History Main / Lightworlder

* In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', the Ewoks are a lot weaker than humans, not just because they're small but also because Endor is a low-G moon. This shows up more in the Ewoks TV special/movie where a 30' giant appears and can move around without suffocating under its own weight.

* In Creator/FritzLeiber's Literature/ASpectreIsHauntingTexas the hero is from the Sack, an extension of a satellite inhabited by American and Russian scientists who chose independence after the collapse of Earth, which is in turn inhabited by actors and other hipsters who make a living providing entertainment to the scientists. The Sack-dwellers are divided into Thins, who are tall and skinny, or Fats who are short and fat, both due to low gravity.

* In Fritz Leiber's Literature/ASpectreIsHauntingTexas the hero is from the Sack, an extension of a satellite inhabited by American and Russian scientists who chose independence after the collapse of Earth, which is in turn inhabited by actors and other hipsters who make a living providing entertainment to the scientists. The Sack-dwellers are divided into Thins, who are tall and skinny, or Fats who are short and fat, both due to low gravity.

** The Longshnaks are a variety of abhumans (stable HumanSubspecies who diverged from baseline humanity as a result of natural evolution and/or ancient genetic engineering rather than Chaos corruption) descended from colonists who settled low-gravity worlds in the time of the ancient, advanced human civilization tens of thousands of years in the past. As a result, they became extremely tall, thin and delicate, to the point that they're unable to endure Earth-normal gravity or the rigors of a spaceships' takeoff -- most Longshanks are effectively stuck on their homeworlds, which is why they don't show up much.

* One of the Tau's subspecies in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is the Air Caste, Tau who crew the empire's spacefleet. As they have lived almost exclusively in a low-gravity environment for generations, they are described as having developed very fragile, lightly-built bodies. This may actually be an inversion; in some versions of the Tau backstory the tribes that became the Air Caste could fly under their own power even before the race moved into space and so has nothing to do with their environment.

* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'''s Covenant has two prominent light-worlders in its ranks. The Kig-Yar/Jackals hail from Eayn, which has 87.5% Earth's gravity. They are not physically strong or durable (being birdlike and thus likely having fragile skeletons doesn't help them either), relying on shields to protect them. However, even in Earth gravity they're pretty fast on their feet. Unggoy/Grunts come from Balaho, which has only 70.8% Earth's gravity, but are actually [[StoutStrength pretty strong]] judging by the weapons they've been seen carrying; in ''First Strike'' the ODST Cpl. Locklear has great difficulty hefting a [[{{BFG}} fuel rod cannon]] over his shoulder, while Grunts carry [=FRGs=] with no problem.
** Some of the Unggoys' strength might be due to their homeworld being a DeathWorld, with flame geysers and other hazards. This is also responsible for their [[ExplosiveBreeder rapid rate of reproduction]], to the point where contraceptive chemicals are put in their gas and food while offworld to prevent overcrowding.

** In the setting of ''The Integral Trees'' and ''The Smoke Ring'', the inhabitants of Integral Trees are somewhat taller and slimmer than Earth people, but they are strong, tough Heavyworlders compared to people from the rest of the Smoke Ring. The tidal forces acting on the trees provides at least a little simulated gravity, but everyone else grows up in zero-G. One character, often referred to as a "dwarf", actually has an Earth-normal build; he's described as "monstrously strong" and is the only person who can wear one of the original spacesuits.

* In ''[[Creator/IsaacAsimov The Gods Themselves]]'', Moonborn people have weaker bones, leading to [[CantHaveSexEver slight sexual incompatibility]] with Earth people. And due to the metabolism being about the same, they need constant exercises to keep their bodies under the proper strain. A human from Earth who comes to the Moon must spend at least a week every two months on Earth, unless he wants to become a permanent resident.

* Charlene Dula, a visiting gamer from ''[[Literature/DreamPark The Barsoom Project]]'', grew up in the orbital colony Falling Angels. Her elongated frame reminds people of a Tolkien elf, and she has a hard time with Earth gravity despite months of intensive exercise before coming to Earth.

* Inhabitants of Creator/LarryNiven's ''Integral Trees'' are somewhat taller and slimmer than Earth people, but they are strong, tough Heavyworlders compared to people from the rest of the ''Smoke Ring''. The tidal forces acting on the trees provides at least a little simulated gravity, but everyone else grows up in zero-G.
** One character, often referred to as a "dwarf", actually has an Earth-normal build; he's described as "monstrously strong" and is the only person who can wear one of the original spacesuits.
** There's also the planet "We Made It," whose homeworld has low gravity and such severe storms that everyone is forced to live underground. Its inhabitants are all tall, wiry, and albino -- basically the opposite of the Jinxians.

Ordinary humans who ''visit'' low-gravity planets, and [[NormalFishInATinyPond seem much stronger there than on Earth]], are a HumanityIsSuperior variant. (Although the humans themselves probably count as {{Heavyworlder}}s in such a case.) While this variant is common in vintage scifi, the natives of such worlds are seldom portrayed as skinny, fragile versions of this trope. That's probably because it makes for poor FanService if the DistressedDamsel rescued by the "incredibly strong" human hero makes [[WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}} Olive Oyl]] look like Creator/PamelaAnderson.

Ordinary humans who ''visit'' low-gravity planets, and [[NormalFishInATinyPond seem much stronger there than on Earth]], are a HumanityIsSuperior variant. (Although the humans themselves probably count as {{Heavyworlder}}s in such a case.) While this variant is common in vintage scifi, the natives of such worlds are seldom portrayed as skinny, fragile versions of this trope. That's probably because it makes for poor FanService if the DistressedDamsel rescued by the "incredibly strong" human hero makes Olive Oyl look like Pamela Anderson.

* Inverted in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' where Voluptua has said she is more fragile than she looks because Earth has higher gravity than her homeworld.

In reality, real-life astronauts who spend significant time in low-gravity situations rapidly suffer health problems, especially muscular and bone degeneration.

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* This is the reason why becoming an astronaut has such strict physical fitness requirements. Without artificial gravity, even a few months in space can cause bones to decay and muscles to atrophy, such that men and women who were healthy upon liftoff have trouble standing up under their own strength when they get home. People in space without artificial gravity have to strenuously work out and alter their diets to prevent this from happening; there's a reason why the International Space Station has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadmill_with_Vibration_Isolation_Stabilization a treadmill]] inside.
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* ''Series/TheExpanse'', the TV adaptation of the book series above.

* Belters in ''Literature/TheExpanse'' have long thin bones from the lack of gravity in the asteroids they inhabit. They have some trouble surviving on Earth for more than a few hours.

* ''Series/TheExpanse'' features residents of the asteroid belt who were born and grew up in low gravity. As a consequence without bone density enhancements they cannot survive for long on Earth, outside of special water flotation tanks.

* {{Creator/Filmation}}'s version of ''WesternAnimation/FlashGordon'' claims that Mongo's gravity is a bit lighter than Earth's, so humans are stronger there than on Earth. Flash mentions this to encourage Dale when she has to jump across a wide gap to safety.

Lightworlders are skinny, delicate people from low-gravity habitats, or orbital colonies without artificial gravity (see SpacePeople). They aren't nearly as common as their opposite, the {{Heavyworlder}}s, since such delicate creatures are unlikely to be BigDamnHeroes or {{Badass}}. Like their heavy-gravity counterparts, though, they may be either human or alien. Low-gravity characters are often female, fragility being more forgivable in women to many writers.

Lightworlders are skinny, delicate people from low-gravity habitats, or orbital colonies without artificial gravity (see SpacePeople). They aren't nearly as common as their opposite, the {{Heavyworlder}}s, since such delicate creatures are unlikely to be BigDamnHeroes or {{Badass}}. Like their heavy-gravity counterparts, though, they may be either human or alien.

Low-gravity characters are often female, fragility being more forgivable in women to many writers. TruthInTelevision here--astronauts on extended missions have been known to undergo growth spurts, long bones lengthening and the resultant bone is very, very brittle.

Lightworlders are skinny, delicate people from low-gravity habitats, or orbital colonies without artificial gravity (see SpacePeople)--aren't nearly as common as their opposite, the {{Heavyworlder}}s, as it's harder to portray your BigDamnHeroes as {{Badass}} if they're built like toothpicks. Like their heavy-gravity counterparts, though, they may be either human or alien.

Lightworlders are skinny, delicate humans from low-gravity habitats, or orbital colonies without artificial gravity (see SpacePeople) -- aren't nearly as common as their opposite, the {{Heavyworlder}}s, as it's harder to portray your BigDamnHeroes as {{Badass}} if they're built like toothpicks.

Low-gravity characters are often female, fragility being more forgivable in women to most writers. TruthInTelevision here -- astronauts on extended missions have been known to undergo growth spurts, long bones lengthening and the resultant bone is very, very brittle.

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