History Main / WouldntHitAGirl

* This trope is parodied in ''WebComic/{{Oglaf}}'' when [[BarbarianHero Kronar]]'s tribe is taken over by a sorceress. His attempts to drive her off with physical force are all easily evaded; he physically ''can't'' hit a girl. Later, when he encounters a hag [[HalfHumanHybrid born a half-man, half-woman]], Kronar is unable to land any attacks on them too.

** In another episode, when Mrs. Turner as [[ActionMom Mighty Mom]] faces one of the Nega Chin's allies, Brass Knuckle, he [[FamilyValuesVillain refuses to face her because he doesn't fight girls.[[labelnote:*]]Justified since he’s a villain from a [[ShowWithinAShow comic book for kids.]][[/labelnote]] She retorts with "I'm not a girl! I'm a soccer mom!" and hits him with soccer balls.

** In another episode, when Mrs. Turner as [[ActionMom Mighty Mom]] faces one of the Nega Chin's henchmen, he refuses to face her because he doesn't fight girls. She retorts with "I'm not a girl! I'm a soccer mom!" and hits him with soccer balls.

** In ''Avengers'' #1.1, ComicBook/TheWasp knocks out ComicBook/TheEnchantress while saying that the male Avengers would be too scared of seeming sexist to hit a female villain.

** ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlBatgirlPlot'': In contrast to his later characterization, Batman is reluctant to fight ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} because he does not want to hit a woman.

%%* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': ComicBook/TheThing explains [[http://www.comicvine.com/jean-grey/29-3552/earth-616-jeanphoenix/108-26/jean_grey1/105-1712956/ his predicament]] in a LetsYouAndHimFight with the ComicBook/XMen. (Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples)

* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'': After [[DoubleAgent Victoria Hand]] has pissed off the Avengers thanks to her actions nearly resulting in ComicBook/{{Mockingbird}}'s death, we get this lovely dialogue:
-->'''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}:''' If there's one thing I hate, it's hittin' a dame.\\
''[cue ComicBook/{{Mockingbird}}, who has recently gained super strength, decking Hand without warning]''\\

* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': There have been times when ComicBook/MaryMarvel has been invaluable in this situation.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'': In volume 3 #20, [[Franchise/WonderWoman Diana]] ticks off Literature/{{Beowulf}}, and he attacks her. After she punches him in the face, Beowulf apologizes and says that he doesn't fight women. Then they see Grendel's worshippers approaching, and Diana asks him if he ever fights ''beside'' women. Cue the pair readying themselves for battle.

* ''Film/BatmanReturns'': When Batman and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} are fighting for the first time, she pummels him and he refuses to counterattack -- for a moment. When finally he does punch her out, she whimpers, "How could you? I'm a ''woman!''" Immediately contrite, Batman moves to help her up... and she knocks him off the rooftop. "As I was saying, I'm a woman, and can't be taken for granted!" In later encounters, Batman has learnt his lesson and does hit her.

** In the episode "[[Recap/BurnNoticeS1E7BrokenRules Broken Rules]]", [[spoiler:Fiona and Michael get into a fight. While Michael hits back, he apologizes when he lands blows and is clearly being entirely defensive in his approach.]] There's also the complicating factor that Michael and Fiona [[spoiler:are in love with each other]].

* ''The Adventures of Batman & Robin'', made by Creator/{{Konami}} and released on the SNES in 1994. In ComicBook/PoisonIvy's level, Batman has to fight his way through female mooks, and the game is designed in such a way as to not allow him to beat them up, only incapacitate them with some sort of gas.

* ''VideoGame/JumpForce'': Just like in his home series, Sanji refuses to fight any female oponent, which in-game means he's an absolute sitting duck when there's a female opponent, as all his attacks turn into hearts that cause no damage. To a minor degree [[Manga/CityHunter Ryo Saeba]] turns into an ApologeticAttacker when he faces a female oponent, but his throw changes: he tries to cop a feel, only to get hit from a hammer thrown off-screen at him.

* Though it's just flavor text, in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', if the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] and ComicBook/SheHulk are facing each other, the Hulk will grouse that he doesn't like hitting girls. Considering She-Hulk is his cousin, Hulk probably wouldn't like hitting her in any case.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SuperBestFriendsForever'', Solomon Grundy refuses to fight ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, and ComicBook/WonderGirl for this very reason. They try to persuade him otherwise, but he still refuses. Finally, they decide that even though he refuses to fight them, that doesn't mean they can't fight him and proceed to beat the crap out of him. Solomon Grundy is left to seriously reconsider his stance.
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': For some reason, Tom will stop chasing Jerry if he disguises himself as a girl, presumably because of this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': in the episode "Loyalty to the King", Finn is unable to bring himself to punch Lumpy Space Princess, even when she asks him to in order to smooth her lumps out.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'':

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}} Drugs & Dominoes'' features a humorous scene in which the Gandor brothers, a PowerTrio of NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters, try to figure out a way to punish a waitress from one of their speakeasies for breaking one of their [[TheMafia family's]] rules. They can't just pardon her, but they have very strong opinions on the subject of violence against women: "Raising a hand against a woman is the worst!" The final solution is to force on her a (rather nice) TraumaticHaircut, at which point Claire wonders how they can [[NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters even bother calling themselves Mafia]].

** {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''High School Boys and Seniority''. Motoharu doesn't hit his sister's classmates that are bullying him... not because they're girls, but because they're [[SempaiKohai senior to him]].

Action heroes (or villains) who invoke this trope even though they face female opponents find various ways to get around it. At minimum, they'll make a quip along the lines of "I don't hit ladies, [[NoTrueScotsman but you're no lady]]" before they start to fight back. They might try to find creative ways to [[ToWinWithoutFighting defeat her nonviolently]], perhaps through [[GuileHero trickery]]; they might try to [[MartialPacifist minimize the necessary violence]] by using grapples or pressure point attacks rather than actual blows, or [[DefeatByModesty tearing off their clothes]]; or they might [[TechnicalPacifist get off on a technicality]] by [[CombatPragmatist doing something that indirectly results in physical harm]] to the female opponent without actually striking or firing a weapon against her. In supernatural settings, the problem may be resolved by the male character temporarily [[GenderBender turning into a woman (or the enemy into a man)]], voluntarily or not, thus freeing him from a gentleman's obligations toward the fairer sex. Alternatively, the woman may become a OneWingedAngel so the man isn't even fighting a ''[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman human]]'', much less a woman, anymore; think Maleficent's [[ScaledUp transformation into a dragon]] at the end of ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''. In team stories, this often leads to the DesignatedGirlFight, where female members of heroic teams always seem to end up being the ones who take on the female villains. Sometimes hitting a female opponent can be tolerated if it quickly and efficiently knocks her out of the fight, allowing the male characters to freely engage in heavy fighting against each other.

* ''Manga/TimeStopBrave'': Kuzuno Sekai refuses to harm girls, even if they are demons who have killed innocents. He uses other tactics like tying them up, [[DefeatByModesty stripping them naked]], and/or groping them. He does give three witches a spanking on the butt until they were incapacitated by pain as payback for trying to kill him.

Action heroes (or villains) who invoke this trope even though they face female opponents find various ways to get around it. At minimum, they'll make a quip along the lines of "I don't hit ladies, [[NoTrueScotsman but you're no lady]]" before they start to fight back. They might try to find creative ways to [[ToWinWithoutFighting defeat her nonviolently]], perhaps through [[GuileHero trickery]]; they might try to [[MartialPacifist minimize the necessary violence]] by using grapples or pressure point attacks rather than actual blows, or [[DefeatByModesty tearing off their clothes]]; or they might [[TechnicalPacifist get off on a technicality]] by [[CombatPragmatist doing something that indirectly results in physical harm]] to the female opponent without actually striking or firing a weapon against her. In supernatural settings, the problem may be resolved by the male character temporarily [[GenderBender turning into a woman (or the enemy into a man)]], voluntarily or not, thus freeing him from a gentleman's obligations toward the fairer sex. Alternatively, the woman may become a OneWingedAngel so the man isn't even fighting a ''[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman human]]'', much less a woman, anymore; think Maleficent's [[ScaledUp transformation into a dragon]] at the end of ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''. In team stories, this often leads to the DesignatedGirlFight, where female members of heroic teams always seem to end up being the ones who take on the female villains.

Due to {{Media Watchdog}}s, this trope is often quietly applied without being explicitly invoked, especially in cartoons and other media aimed at children (like in the ''Sleeping Beauty'' example mentioned above). This is often noticeable even when feeling obligated by the trope would seem completely out of character, or when the overall message of the work seems to undermine the whole "women are weak and need protection" idea that forms the justification for the trope. Sure, the work never says or implies that the female characters' combat skills are [[PurelyAestheticGender in any way different from their male counterparts']], but somehow by ''[[ContrivedCoincidence pure coincidence]]'' the token female team member is always the one who ends up fighting the female villains. Even if DesignatedGirlFight is averted, a female combatant will very often unleash improbable dodging abilities and/or superior fighting skills that prevent her male opponent from even touching her, or at least landing any blow [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished that would mess up her face too badly]].

* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'': As much of a bully Gian is to Nobita and Suneo, he is usually reluctant to hurt girls and is a [[BigBrotherInstinct protective older brother]] towards his little sister. [[SubvertedTrope However]], he does pick on girls somtimes (mostly through coercion, teasing, or taking their things), going as far as to threaten them with physical violence on rare occasions. Even ClassPrincess Shizuka, who is one of the few people to have [[MoralityPet successfully talked him out of bullying]] (if only temporarily), is visibly scared of him when he gets angry. With that said, he almost never actually follows up on those threats.

* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'': As much of a bully Gian is to Nobita and Suneo, he is usually reluctant to hit girls and is a [[BigBrotherInstinct protective older brother]] towards his little sister. [[SubvertedTrope However]], he does pick on girls (mostly through coercion, teasing, or taking their things) sometimes, on rare occasions going as far as to threaten them with physical violence. Even ClassPrincess Shizuka is visibly scared of him when he gets angry. With that said, he almost never actually follows up on those threats.

* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'': As much of a bully Gian is to Nobita and Suneo, he will ''never'' pick on Shizuka or his little sister.

** Variations on this trope come up a couple of times. ''The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung Cart Knight'', an adaptation of Creator/ChretienDeTroyes's ''The Knight of the Cart'', features a girl with a sword who has to cope both with the fact that she's about eleven and that she's female in terms of getting taken seriously. Although people not taking her seriously is the only reason she survives the book, given that all she ever gets trained to do is quickdraw.

** Rand al'Thor is the most prominent example. He refuses to harm a woman even if she's an immortal agent of UltimateEvil and trying to kill him using legendary [[BlackMagic magical powers]]. He also goes out of his way to avoid putting women in danger, which upsets his Amazonian bodyguards immensely. In fact, Rand has memorized the name or identifying characteristic of ''every woman'' who died because of him or while in his service. He once goes into a HeroicBSOD after a woman who tried to steal his throne and betray him commits suicide. ''The Gathering Storm'' suggests that his behavior is the result of his growing insanity, which magnifies his chivalrous upbringing.

* ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'': In one episode, the Thing says that he can't hit a lady when he meets Malice. It doesn't take her long to convince him that she ain't no lady. Since Malice is BrainwashedAndCrazy and has no compunctions about how she uses her forcefield powers, she shuts Ben down real quick.

* In ''Literature/TheGoblinEmperor'', Maia's cousin Setheris regularly beat him up as a child. When they travel to court and Maia shows Hesero, Setheris's wife, his scars, she's ''shocked'' -- he never raised a hand against ''her'', and she had no idea he could be so abusive.

* Sarge of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', despite his usual willingness to shoot or hit anything Blue (or Grif). In ''[[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Reconstruction]]'', when the only blue soldier left in Blood Gulch is Sister, Sarge insists that he can't attack Sister because she's a woman, and thus they are locked in an "epic stalemate". During the "fight" against Tex, we get this little exchange.

* Though it's just flavor text, in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', if the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk and ComicBook/SheHulk are facing each other, the Hulk will grouse that he doesn't like hitting girls. Considering She-Hulk is his cousin, Hulk probably wouldn't like hitting her in any case.

*** In the [[Recap/NarutoInvasionOfPainArc Invasion of Pain arc]], when he's ForcedToWatch [[BerserkButton Pain stab Hinata]], he [[FreakOut instantly]] activates his six-tailed state for the first time ever, mercilessly attacks Pain with everything he has, transforms to his [[UpToEleven eight-tailed state]], and [[DespairEventHorizon almost releases the Nine-Tails]]. Throughout that fight against Pain, Naruto manages to '''not''' harm Hinata any further or even come close to killing her, even though he's in his six-tailed and eight-tailed states and his seal is a lot weaker. Naruto even becomes very worried that he might have killed Hinata when he was under the control of the Nine-Tails, and [[ManlyTears he cries]] [[TearsOfJoy in relief]] when he learns that he didn't.

* Taken UpToEleven and subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}}''. At the beginning of the game, all creatures refuse to hit the PlayerCharacter because she's a defenseless [[RuleOfCute cute]] girl. Even if you bump into them, neither side suffers CollisionDamage. However, the moment you pick up the sword, they attack with impunity.

** ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlBatgirlPlot'': In contrast to his usual characterization, Batman is reluctant to fight ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} because he does not want to hit a woman.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': It's fortunate for Metropolis that most of Superman's opponents are male, since whenever he fights a woman, he gets slapped around a lot because he can't be shown striking her, even when she's clearly powerful enough to take one of his punches. He'll restrain her or attack her in an indirect fashion (like pouring water on Livewire), or a female superhero will step in (often after he's been dropped) and beat the villainess up for him.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': During the battle tournament event of [[Recap/MyHeroAcademiaSportsFestivalArc the U.A. Sports Festival]], a school event that is not gender-segregated, some interesting and varying battle tactics were developed: Male Denki Kaminari attempts to electrocute female Ibara Shiozaki with his Quirk, but she quickly averts this with her Quirk, Vines; female Mina Ashido pretty much creams male Yuga Aoyama, ending with an uppercut; male Tokoyami concentrates his Dark Shadow on female Momo Yaoyurozou's shield; female Mei Hatsume tricks male Tenya into using one of her support items to constrain him, but makes herself lose, letting him win anyways; and male Katsuki Bakugo injures female Ochaco Uraraka with his explosions, even though the audience believes that he is being too rough on her. All in all, most of the male against female battles aren't too violent on each other.

Sanji does point a gun at Nico Robin on one occasion, but admits that it was a reflex to protect Vivi. He's also willing to block and counter blows from women, e.g Kalifa, Arbell (filler), and even goddamn Yonko Big Mom. The only time where Sanji, or at least a part of him, attacks a woman is in [[Recap/OnePieceThrillerBarkArc Thriller Bark]], where his shadow is put in the zombie penguin Inuppe by Gecko Moria. At first, Inuppe is unwilling to hurt Nami and protects her. However, Sanji's shadow soon forgets itself and mercilessly kicks down Robin when fighting her, to the shock of Chopper, who had been counting on using Sanji's chivalry to beat his shadow. It's quite brutal and jarring.\\\