History Main / UnmanlySecret

* ''Anime/HeartcatchPrecure'': After Itsuki's big brother suffers a CareerEndingInjury, she attempts to present a strong image so that she can properly take his place as HeirToTheDojo, which includes [[{{Bifauxnen}} dressing like a boy]] and attempting to hide her strong love of cute things. Ironically, when we actually ''meet'' Satsuki he [[LongHairedPrettyBoy looks]] and [[SilkHidingSteel acts]] more like a YamatoNadeshiko than the paragon of manliness Itsuki made him out to be, has zero issue squeeing over cute things himself, and is deeply confused by Itsuki's behaviour. Eventually when Satsuki is transformed into a MonsterOfTheWeek and Itsuki becomes [[MagicalGirlWarrior Cure Sunshine]] in order to save him, the great strength of her MagicalGirl form [[GirlyBruiser comes hand-in-hand with girlishness]], which comes as a shock to her system that leads her to gradually become more comfortable with that side of herself again.

* In ''WebAnimation/DragonShortZ'' "[[Recap/DragonShortZE1 Two and a Half Saiyans]]" Vegeta is horrified when Nappa tries to post a video or photo of the moment Vegeta let his guard down and had a sweet moment doting over his son, the sleeping baby Trunks, to social media. To the point of attempting to fight Nappa and even throwing [[KamehameHadoken a Galick Gun beam attack]] at him.

** {{Zigzagg|ingtrope}}ed with Binky Barnes. When his character first starts developing not manly interests, he tries to hide them, but then gets found out anyway. Though some people try to make a big deal of it at first, his perceived fierceness and reputation as a bully allows him to quell any teasing or bullying simply by growls, posturing and [[DeathGlare death glares]]. In later seasons, he still sometimes tries to hide it, but just as often is open about it. In Season 15's "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," he doesn't care one bit that his friends in the Tough Customers gang know that he's going to be performing a clarinet solo, but is terribly afraid that one of them might find out that he still sometimes holds his mother's hand. When they do find out anyway, they chew him out... for not having a juicier, more embarrassing secret!

* The last twist in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheAlienInvaders''. The gang is suspicious about the mechanic who's supposed to be fixing the Mystery Machine as he's extremely rude towards them and very secretive, and they find alone out in the desert when he's supposed to be working on the van. [[spoiler: He ends up being a RedHerring, but they're still curious as to what he was doing in the desert, so they decide to ask. Reluctantly, he reveals that he's been collecting and pressing wild desert flowers. He then explains he doesn't like to tell people about it because if they find out he has a soft side, they would walk all over him.]]

* The ''VideoGame/AtelierSeries'':

* ''VideoGame/CardCityNights2'': The Idun card, depicting the ''VideoGame/PsyCard'' character, notes how her stoicism is a facade:
--> Puts on a stoic act to hide her true personality. Spends her [=PsyCard=] tournament winnings on bespoke fancy dresses.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

* ''Super Heroine Boy'''s Wataru Ooiwa, over time, becomes a big fan of ''[[MagicalGirl Alice Girls Shiny Heart]]''. He's fine telling people who are already in the know about it, but the rest of the world is no-go. It doesn't hurt that he's a scary delinquent, which also dampens his love for the cutesy magical series.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series:

* ''WebOriginal/VesterAndFriends'' has Bowser watching kid shows on his Ipad. It always gets embarrassing for him when the others see him on his Ipad.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', Hiccup tries to hide his secret about Toothless from Astrid with an EmbarrassingCoverup:

* ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia'': Skel secretly wears dresses he anonymously orders from Linde in his free time and roleplays as an elven princess.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''
** Zigzagged with Hubert and his fanboy-ish interests. In some cases, he has no problems debating canon with other characters. But when Sophie catches him playing with "Beach Brigade" toys, he tells her that the Beach Brigade is a branch of the Strahtan military dedicated to waterfront protection.
** One of the [[FetchQuest fetch quests]] for the Inn Requests involves a "Young Man" who wants an item called the Feather Badge, but says he's embarrassed even saying the name and when you turn in the request, he says to be quiet about it, and that no one must know.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''

* In ''[[VideoGame/AtelierTotoriTheAdventurerOfArland Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland]]'', Hagel doesn't like anyone to know that he designs and sews his own outfits. "You gotta keep it a secret, kiddo!"
* In ''[[VideoGame/AtelierMeruruTheApprenticeOfArland Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland]]'', Rufus, the uptight castle butler who is sparse with his praise has a secret love of sweets -- pies, etc. At least, he'd like to believe it's secret. Meruru has known about it "forever," but that doesn't stop him from trying to hide it anyway.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Donnie Dunagan was the youngest-ever Marine drill instructor, served three tours in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. He is also a FormerChildStar perhaps best known for voicing the title character in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}''. He understandably kept this a secret during his military career, but has opened up about it since retiring.
[[/folder]]

* Zigzagged with Saguaro in ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet''. No one comments on the fact that he wears a pink shirt and an apron with cute patches on it, or the fact that his team (as shown in post-game fights) mostly consists of [[BadassAdorable typically cutesy and/or female-only species]]. However, he ''does'' actively hide the fact that he likes sweets, since the students view him as a tough guy who must love spicy food, and he doesn't want to ruin their image of him.