not feel that he or she is worthy of being loved (for any number of reasons).
* He or she carries some sort of curse that is passed down from parent to child, so he/she is simply trying to end the curse.
* SorryImGay surrounded by an UnwantedHarem.
* Rarely used in any notable works today in any media for reasons other than religious beliefs or medical disability. If for religious reasons, it is often depicted by bringing attention to the fact, usually in the form of temptation. Expect Buddhist (or any other celibate or abstinence associated religion) characters seeking to abstain from physical distractions to fit in here often.
* Occasionally a case of [[UnsettlingGenderReveal a Hero everyone thinks is male actually being female]], and pretending to be celibate, asexual or otherwise uninterested in physical relationships (and may be a case of [[HatesBeingTouched panicking whenever touched at all for this very reason]]) in order to avoid discovery. You can pretty much guarantee that someone is going to try and pounce her anyway, and discover their true identity. If it's an ally, they'll probably be sworn to secrecy, but let it get out somehow anyway. If they're an enemy, you can be assured they'll use it against the Hero, especially if she continues to keep it a secret from her fellow teammates.
* The hero is not human, and does not understand WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove
* He just doesn't care.
* ''YourDaysAreNumbered'' - TheHero knows he/she is SecretlyDying and chooses not to pursue a would be RomanticInterest to avoid LoveHurts or leaving his/her spouse as a Widow(er) and a DisappearedDad or MissingMom to any kids they might have.

* The old Jedi order from ''StarWars''. The subversion of the rule by Anakin and the forbidden love that ensues is a plot point.

** Technically, Jedi aren't allowed to form romantic attachments. One-night stands are okay.

* It's possible to play Shepard this way in both ''MassEffect'' games, usually of the "love is a distraction" variety.

* Subverted in the 1987 movie version of ''{{Dragnet}}''. Although Joe Friday turns down Sylvia Wiss, who practically throws herself at him, and lectures his police partner about how it was the right thing to do, he does eventually end up with [[InsistentTerminology [The Virgin]]] Connie Swail.

** ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' does admit that celibacy for wizards is less stringent in Genua, where Benito Macarona was involved in at least one divorce petition. [[spoiler: He wasn't married, and it was the wife who filed the complaint against his philandering, so in this case there wasn't any risk of sorcery.]]

* ''YourDaysAreNumbered'' - TheHero knows he/she is SecretlyDying and chooses not pursue a would be RomanticInterest to avoid LoveHurts or leaving his/her spouse as a Widow(er) and a DisappearedDad or MissingMom to any kids they might have.

* ''{{Batman}}'', in many incarnations, adheres to a combination of most of the above: love as distraction (his work is his life); love as beneath him (he sees himself as something more); the danger magnet issue (amusingly subverted when, in an episode of ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', he tried to use that as a reason he couldn't date Wonder Woman; she then demonstrates that he'd be in more danger than she); his SecretIdentity, although potential love interests have occasionally discovered the secret anyway; and depending on the actual universe, bad relationships in the past (he maintains that one of his few actual lovers, Talia al Ghul, drugged and raped him).

* In ''{{Impromptu}}'' about the romance between George Sands/Aurore Dudevant (Judy Davis) and Frederic Chopin (Hugh Grant), Chopin's tuberculosis makes him a little hesitant to take things to the next level with Aurore.

* In ''Literature/FirebirdLackey'', Ilya unwillingly becomes this. Once he takes on the role of the fool, the women of the palace lose interest in him.

* Sunny Breeze of RacerAndTheGeek is this for a number of reasons, from having issues with being touched, to thinking himself unworthy.

* Ike from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'' and ''Radiant Dawn'' is one of these. [[HoYay Alternate explanations exist]], of course.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' reveals that [[spoiler:he has a descendant named [[MythologyGag Paris]], but it's looking likely that he's actually an indirect descendant (Ike's sister gets married at the end of Radiant Dawn).]]

->''"I am [[CelibateHero celibate]] because I don't give a [[PrecisionFStrike FUUUUUUUUCCCCCCK]]."''
-->--'''Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi''', ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6G6CZT7h4k Gandhi vs Martin Luther King Jr. Epic Rap Battles of History,]]'' ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''

* Rao Raghunth in BelisariusSeries was not a virgin when he married Shakuntala. But he had abstained for ages waiting for her.
** Shakuntala [[VirginPower was]] . She was also a BadassPrincess. And after marrying she [[InsatiableNewlyweds makes up for lost time]] quite well.

** [[spoiler: [[BabiesEverAfter Until she's not]], after the world gets a little less crappy.]]

* Sanzo in ''{{Saiyuki}}'' displays no sexual interest or preferences, despite both the anime and manga going out of the way to show that he breaks every other vow he had to take as a Buddhist priest. WordofGod says that he does, indeed, maintain his vow of celibacy, not out of consideration for his Buddhist beliefs (he has none, despite his job) but because he dislikes being touched in "that way". In the ''Burial'' arc of the manga, it's shown that [[spoiler: the first people he ever killed intended to rape him]], and it's implied this wasn't an uncommon occurrence in his life, with his physical attractiveness inviting a lot of creepy attention. Sanzo rarely allows ''anyone'' to touch him at all, with varying levels of exception for his traveling companions, especially Goku.

* The Marvel/ Dynamite comics creation Comicbook/RedSonja. (As opposed to Robert E. Howard's original Russian sword-maiden of the same name.) Gang-raped to the point of death, Sonja was gifted with revenge by the god Mitra (or the goddes Scáthach, DependingOnTheWriter). So long as she "knew no man," Sonja could best almost any man alive in combat. To become her lover - and presumably destroy her gift - a man had to beat her in a fight - a task even ConanTheBarbarian found difficult, if not impossible, to do.

** Technically, Jedi aren't allowed to form romantic attachments. One-night stands are ok.

* Also from Lackey Tarma in the [[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Vows and Honor]] books is a Swordsworn, sworn to serve her people's Goddess as a warrior, notably in this case, rather then force her servants to torture themselves, the Goddess simply removes their ability to feel sexual desire entirely. This is particularly good for Tarma, who became Swordsworn in the aftermath of being [[RapeAsBackstory gang raped]] by the people who killed her clan.

* Every wizard on Literature/{{Discworld}} is ''expected'' to remain celibate; the official reason is that sex drains magic power. The actual reason is that the eighth son of a wizard will be a sourcerer, assuming the wizard was an eighth son. [[PersonOfMassDestruction And you really do not want to meet a sourcerer]].

** Also from Literature/{{Discworld}}, Granny Weatherwax. After all, she tamed that unicorn... which really shocked her friend Nanny Ogg and the revelation made Ridcully, her one time love interest, get rather soppy.
*** Note that Granny's celibacy has nothing to do with magic, as witches aren't subject to the same prohibitions as wizards.
*** Granny comes under the "Love is a distraction" heading, though it's a distraction from the pursuit of magic, so in a way her celibacy does have something to do with magic.

-->--'''Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi''', ''[[WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory Gandhi vs Martin Luther King Jr. Epic Rap Battles of History ]]''

->''"Oh, I see. No dating for the Franchise/{{Batman}} -- it might cut into your brooding time."''
-->--'''Franchise/WonderWoman''', ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]''

** Shepherd Book.