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| 2 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16784425200.63773500 |
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| 5 | [[quoteright:350:[[Music/SClub7 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s_club_seven_4.png]]]] |
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| 7 | Until the mid-20th century, bare midriffs were mostly seen as obscene in Western culture. TheSixties 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. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Since men are allowed to [[ShirtlessScene show their entire upper body]] without the work getting an R rating, it's rare to see a male character wearing a midriff-baring shirt. When he does so, it's usually an indicator that he's CampGay, CampStraight, a {{Crossdresser}}, or InTouchWithHisFeminineSide. This can overlap with ManInABikini when PlayedForLaughs or for FanDisservice. When a PrettyBoy wears this kind of clothing, it can easily lead to ViewerGenderConfusion. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | 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; the PomPomGirl 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 in other non-fanservice contexts. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | 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, has the bandages cover the midriff and bare the chest, but on a woman, it's the other way around, making it resemble a tube top, a feminine upper body garment. This trope can even be applied to [[ChainmailBikini women in armor]], despite that exposing the midriff would leave some vital organs unprotected. A {{Fembot}} will often be painted with darker colors around the chest and hips but lighter around the waist to emulate the bare midriff look. 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. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | When a culture is portrayed as "exotic" or "primitive", with different nudity taboos from Western civilization, such as 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 unfortunate implications of exotification and sexualization of non-European cultures, such as {{Orientalism}}. BedlahBabe is specifically when Middle Eastern women are portrayed in midriff-baring outfits. Similarly, 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. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Subtrope of GenderedOutfit. See TertiarySexualCharacteristics for other visual indicators of femininity and masculinity, and DressesGownsAndSkirts for other feminine clothing. {{Underboobs}} will occur if this trope is taken to the extreme. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Note: a character simply wearing a midriff-baring outfit is Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs. Please explain with every example how it ties into said character's femininity, either by contrasting them to more masculine characters or by describing their [[FemininityTropes stereotypically feminine traits]]. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!Examples |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 26 | * ''Anime/AppareRanman'': Xiaoleng wears an outfit that exposes her midsection and she's notably the only female racer. Xiaoleng fought against Gil's female goon with knives who also bare her belly (and her gangs' snake tattoo). |
| 27 | * ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'': In the first season, Runo and Julie, two of the three female brawlers in the main cast, wear crop tops, while [[ProperLady Alice]] and the boys don't. The more feminine and emotional Julie continues to wear crop tops in the following two seasons, while the more tomboyish Runo doesn't continue the trend. On one occasion, Julie mentions that she is proud of doing this. |
| 28 | * ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'': An InvokedTrope on the cover of Chapter 170 with [[MasculineGirlFeminineBoy Kyuu and Legoshi]] as seen [[https://beastars.fandom.com/wiki/Chapter_170_(Beastars) here]]. On it both both of them are doing pull-ups in identical white tops with red pants, but while [[ChasteHero Kyuu]] was already in either a white crop top or bra, [[MrFanservice Legoshi]], who is already InTouchWithHisFeminineSide, not only invokes but [[InvertedTrope inverts]] this trope due to wanting to be [[MenAreTough tougher]], wears a white tank top that he tied up exposing his [[FemaleGaze furry abs]]. |
| 29 | * ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': Revy is TheLadette and the only female on the Lagoon Company, and her default outfit is a tank-top that exposes her navel. |
| 30 | * PlayedWith in ''Anime/CometLucifer''. The non-child female character of the main group, Kaon, wears an outfit which prominently features [[PinkMeansFeminine pink]] and shows off her belly, but she is more of a {{Shorttank}}, even calling herself a tomboy in one episode. All the male characters have their midsections covered in contrast. |
| 31 | * ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': The two female members of the Bebop crew both wear midriff-baring tops. [[MsFanservice Faye]]'s is a knot-up shirt over a small halter top that also accentuates her breasts; [[{{Hackette}} Ed]]'s is a loose-fitting tank top. By contrast, the two male crew members Spike and Jet both wear full shirts. |
| 32 | * ''Manga/DeadRock'': Frey and Mikoto are two of the main female characters among the cast and they show their midriffs in casual clothes (Frey a bikini top and Mikoto a NavelDeepNeckline), while male characters wear normal shirts, or are shirtless like Raizen. |
| 33 | * ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'': Zoe Orimoto is the only female in the group and her outfit has her navel on display throughout the entire series and even carries over into her Digimon forms. Ranamon, the only other female among the Legendary Warriors, also bares her midriff in both her forms. |
| 34 | * ''Anime/DigimonUniverseAppMonsters'': Eri Karan is the only female App Driver and she wears two different outfits that shows off her midriff. Notably in summer season Haru and the other male App Drivers only exposed their limbs. |
| 35 | * ''Anime/DinosaurKing'': Zoe, the only girl in the main trio, wears a midriff-baring shirt, although a few episodes set in colder climates show that her shirt is full-length, she just rolls up the bottom to show her midriff. Ursula, the only female of the Alpha Gang trio, has a NavelWindow instead. |
| 36 | * ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': |
| 37 | ** Heles, the Goddess of Destruction of Universe 2, wears a golden top that leaves her midsection exposed, unlike all the other (male) Gods of Destruction, who are shirtless. |
| 38 | ** Caulifla wears a tube top and Kale a belly-shirt, and they are the only female Saiyans in the Tournament of Power. |
| 39 | * ''Manga/EdensZero'': Some of Rebecca Bluegarden's outfits leave her midriff bare, adding to her image as a feminine GamerChick who loves fashion and cats and usually wears GirlishPigtails. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/FairyTail'': |
| 41 | ** Among the members of the Strongest Team Lucy is the most [[TrueBlueFemininity feminine of the girls, which her white and blue outfits emphasize]], and frequently wears outfits which bare her midriff, most notably her standard X791 outfit. |
| 42 | ** Erza Scarlet more or less zig-zags this trope as she is a TomboyWithAGirlyStreak and tends to be bare midriffed every now and then. Her most prominent belly-baring outfits are her Heaven's Wheel Armor and her Clear Heart Clothing. |
| 43 | ** All three female members of the Spriggan 12 wear midriff-baring outfits. The males either have their torsos covered, wear a single-shoulder kasaya, or are shirtless. |
| 44 | * ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Paired with their slender figure, long hair, and boyish voice, Envy's crop top and skirt outfit make [[AmbiguousGender their gender a lot more ambiguous]] than the obviously masculine Sloth, Pride, Wrath, Greed, and Gluttony. |
| 45 | * ''Anime/GargantiaOnTheVerdurousPlanet'': Most of the female cast let their midriff show, more often than the men go shirtless. While it's justified for their SultryBellyDancer outfits and for their swimwear, they also tend to wear crop tops as their casual clothing, with the exception of the straight-laced Ridget. |
| 46 | * ''Anime/{{Gibiate}}'': The outfits Kathleen and Ayame wear bare their midriffs, and they're the two most prominent female characters. In contrast, the male characters males wear modest clothing. |
| 47 | * ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'': Matako Kijima is the only woman in the Kiheitai. While the men either have their torsos fully covered or wear a slightly open kimono, Matako wears a [[PinkMeansFeminine pink]] outfit which leaves her midriff bare. |
| 48 | * [[PerkyGoth Satomi Kanohara]] from ''Anime/GodzillaSingularPoint'' wears a crop top under her Otaki Factory jacket, which combined with her low-rise jeans, shows off nearly her entire abdomen. She also happens to be the only female employee at Otaki. |
| 49 | * Farangis from ''Literature/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'' bares her midriff and is an elegant and composed LadyOfWar. This contrasts the male members of Arslan's group and the tomboyish Alfarid. |
| 50 | * ''Manga/InterspeciesReviewers'': While most of the townswomen wear normal outfits, the "[[TheOldestProfession working girls]]" of various brothels almost always bare their midriffs. From the will-o'-wisps that never wear a stitch, to the nekomimi in the cathouse, these pleasure girls often show off their toned tummies; otherwise, their outfits rise only to nipple height and no further. Contrasted by barmaid Meidri, whose uniform covers her collarbones to her knees, and everything in between: she serves only food and drinks, no cloaca. |
| 51 | * ''Manga/IwaKakeruSportClimbingGirls'': The girls wear tank tops that expose their flat stomachs while climbing, and most of them are feminine yet athletic. The only male climber in the series wears a regular shirt. |
| 52 | * ''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 female characters like [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Jolyne Cujoh]] and Trish Una also bare their midriff, but even then they're [[{{Tomboy}} more masculine]] than some of the men they are surrounded by. |
| 53 | * ''Anime/{{Kiba}}'': |
| 54 | ** Roya cements her status as the main female character with her outfit, which bares her midriff to an almost impossible degree, and her [[WaterIsWomanly water-based]] spirit. |
| 55 | ** Molima is the only female member among the [[EliteFour four ministers]] of Tusk, and her outfit exposes her abdomen while the male members have their torsos covered. |
| 56 | * ''Anime/TheMagnificentKotobuki'': Zara is the only member of her squadron who bares her midriff in her default outfit, and she's easily the most feminine and the resident MsFanservice. |
| 57 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 58 | ** Out of the four girls of the Konoha 12, Ino Yamanaka is the most feminine, with her having [[LongHairIsFeminine the longest hair]] and not being subtle about [[BuxomBeautyStandard her figure]]. While she initially subverts the trope by covering her belly with a sarashi, her post-timeskip appearance has her ditch the sarashi and leave her abdomen on full display. With the exception of her uniform during the Fourth Shinobi World War, her midriff is almost always bared afterwards, even after she becomes a mother. |
| 59 | ** In the ''Itachi Shinden'' series, the sole female squad member of Itachi's team, Shinko Inari, wears a crop top. The male members all have their torsos completely covered. |
| 60 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 61 | ** Nami frequently wears midriff-baring outfits, which add to her femininity alongside her [[WaterIsWomanly water motifs]], [[LongHairIsFeminine long hair]] post-timeskip, and love for children, shopping, and fashion. |
| 62 | ** Perona's first outfit has a cropped blouse that exposes her stomach and which, aside of complimenting her gothic lolita look, communicates her feminine and childish personality. After the time-skip, however, she wears a full dress, which shows how much she's matured over the years. |
| 63 | * ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'': |
| 64 | ** There are a couple of instances where the guys in the Host Club have {{Imagine Spot}}s where Haruhi is in a frilly bikini, which is ''far'' more blatantly feminine than [[{{Tomboy}} how she normally dresses]] and something she wouldn't be caught dead wearing to begin with. |
| 65 | ** "[[Recap/OuranHighSchoolHostClubE7JunglePoolSOS Jungle Pool SOS]]" is set in a tropical environment, but Haruhi is wearing shorts and a hooded shirt. In sharp contrast, when Renge shows up, rather than the long flowing dress she normally wears, she's wearing a bikini. She also has strange markings on her belly; when Hikaru and Kaoru ask about them, she comments that she's cosplaying as [[Anime/RahXephon Quon Kisaragi]]. |
| 66 | ** In "[[Recap/OuranHighSchoolHostClubE13HaruhiInWonderland Haruhi in Wonderland]]", part of the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' homage includes the Nekozawa siblings picking and eating mushrooms growing under Kyouya, who is the caterpillar. The mushroom Kirimi eats causes her to [[PlotRelevantAgeUp age up from elementary school-age into a teenager]]; her shirt doesn't grow with her, so it goes from completely covering her to fully exposing her midriff. |
| 67 | * ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'': |
| 68 | ** Panty Anarchy wears a crop top or sports bra in almost every single episode, including her outfit worn in the transformation sequences and is a flirty and very promiscuous character that wants to have sex with every good looking male she meets. |
| 69 | ** Scanty and Kneesocks also do this in the transformation sequences and due to the ArtShift it shows off their full figures and femininity. |
| 70 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': |
| 71 | ** Out of the original lead trio, the male Ash and Brock wear T-shirts, but [[{{shorttank}} Misty]] wears a crop top. |
| 72 | ** Jessie and James of [[TerribleTrio Team Rocket]] wear nearly identical outfits, but James's undershirt goes all the way down to his waist whereas Jessie's is a crop top. |
| 73 | ** Annie and Oakley from ''Anime/PokemonHeroes'' stand out for their night outfits that consist of skintight, halterneck crop tops that expose their midsections, and are very feminine (they even leave a signature card with lipstick). |
| 74 | ** Shirataki from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' is the only kunoichi in the Kantonian Gym, and her pink uniform bares her midriff. |
| 75 | * ''Manga/RaveMaster'': |
| 76 | ** Elie and Julia are the sole female members of the main squad for a large portion of the series, and both wear midriff-baring outfits. |
| 77 | ** Celia is a feminine mermaid princess who always wears a bikini top, exposing her midriff. |
| 78 | ** Renard wears a bikini-top and is the only major female member of the Blue Guardians. |
| 79 | ** Out of the Demon Lords, Jiero is the only woman and wears a midriff-baring outfit that is basically a bikini. |
| 80 | ** Clea was the only woman of her team and also, the only one whose battle attire revealed the midriff. |
| 81 | ** Unlike the male sorcerers who wear regular shirts, Hilde wears a bikini top that exposes her midriff. |
| 82 | * ''Anime/ReleaseTheSpyce'': The members of Tsukikage all wear ninja outfits that expose the midsection and they're pretty feminine. |
| 83 | * ''Manga/ResidentEvilHeavenlyIsland'': Claire and Inéz both wear midriff baring outfits due to the hot weather there. Pretty much every one of the models wear two piece bathing suits, in fact. Marilou Mabou seems to be the only female who isn't wearing a midriff baring outfit. |
| 84 | * ''Anime/SamuraiSeven'' features the water priestess Kirara, who is an elegant YamatoNadeshiko and her midriff is bare. Of course, so are some of the other women of her village. |
| 85 | * ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'': |
| 86 | ** Elizabeth is a feminine princess and Meliodas hires her as a waitress at his bar, making her wear a midriff-baring attire for the job. |
| 87 | ** Galla from ''Anime/TheSevenDeadlySinsTheMoviePrisonersOfTheSky'' is the only female of the Six Black Knights, and she dresses like a BedlahBabe. |
| 88 | ** From the sequel ''Manga/FourKnightsOfTheApocalypse'', Anne. After joining Percival's team, she changes her dress for an outfit with a midriff-baring shirt. On the other hand, her male teammates wear regular shirts. |
| 89 | ** Also from the sequel is Elva, who styles her hair into GirlishPigtails, is the only female member of her troupe, and also the only member with a midriff-baring outfit. |
| 90 | * ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'': |
| 91 | ** Zakuro Fujiwara is the most elegant and glamorous of the Mews, since she works as a fashion model and stands out as the only team member with a midriff-baring MagicalGirl outfit. |
| 92 | ** Feminine PrettyBoy Quiche wears a short-sleeved shirt that exposes his stomach. |
| 93 | * ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Lum is a girly AlienPrincess and her IconicOutfit is a tiger-print bikini that reveals her midriff. |
| 94 | * ''Manga/WelcomeToDemonSchoolIrumaKun'': Elizabetta Ix's CustomUniform has the midsection removed so her midriff shows and she's easily the most feminine among the females of the Misfit Class. |
| 95 | * ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Tea Gardner has several outfits that show her stomach, including on the final story arc, and she's the most prominent female human character. Mai Valentine's OfCorsetsSexy shows her navel and she's the most prominent MsFanservice in the series. |
| 96 | [[/folder]] |
| 97 | |
| 98 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 99 | * ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'': Kendra Saunders, the third Hawkgirl, bares her midsection both as a hero and in casual clothes, which contrasts with Carter Hall's shirtless look. |
| 100 | * Among the PowerTrio of ''ComicBook/JosieAndThePussyCats'', who wear leopard print leotards on stage, it's the wiggly-jiggly-giggly Melody whose outfit has no cloth between her ribcage and pelvic bones. While Josie and Valerie aren't masculine by any measure, Melody is [[MsFanservice a full-on boy magnet given to wearing the skimpiest outfits]]. |
| 101 | * ''ComicBook/LesNombrils'': True to the title, most of the outfits the three protagonists wear show their belly-buttons. Vicky and Jenny start out as a pair of shallow {{Alpha Bitch}}es who are a poor influence on Karine. Karine stops using so many midriff revealing clothes after she gets a makeover and learns to stand up for herself. |
| 102 | * In ''ComicBook/TheOrder2007'', every female member of the team (and no men) has a midriff-baring costume of some type. Justified since the team are celebrities given temporary superpowers, and the comic was conceived in the 2000s when such looks were practically mandatory for any female celebrity under thirty. |
| 103 | * ''ComicBook/StargirlDCComics'': The Star Spangled Kid outfit Courtney Whitmore found was a full-body suit; the same as all Starman incarnations. One of the ways the rather feminine Courtney modified it for herself was to make the top bare her midriff, something that is consistent in all continuities she appears in. She often wears crop-tops in her civilian life too. She once justified it to S.T.R.I.P.E. by noting that it sometimes [[DistractedByTheSexy distracted male opponents]], and on at least one occasion, encouraged Supergirl to bare her midriff for the same reason. |
| 104 | * ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'': Delilah Blue is a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Zeltron]], the main female character of Volume 1, and almost all of her outfits show her midriff. She's actually annoyed at having to cover up. |
| 105 | * ''ComicBook/SunfireAndBigHero6'': Out of the two girls of the eponymous team, Honey Lemon wears a revealing crop top, and she's [[TheHeart the most caring and compassionate team member]] who fights by conjuring wormholes out of her purse. By contrast, the more tomboyish and hotheaded [=GoGo=] Tomago prefers physical combat and wears a PoweredArmor that covers her midriff, and so do the male members of the team. |
| 106 | * ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s outfit is similar to ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s but with a few feminine twists. This included a bare midriff in the [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Post-Crisis comics]] until the New 52 reboot, as well as in some of [[Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse her animated adaptations]]. |
| 107 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'': |
| 108 | ** Many of [[Characters/MarvelComicsEmmaFrost Emma Frost's]] outfits expose her midsection, and she's confident in her looks, seductive and very much feminine, which contrasts greatly with other X-Men girls who wear more modest uniforms. |
| 109 | ** [[ComicBook/NewMutants Boom-Boom's]] most commonly seen outfits are crop-tops, which serves to represent her [[ValleyGirl Valley]] HardDrinkingPartyGirl status. |
| 110 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsLauraKinney Laura Kinney's]] most iconic early outfit was cropped to show her flat stomach, which contrasts with Logan's full-covering costume. After taking the Wolverine moniker she began wearing a full-body covering version of Logan's own. |
| 111 | ** Noriko Ashida/Surge from ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'' wears midriff-baring outfits either as an X-Man or as a civilian to show her femininity and confidence in her appearance, which puts her at constant odds with her roommate the devout muslim Sooraya Qadir/Dust, who wears a ''niqab''. |
| 112 | [[/folder]] |
| 113 | |
| 114 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 115 | * ''Webcomic/FateGamersOnly'': The supplies Da Vinci gave the cast for the Orleans Singularity include two versions of the True Ether Mystic Code, with the female version having an exposed midriff. [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl Rikku]] would rather not show off her midriff and takes the top from the male version, much to Da Vinci's disappointment. When entering Septem, Rikku finds that Da Vinci swapped the male top out for another version in eye-searing bright colors to encourage her to wear an outfit with a midriff, which doesn't work until Nero forces her into the alternate outfit after being convinced by Da Vinci that Rikku lacks confidence to want to wear it. |
| 116 | [[/folder]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | [[folder:Film -- Animation]] |
| 119 | * ''WesternAnimation/AinboSpiritOfTheAmazon'': Bare midriffs seem to be standard among the Amazonian native women, whereas men are usually bare-chested. Ainbo wears a tight crop top and skirt that exposes her navel. Also Zumi, though to a lesser extent. |
| 120 | * Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon: |
| 121 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', being a film about ArabianNightsDays, has plenty of young Arabic women who wear midriff-exposing halter tops, including Princess Jasmine herself. The only women who don't dress like this are older, more serious, fatter women, who are, [[AbhorrentAdmirer for the most part]], none too friendly towards the WalkingShirtlessScene that is main character Aladdin. |
| 122 | ** ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'': Atlantean women tend to wear midriff-baring outfits, whereas men are either bare-chested or 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 when she switches to a more modest royal outfit. |
| 123 | ** ''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 white, midriff-baring choli along with a high-waisted purple skirt. |
| 124 | ** ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'': Most of Nani's outfits show her midsection and she's the most prominent adult female character. It also serves as contrast with her younger sister Lilo who wears a covering dress as her default outfit. |
| 125 | ** ''Franchise/TheLittleMermaid'': Most mermaids regardless of age only wear a SeashellBra, while mermen are shirtless. |
| 126 | ** ''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 chests. 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. |
| 127 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Gazelle, being an InkSuitActor version of Music/{{Shakira}} and a glamorous pop singer, performs in a sparkly, midriff-baring outfit that accentuates her [[HartmanHips feminine figure]]. It's contrasted by the similarly skimpy, [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] outfits of her male tiger background dancers. |
| 128 | * ''WesternAnimation/FernGullyTheLastRainforest'': Most [[FairySexy younger female fairies]], including the protagonist Crysta, wear a midriff-baring top and skirt combo, whereas male fairies tend to be shirtless, wearing {{loincloth}}s. |
| 129 | * ''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. |
| 130 | * ''WesternAnimation/PlanetHulk'': Elloe's shirt is torn to show her midsection, while Caiera's armor is cropped to show her abs, and they're the most prominent females in the movie. |
| 131 | * ''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. |
| 132 | * ''WesternAnimation/UltimateAvengers'': While both Janet and Natasha wear full-covering bodysuits as heroes, in casual clothes they wear midriff baring tank-tops. Meanwhile the male heroes wear normal shirts. |
| 133 | [[/folder]] |
| 134 | |
| 135 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 136 | * ''Film/AustinPowers'': Austin is often paired with [[MsFanservice beautiful and sexy women]], parodying the "Bond girl" characters of the ''Franchise/JamesBond'' movies. Many of them wear midriff-baring outfits to show off their figures, including Felicity Shagwell from ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'' and Foxxy Cleopatra from ''Film/AustinPowersInGoldmember''. |
| 137 | * ''Film/Barbie2023'': The hyperfeminine Barbie and her male companion Ken don cowboy-inspired outfits after ditching their leotards in the real world. While both outfits are loud and ostentatious, Ken's black shirt fully covers his upper body, while Barbie's is hot pink, sleeveless and exposes some of her midriff. After they get arrested (again) the officers comment that the outfit looks great on [[HeadTurningBeauty Barbie]] particularly because they can ''imagine'' more. |
| 138 | * ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'': Of the women on the titular team, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, 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.]] |
| 139 | * ''Film/KingArthur2004'': For the Battle of Badon Hill, Guinevere and other female woad warriors wear midriff baring tops, while the men fight shirtless or with pelts. |
| 140 | * ''Film/{{Jawbreaker}}'': All three members of the bitchy queen bee trio are shown with bare midriffs on the poster. More specifically, in the film itself: |
| 141 | ** Courtney wears a cropped sweater during her MakeWayForThePrincess SupermodelStrut after Liz's death. |
| 142 | ** When Fern transforms into Vylette and Courtney realizes that "Vylette" is becoming more popular than she is during a scene where she's almost attacked by a baying mob, Vylette/Fern is wearing a [[PinkIsFeminine pink]] crop top that says "BITCH". |
| 143 | * ''[[Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle]]'': |
| 144 | ** 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.]] |
| 145 | ** Lampshaded by Martha as her in-game character Ruby Roundhouse, who becomes the only female-bodied member of the group [[note]]since Bethany got stuck with the body of an overweight, middle-aged male character[[/note]] and the only one to bare their midriff in the game's jungle setting. |
| 146 | -->'''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? |
| 147 | * ''Film/MeanGirls'': The cool GirlPosse of the Plastics all wear cropped tops from time to time, usually in pink or white. Cady's transformation from outsider is marked when she starts wearing more fitted, cropped shirts (which she then trades again for more hyper-feminine clothes like dresses and skirt sets). They are contrasted against the "uncool" `artist Janis, who wears baggy, layered clothes. |
| 148 | * In ''Film/OneMillionYearsBC'', the cavemen are dressed in {{loincloth}}s and [[PeltsOfTheBarbarian animal pelts]]. However, Loana, the female lead played by Creator/RaquelWelch, wears a FurBikini that [[MsFanservice emphasizes her feminine figure]]. The advertising for the movie played up the FurBikini, calling it "mankind's first bikini" and describing Loana as "a marvelous breathing monument to womankind". |
| 149 | * ''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 into that of a woman with large breasts and an hourglass figure ([[ButterFace but leaves his face unchanged]]), his green shirt shrinks into a crop top. When the next potion transforms his upper body into that of a male bodybuilder, the shirt visibly grows longer and covers up his six-pack. |
| 150 | * In ''Film/SpaceJam'', Lola Bunny wears an athletic, midriff-baring outfit whereas the male Looney Tunes mostly don't wear clothes at all. When donning basketball gear, Lola's top is much smaller than her teammates', also exposing her midriff. In [[Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy the sequel]], she started wearing outfits that cover her midriff. |
| 151 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 152 | ** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': When the notorious mob boss Jabba the Hutt captures the heroes of the Rebellion, Han and Luke are kept in their usual clothes but Leia is chained to Jabba and [[GoGoEnslavement forced to wear a gold bikini]]. She ends up turning the tables on the Hutt by strangling him to death with that very chain. |
| 153 | ** ''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 tear 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. |
| 154 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars'': Despite being a monastic order, Jedi women are fairly commonly seen in two-piece outfits while the men all wear robes. Examples include Aayla Secura, Ahsoka Tano (who started off in literally just a little bandeau top that hid nothing but her breasts, but transitioned into more modest outfits over the seasons), and Shaak Ti (who typically wears robes but wears a much more revealing outfit in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''.) Additionally, Suu Lawquane, married to AWOL clone Cut Lawquane, wore midriff-exposing chaps but in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'' now wears a more modest jumpsuit. |
| 155 | * ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'': Both female members of the eponymous squad, Harley Quinn and Katana, wear midriff-baring clothes, whereas none of the male members do. |
| 156 | [[/folder]] |
| 157 | |
| 158 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 159 | * ''Literature/AkashicRecordsOfBastardMagicInstructor'': The Alzano Academy female uniforms show off the midriff, while the male uniforms fully cover the torso. {{Justified|Trope}}: unlike male students, the females are recommended to wear less clothing (during academic periods) to increase their affinity to mana. Their clothing is also enchanted with automatic air-conditioning magic which adjusts the temperature and humidity of the air around them. |
| 160 | * ''Literature/AlderaminOnTheSky'': Midriff-baring crop tops seem to be a common style of clothing for women of the Katvjarna Empire, though the army uniforms avoid it. Even Princess Camille has her navel showing when she presides over the main cast being knighted. |
| 161 | * In the Literature/BelisariusSeries, midriff-baring saris are standard women's wear in India. Respectable women wear them out of the practicality of baring their midriffs in the hot and humid Indian climate. |
| 162 | ** Saris are noted as being feminine but not particularly vulgar when worn by prostitutes. What marks a prostitute in India is the addition of an orange waist-scarf and large bangles worn on the ankle. |
| 163 | ** Irene, when she visits India, is advised to wear a midriff-baring sari for the sake of comfort. She declines, continuing to wear hot and uncomfortable Roman robes to mark her status as the envoy from the Roman Empire. |
| 164 | ** Anna feels tempted when she sees another woman wearing a midriff-baring sari, but it's not until she reunites with her husband and is told by him to do so that she starts wearing them herself. |
| 165 | * ''Literature/LordMarksmanAndVanadis'': All seven Vanadis wear midriff-baring outfits, which represents both their power and femininity since only they 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. |
| 166 | * ''Literature/SergeStorms'': Stripper and amateur porn star Rachael from ''Atomic Lobster'' is more sensual than Serge's usual HotLibrarian GirlOfTheWeek and her wardrobe includes a lot of clothes tops that show off her stomach, including baby tee shirt, a skimpy halter top, and a sports bra. |
| 167 | [[/folder]] |
| 168 | |
| 169 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 170 | * ''Series/{{Encantadia}}'': The Sanggres are a quartet of {{Action Girl}}s with ElementalPowers. In the 2005 version, three of them wear midriff-baring outfits; the one that doesn't is Amihan, who is a strong, sword-wielding warrior opposed to the more graceful daggers, spears and sticks the other three wield. In the 2016 reboot, all four of them wear midriff-baring clothes. |
| 171 | * ''Series/LizzosWatchOutForTheBigGrrrls'': The cast full of {{big beautiful wom|an}}en frequently wore crop tops, typically as dancewear/workout but also sometimes as everyday clothing. In this case, it's an indicator that [[FatAndProud they confident enough to wear feminine, midriff-baring clothing despite their weight]]. |
| 172 | * In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', both female rangers sometimes wear tops that bare their midriffs, but it's not the girly Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart, but the Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan who does it more often. She's not the only Yellow Ranger to do so either; Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy's Maya also has a bared midriff. |
| 173 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': In the MirrorUniverse, the female version (but not the male version) of the standard Starfleet uniform bares the wearer's midriff in [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]] and in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''. It was abandoned in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', reportedly because the showrunners didn't want to imply that SexIsEvil. |
| 174 | * ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Bare midriffs were one of the main form of the show's {{fanservice}}. Out of the main duo, Gabrielle the bard's green halter top and burgundy skirt exposed her midriff whereas the tough warrior Xena wore a breastplate that covered it. Gabrielle's outfit got even more revealing over the seasons; eventually she switched to a red top that was barely more than a bra and a shorter matching skirt. Eventually, Xena also got into the midriff-baring with her Japanese armor in the finale. Almost all other female guest stars and recurring characters also wore midriff-baring outfits. |
| 175 | [[/folder]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 178 | * 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. Even CountryMusic, historically a rather conservative genre, wasn't immune, with Music/ShaniaTwain becoming famous for her midriff-baring ensembles in concerts and music videos. |
| 179 | * [[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. |
| 180 | * The GiantWoman [[Creator/PamelaAnderson Pam/Val]] in the video for Music/{{Miserable}} by the band Music/{{Lit}}, a ProudBeauty and ShamelessFanserviceGirl, spends the entire video in a white bikini with black straps. There are also several closeups of her bare stomach as she writhes to the band's music. This is used to highlight her femininity and beauty in contrast to the fully dressed band members, who are all male. |
| 181 | * Kagamine Rin from Music/{{Vocaloid}} bare her midriff as a contrast from her [[AmbiguouslyRelated male counterpart]] Len. This extends to whenever they wear a matching outfit, though for her Append design they give her a NavelWindow that's larger than Len's instead. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 185 | * Many female action figures, such as ones based on other media (TV shows, Video Games, etc.) where females wear shirts that show their stomachs. |
| 186 | * ''Toys/MermaidHigh'': Unsurprisingly for a toy line based mermaids, the main four protagonists are all girly characters who wear clothing that exposes their stomachs. |
| 187 | [[/folder]] |
| 188 | |
| 189 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 190 | * ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt'': For the game's English release, promotional artwork was edited so that the teenage male Gunvolt's undershirt no longer exposed his stomach, citing that [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore audiences outside Japan were more likely to see this as effeminate]] (especially in combination with his slender build and hair braid). His in-game sprite is unchanged. |
| 191 | * ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': [[Characters/BlazBlueNoelVermillion Noel Vermillion]], [[Characters/BlazBlueContinuumShift Makoto Nanaya]] and [[Characters/BlazBlueCentralFiction Mai Natsume]] wear midriff-baring outfits at different points and they're quite girly. [[Characters/BlazBlueChronophantasma Bullet]] subverts this, since her bare midriff highlights her tomboyishness instead. |
| 192 | * ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'': The male Psychos of Pandora run around [[WalkingShirtlessScene without any clothes on their upper body]]. The female Psychos wear a white, midriff-baring tank top. |
| 193 | * 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 a short tank top showing off her belly, while the male Quote doesn't. |
| 194 | * ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'': {{Zigzagged|Trope}} with the Desert Sorceress Top. The Desert Sorceresses' {{Stripperific}} outfit includes a midriff-baring tube top to accentuate their feminine appeal, as they employ DistractedByTheSexy to seduce men. When a male character wears the Top, it is modified from the original design worn by the Sorceresses and female characters, but it still bares the midriff. |
| 195 | * ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': Angewomon notably bares her midriff, which contrasts Angemon's full-covering (but still form fitting) look. Ophanimon, one of Angewomon's possible evolutions, also has an opening in her armor for her stomach. |
| 196 | * ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'': Out of the female Kongs, both Candy Kong and aged-up Tiny Kong tend to wear midriff-baring clothes, and Dixie Kong, while [[HalfDressedCartoonAnimal while pantsless]], wears a knot-up shirt that evokes the bare midriff look. By contrast, the male Kongs typically either wear full shirts ([[FullyDressedCartoonAnimal with]] or [[HalfDressedCartoonAnimal without pants]]) or [[AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal only a necktie]]. |
| 197 | * ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': The Dalish Leather Armor, when worn by a female character, is essentially a purple-colored cheerleader ensemble consisting of a shapely sports bra, a short skirt and knee-high boots. The male version retains the skirt but covers the whole torso while bearing a much less conspicuous brown color, making the female version look even girlier by comparison. Notably, this is the only GenderedOutfit and also the only midriff-baring outfit in the game, with anything heavier being the typical full-body armor suits you'd expect in a medieval fantasy setting. |
| 198 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': The games have a few {{Gendered Outfit}}s. |
| 199 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': |
| 200 | *** The Merc Adventurer outfit includes a full vest over a full-sleeved shirt for a male character. For a female character, the vest and shirt are now shortened, showing her midriff. |
| 201 | *** The Raider Badlands, Raider Commando, and the Leather Rebel (exclusive to ''3'''s DLC ''The Pitt'') outfits give proper shirts to men, but midriff-baring tops to women. |
| 202 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'': |
| 203 | *** The "Harness" outfit, both the regular and the "Gunner" variants, have women wear [[{{Stripperiffic}} nothing above the waistline but a greenish strip of cloth to (barely) cover their bra]], plus some canvas straps to keep the pants in place like skimpy overalls. |
| 204 | *** 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]], after all. |
| 205 | *** The Grognak the Barbarian costume consists of skimpy PeltsOfTheBarbarian on both male and female characters. On males, it is simply a {{loincloth}}. On females, there is a top strap that covers the bra and fully exposes the midriff. |
| 206 | * ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': |
| 207 | ** Astolfo is famous for his androgynous looks and AmbiguousGenderIdentity, and Stage 1 and 2 of his Saber form wears a midriff-baring outfit to further highlight his femininity. |
| 208 | ** The Tropical Summer and True Ether Mystic Codes will show the protagonist's midriff if the player assigns their gender as female. |
| 209 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'': |
| 210 | ** The [[DudeLooksLikeALady effeminate Rosado]] wears a short black top that leaves his midsection exposed as his standard outfit in the Somniel. |
| 211 | ** While the generic class outfit for Warriors have an exposed chest for both genders, the female version includes a sports bra to put more emphasis on the character's midriff compared to the male version. |
| 212 | ** The outfit of LongHairedPrettyBoy Seadall exposes his lower chest for all to see. |
| 213 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': Many female characters in the series wear crop tops (such as Tifa Lockheart), typically contrasting the male characters who have covered or [[WalkingShirtlessScene fully exposed]] torso. |
| 214 | * ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'': The character Roxanne Wolf has a design that is meant to give this impression, with red plates at her chest and waist mimicking a crop top and hot panties. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/FlowerKnightGirl'': Many members of Banana Ocean wear midriff-baring outfits, representing their association with the season of summer. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': Ranpha Franboise wears a qipao-like dress with a cutout that leaves her abdomen completely bare. She's competitive and practices martial arts, but also has very girly interests like fashion, fortune-telling and romance movies. |
| 217 | ** ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'': Semi-averted with both Lily C. Sherbet and Anise Azeat, as while both wear outfits exposing their midriffs they're the least feminine members of the Rune Angels. Anise at least has an excuse for her tomboyishness in that she had lived alone for a few years. |
| 218 | * ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': The Traveler and their Sibling are [[HalfIdenticalTwins opposite-sex twins]]; however, in an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this trope, LongHairedPrettyBoy Aether has a noticeably bared midriff to contrast the SexyBacklessOutfit of female Lumine. |
| 219 | * ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'': Rika is a GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak who always customizes her soccer jersey like this: she ties the edge of the shirt into a knot and lifts it up, exposing her midriff. In contrast, the tomboyish Touko wears her jerseys normally. Furthermore, the uniform of the latter's team, SP Fixers, is a tuxedo. |
| 220 | * ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'': Phosphora has the looks and personality of a 16-17 year old teenage girl, being rather flirty towards Pit and [[TheGadfly often attempting to get under both Pit and Palutena's skin]]. She's the only character in the game to wear a crop top and is one of the few characters to count as a MsFanservice alongside Amazon Pandora. All the other male characters either have a ShirtlessScene or wear a regular top. |
| 221 | * ''VideoGame/LastCloudia'': When Lukiel gets her power sapped away, she starts donning a new outfit that bares more skin including her midriff. Her profile also starts using female pronouns to describe her instead of the previously used [[OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous neutral pronouns]]. |
| 222 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Gerudo Town is populated entirely by women and men are forbidden from entering. To get inside, Link must wear the same outfit as all the other Gerudo women, which includes a midriff-baring top and sirwal pants. In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'', Ganondorf, who is the only male Gerudo born, has a WalkingShirtlessScene instead. |
| 223 | * In ''VideoGame/ManOfMedan'', Julia and Fliss are the only female protagonists, and unlike the male protagonists. Julia's diving gear shows her stomach, and then after they are hijacked by the pirates and on the ghost ship, she has a pink T-shirt tied above her stomach. Fliss's main outfit shows off quite a bit of her stomach. The men all wear full shirts. |
| 224 | * ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'': Almost every playable female character wears a midriff-baring t-shirt or tank-top, in contrast to the male characters who wear regular shirts and jackets. |
| 225 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 226 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' has Team Aqua, where the female grunts and admin Shelly expose their midriff and navel, while the male grunts wear a regular top. Matt, the male admin for Team Aqua, is a WalkingShirtlessScene instead. |
| 227 | ** ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver}}'': Karen is the only female among the Elite Four and her outfit is a belly-shirt. |
| 228 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': When playing as Serena, the character is given summer outfits for character customization. Many of these outfits are crop-tops (though the default outfit is not). Calem on the other hand is given winter outfits which are full shirts. |
| 229 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'': Nessa is the Water-type Gym Leader of the region, wears a swimsuit that exposes her entire torso and she's a fashion model on her off time. As part of her GenderedOutfit, Marnie wears a midriff-baring tank-top as Gym Leader. |
| 230 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Professor Sada from ''Scarlet'' wears a tank-top that shows her abs. This contrasts with her ''Violet'' counterpart Professor Turo, who wears a form-fitting bodysuit instead. |
| 231 | * Several female characters (but no male characters) in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' franchise feature midriff-baring outfits: |
| 232 | ** Jill's bonus outfit in the original ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1''. |
| 233 | ** Claire Redfield's outfit in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica''. |
| 234 | ** Claire's biker outfit in the original ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. |
| 235 | ** Claire's cowgirl outfit in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'' As well as Moira's ninja outfit. |
| 236 | ** Ashley's pop star bonus outfit in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. |
| 237 | ** Ada's outfit in the ''Assignment Ada'' bonus game of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. |
| 238 | ** Rebecca's bonus outfit in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0''. |
| 239 | ** Party Girl of "Echo Six" in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity''. |
| 240 | ** Sherry's bonus outfit in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', being her old school uniform which is now WAY too small for her. |
| 241 | * ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'': Arri, the Alin princess, shows off a large portion of her belly in an otherwise practical desert outfit. |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': The titular Shantae is a frequent source of midriff- and navel-focus as both a Half-Genie and SultryBellyDancer, but pretty much every single other major female character is young, cute, and shows off a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure slender stomach]]. For that matter, virtually every non-child female character -- including villagers and some {{Mooks}} -- bares her belly or [[NavelWindow shows just enough to reveal the belly button]], suggesting midriff-baring is customary in Sequin Land. In the (very rare) case a female character's abdomen is fully covered, she'll sport a NavelOutline, solidifying the trope of female belly button fanservice as something of a series hallmark. By contrast, male characters like Bolo, Uncle Mimic and the various Barons tend to wear full shirts, although on some males it's open in the front. |
| 243 | * In ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', the Siamese Cat guards have BedlahBabe outfits which showcase their midriffs, which confirm that they are all female. |
| 244 | * ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'': If you play as a male Revya, he'll be wearing relatively modest leather armor. Female Revya, however, goes shirtless aside from pauldrons and a metal bra. Their Sprites, on the other hand, avert this, both wearing the same midriff-baring chest armor. |
| 245 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 246 | ** 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) wear more modest attire. |
| 247 | ** Peach and Daisy also wear midriff-baring track suits in the Tokyo 2020 edition of ''VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames''. |
| 248 | ** In general, compared to Daisy who’s portrayed more as a TomboyPrincess, Peach, as a feminine and dainty PrincessClassic, has more moments where her midriff goes exposed. Aside from the sports spinoffs, she's also seen in a bikini in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' postgame as well as a mermaid outfit in ''VideoGame/PrincessPeachShowtime'', which also contrasts with her other transformations being less-revealing. |
| 249 | * ''VideoGame/SwordArtOnline'': Compared to Kirito, whose outfits cover him up, Philia's default outfits in games from ''Hollow Fragment'' to ''Hollow Realization'' all show her midriff to some extent. Her outfit in ''Fatal Bullet'' is the first time this is averted. |
| 250 | * ''VideoGame/WiiFit'': The female trainer wears only a sports bra, exposing her stomach, which contrasts toward the male trainer, who wears a shirt covering his entire torso. |
| 251 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': |
| 252 | ** 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. |
| 253 | ** A number of female [=NPC=]s also tend to wear midriff-baring outfits. This includes the kind-hearted, pacifistic sorceress Jaina Proudmoore; the DarkActionGirl Sylvanas Windrunner; and the humanoid form of the dragon queen Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, who is characterised as being wise, compassionate and in tune with nature. |
| 254 | [[/folder]] |
| 255 | |
| 256 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 257 | * ''VisualNovel/ReigningPassions'': One of Lyris' [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/56550b64e3960272a3c2bedd50e3ceac/tumblr_pz4vlhplGm1w2tdceo1_1280.png outfits]] leaves his midriff bare and he has an androgynous appearance, being a bedazzled LongHairedPrettyBoy. |
| 258 | * ''VisualNovel/ShiningSongStarnova'': As expected from a female idol group, every member of Starnova wears a uniform with a star-shaped cutout which exposes a large chunk of the midriff. This is also the case with their rivals Quasar, who wear more typical crop-tops. |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 262 | * ''WebAnimation/DisventureCamp'': True to [[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama its inspiration]], there are more than a couple of females who wear this style. |
| 263 | ** Kristal's version of the typical shirt worn by WesternAnimation/TotalDrama's host and interns is a more feminine one also worn by Dakota from that show. |
| 264 | ** Ashley from Season 1 wears a knotted crop top that shows her midsection along with her nightwear and bikini to indicate she's a girly {{Cowgirl}} and major MsFanservice of the show. |
| 265 | ** Yul from Season 2 is a male example, since his crop top shows his abs and he's pretty CampStraight. |
| 266 | ** Much like Kristal before her, Emily from ''All-Stars'' bares her midriff. It also suggests she's aware of her beauty and is meant to add to her other typically feminine traits, such as her long hair or wearing heavy make-up. |
| 267 | * In the ''[[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSN-Y6eUF4GNMtE064EtecBY_gMk_6ICE Femboy and Chad]]'' animations, [[WholesomeCrossdresser the more feminine Mari]] tends to wear a midriff-bearing outfit in contrast to the more masculine Chad. |
| 268 | * ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': The characters Loona and Millie have exposed midriffs as part of their main outfits, which contrasts Blitzo and Moxxie's clothes who are covering. |
| 269 | ** In the episode "Queen Bee", Beelzebub is seen exposing hers as well and she's one of the two confirmed Seven Deadly Sins who are female. |
| 270 | ** Gliz and Glam's performing outfits leave their midriff bare to emphasize their femininity and sex appeal, in contrast to all the male performers who wear goofier clothing. |
| 271 | * ''WebAnimation/MundoCanibal'': Whatahell wears a crop top that exposes his midriff, which goes along with his pink hair, make-up, and high-pitched voice, which are done to illustrate his stereotypical CampGay demeanour. |
| 272 | * This is a popular look in ''Franchise/{{RWBY}}''. Several characters, including Blake and Yang until the Atlas arc. Emerald, Neo, Cinder in the tournament, and many minor female characters also wear midriff baring outfits. This contrasts with most male characters who wear normal shirts, or walk shirtless like Sun Wukong. |
| 273 | [[/folder]] |
| 274 | |
| 275 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 276 | * 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. |
| 277 | * 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. |
| 278 | [[/folder]] |
| 279 | |
| 280 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 281 | * ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleCampaignTwo'': Inverted. The cutesy and girly Jester always wears a full dress, whereas TheLadette, Beau, only wears outfits that leave her stomach exposed to show off her abs. |
| 282 | * In the case of fox vtuber WebVideo/{{Nebride}}, there are not many outfits that cover her midriffs, and on occasion, she will do something she just calls "tummy hypno". |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 286 | * ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': Just like in the movie, many female characters wear midriff-baring BedlahBabe outfits, including Princess Jasmine, Eden the Genie of the Bottle (a DistaffCounterpart to the male, shirtless Genie of the Lamp), Mirage the Evil Sorceress, and Fatima the circus performer-turned-harpy. |
| 287 | * ''WesternAnimation/AngelsFriends'': Three of the four main girls are always wear stomach-exposing outfits and are pretty feminine. |
| 288 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': Out of the female agents of ISIS, it's the [[TheDitz ditzy]] Cheryl who most often ends up baring her midriff, especially in the season where she adopts the country singer persona "Cherlene". [[ActionGirl Lana]] also often wears midriff-baring clothes to missions, and also often [[LingerieScene ends up in only her underwear]]. Even [[BigBeautifulWoman Pam]] gets the occasional midriff-baring outfit. The male agents never wear such outfits, not even [[CampGay Gilette]], except for Archer in the episode "[[Recap/ArcherS1E5Honeypot Honeypot]]", where he tries to [[PragmaticPansexuality seduce a male rogue Cuban agent]], and wears a skintight outfit that exposes his midriff in his first attempt at seducing him, [[CampGay overplaying his role]]. |
| 289 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': |
| 290 | ** Out of [[TerribleTrio the antagonistic female trio]] dubbed "Ozai's Angels" by the fandom, the [[PerkyFemaleMinion girly]] and athletic Ty Lee always wear midriff-baring outfits, whereas the aggressive Azula and the [[TheStoic stoic]] and straight-faced Mai usually cover up their midriff except for the BeachEpisode. |
| 291 | ** In the Fire Nation, female but not male soldiers wear midriff-baring uniforms. |
| 292 | ** When [[DressingAsTheEnemy donning Fire Nation disguises]], the graceful, [[LongHairIsFeminine long-haired]], [[TeamMom motherly]] Katara dons a midriff-baring top and skirt combo, whereas the more {{tomboy}}ish, [[BoyishShortHair short-haired]], brash Toph and all the male members of the Gaang wear shirts that cover their midriffs. When [[ActionGirl Suki]] joins them, she also dons a midriff-baring Fire Nation outfit. |
| 293 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}'': Sharon Spitz's usual outfit exposes her stomach, which characterizes her as a teenage girl with typical girly interests. Other female characters also wear belly-shirts. |
| 294 | * ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'': Brandy Harrington is a fashion-obsessed teenager who wears a pink blouse that shows her midriff. She's notably a FullyDressedCartoonAnimal, while the other wild animals don't wear clothes. |
| 295 | * ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'': Both major heroic female characters, Princess Lana and [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Princess Zelda]], are dressed in midriff-baring outfits (even though Zelda doesn't wear such clothes in her parent game). Lana is TheHeart of the Team N (the role most often taken by female characters). |
| 296 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', With Roberta. In every episode (sometimes winter-themed) he wears a green top that shows off his shoulders and midriff. In one episode, for example, he uses his "uncovered skin" to sweeten the male teachers (obviously a woman is there that day). |
| 297 | * In ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', Yumi and Sissi regularly wear outfits that bare their midriff. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Tamiya in one episode where her mother had expressed concern over her daughter's outfit. Aelita's outfit for the Subdigitals has a halter-top that bares her midriff, but it was for one episode. |
| 298 | * ''WesternAnimation/ComboNinos'': Azul and Pilar, the two female members of the team, wear outfits that expose their bellies. Paco and Serio wear shirts while Maestre Grinto alternates between a covering white shirt and walking shirtless. |
| 299 | * ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Several female characters, like [[PerkyGoth Sam Manson]], [[AlphaBitch Paulina Sanchez]], [[EvilDiva Ember McLean]], [[BedlahBabe Desiree]], Kitty, [[VainSorceress Penelope Spectra]] and [[OppositeSexClone Danielle Phantom]] wear midriff baring outfits, and they're all feminine in different ways. |
| 300 | * ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'': Candy is the most feminine of the three siblings, with a ValleyGirl personality, contrasted by her buff BarbarianHero brother Dave and her violent, {{tomboy}}ish sister Fang. Fittingly, she's the only one of the three whose usual outfit shows some skin around her waist. |
| 301 | * ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'': |
| 302 | ** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': Both Chelsea Cunningham and Blade Morse wear tank-tops that show their navel and they're the Hamilton Hill School's resident {{Lovable Alpha Bitch}}es. |
| 303 | ** ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': Just like the comics, Supergirl wears her own version of the Superman suit cropped to show her midriff. |
| 304 | ** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Shayera/Hawkgirl starts to wear a new superhero outfit that shows off her toned midriff after her GirlinessUpgrade, while Wonder Woman also wears one during her one day off. Huntress keeps her signature outfit that's cropped to show her abs. Meanwhile Volcana's new outfit also shows her midsection. And they're all MsFanservice in different ways. |
| 305 | * ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'': Xandir, the CampGay {{Expy}} of [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], wears a green, midriff-baring armor to emphasize his effeminate look. |
| 306 | * ''WesternAnimation/Foot2Rue'': The female members of the Rifflers, Eloise and Samira, wear midriff-baring crop-tops, in contrast to the male characters who wear regular shirts. Several secondary female characters also wear midriff-baring outfits, including TheHeavy Victoria Malhotra, although like Eloise and Samira, her navel isn't always illustrated. |
| 307 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Out of the two women in the Planet Express crew, the girlier Amy Wong usually wears a [[PinkIsFeminine pink]], midriff-baring tracksuit, but all her other outfits ([[ExposedToTheElements even her winter clothes]]) bare her midriff. The more tomboyish ActionGirl Leela usually wears a [[TankTopTomboy white tank top]] that covers her midriff, but outside of that she also often ends up in midriff-baring outfits. None of the male crew members wear midriff-baring clothes. |
| 308 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': |
| 309 | ** While male gargoyles tend to [[MonsterModesty only wear]] a LoinCloth, many female gargoyles opt for midriff-baring outfits, most notably Demona (the single most often featured female gargoyle), but also Coldstone's LoveInterest "Desdemona", as well as [[spoiler:Elisa in "The Mirror" during her brief time as a gargoyle]]. |
| 310 | ** Elisa, the main female character in the show, usually wears midriff-covering shirts, but when she poses as a DirtyCop to get close to Tony Dracon, she puts on a midriff- and cleavage-exposing tube top. |
| 311 | ** After the villainous siblings Jackal and Hyena both get [[spoiler:cyborg upgrades]], they end up with rather similar appearance and abilities, but the female Hyena's midriff is exposed whereas the male Jackal's isn't. |
| 312 | ** Titania, Queen of the Third Race wears an [[{{Stripperriffic}} extremely revealing]] outfit in her true form that exposes pretty much everything below her breasts and above her crotch. By contrast, her husband Oberon's outfit covers everything neck down. |
| 313 | ** The Hunters in "Hunter's Moon" wear very similar outfits, but Robyn's exposes her midriff (as well as [[LongHairIsFeminine her long hair]]) whereas her two male companions [[spoiler:and brothers]] wear full shirts. |
| 314 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'': Judy Jetson, a stereotypical teenage GirlyGirl who enjoys shopping, boys, and fashions, usually wears an outfit that exposes her midriff. |
| 315 | * ''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]].]] |
| 316 | * ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'': The opening sequence depicts Johnny going through several transformations from his scientist sisters' experiments. One of them turns Johnny into a girl, with an ImpossibleHourglassFigure and growing taller such that his shirt ends above his midriff. |
| 317 | * ''WesternAnimation/KassaiAndLuk'': The eponymous Kassai and Luk (an African human boy and a male anthropomorphic rabbit) both wear tunics that fully cover their upper bodies. Their female friend Princess Marana, meawhile, wears a midriff-baring tube top in her human form (though she doesn't wear clothes in her gazelle form). |
| 318 | * ''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. In early seasons, Kim's civilian clothes and cheerleader outfits also bare her midriff. When not [[ActionGirl kicking villain butt]], Kim [[GirlyBruiser shows a bunch of typical teenage girl interests]] like fashion and dating, and is a member of the [[PomPomGirl high school cheerleading squad]]. |
| 319 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MayaAndTheThree'' several female characters wear midriff-baring outfits, including Maya, Acat, Cipactli and Chimi, while male characters are shirtless or wear full-covering clothes. |
| 320 | * Every female character on ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg'' wears a midriff-baring outfit, while all males (with the exception of the pirates) are shirtless. |
| 321 | * ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'': Nefertina is the only female among the main characters and her bandages are cropped to show her midriff. Chantra is the main female villain and she also bares her midsection. |
| 322 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyDadTheRockStar'': Zigzagged. The three most prominent female characters, Willy's mom [[GranolaGirl Crystal]], sister [[BrattyTeenageDaughter Serenity]] and best friend / eventual girlfriend Alyssa all have bare midriffs, but so does Willy's eponymous dad Rock Zilla and their old male friend and driver Skunk. In the case of the latter two, the midriff is not an indicator of their femininity but of their rebellious rocker personality. |
| 323 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'': Kerry is the most prominent female human character in the show and she wears crop tops, even to school. |
| 324 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': Being a [[{{Fembot}} girly robot]], Jenny's design is meant to give this impression, with blue plates at her chest and waist mimicking a crop top and a miniskirt. A screw in the center mimics a belly button. This is combined with other [[{{TertiarySexualCharacteristics}} notable features]], such as GirlishPigtails. Despite this, in an episode when she's [[HumanityEnsues turned humans]], she switches to a midriff-covering minidress. |
| 325 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Juniper Lee is a girly girl and she proudly wears a belly-shirt, in contrast to the male characters who do not. |
| 326 | * Eva "Molly" Wei from ''WesternAnimation/ObanStarRacers'' is the only female on the team and her racer's outfit exposes her midsection. The male member wear normal clothes (or is shirtless in Rick Thunderbolt's case). |
| 327 | * ''WesternAnimation/OnyxEquinox'': Mictecacihuatl is the only goddess with a prominent role in the show, and she wears a midriff-baring outfit in her default form. |
| 328 | * ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': Daphne is TheFashionista of Mystery Inc. and in many incarnations (mainly beginning in the 2000s onward) is shown wearing some type of midriff-baring outfit whereas Velma, who's the brains of the group, normally isn't. It's more noticeable in direct-to-video movies such as ''WesternAnimation/AlohaScoobyDoo''[[note]](which even has Daphne winning a fashion design contest as part of the plot)[[/note]] where Daphne goes the whole film wearing a midriff-baring outfit or a bikini compared to Velma opting for a less-revealing but location-appropriate shirt. |
| 329 | * ''WesternAnimation/SeaPrincesses'': Just about every single princess wears midriff-baring crop tops, matching both their girliness and their aquatic theme. By comparison, the princes are either shirtless (like Marcello, Maurico and Sirilo) or wear a full shirt (like Hugo). |
| 330 | * Isabela from ''WesternAnimation/SeisManos'' is the female of the main trio and her shirt shows her navel. |
| 331 | * ''WesternAnimation/ShaolinWuzang'': Hua's outfit bares her stomach, even in her winter clothes, and she's the female of the lead trio. |
| 332 | * ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Although Bow is the only male member of the PowerTrio, he is very much InTouchWithHisFeminineSide and serves as TheHeart of the team in contrast to the [[ActionGirl tough warrior Adora]] and the headstrong and occasionally arrogant sorceress Glimmer. All of his outfits bare his midriff; he even rips off his cummerbund when dressing for a ball, though he decides to put it back on after [[ExposedToTheElements feeling how cold it is there]]. Even his space suit has a small belly window. |
| 333 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheNewAnimatedSeries'': Mary Jane Watson wears a cropped sweater that fully displays her midriff and she's the most prominent female character in the series. Cheyenne/Talon also wears midriff-baring outfits and she's a ClassyCatBurglar who even blows kisses at Spider-Man to taunt him. |
| 334 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Sandy Cheeks is [[WalkingSwimsuitScene clad in a purple bikini]] when not wearing her diving suit. Notably, the [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/spongebob/images/3/3d/SpongeBob_season_2_main_characters_model_sheet.gif main character model sheet]] features Sandy in both her bikini and her diving suit (all of the other characters only have one outfit on the sheet). By contrast, the male characters include the [[FullyDressedCartoonAnimal fully dressed]] [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs, the [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] Patrick, the [[HalfDressedCartoonAnimal pantsless Squidward]] and the completely naked Plankton. Many of the female background characters also walk around in bikinis, unsurprisingly for a place named Bikini Bottom. |
| 335 | * ''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. |
| 336 | ** The eponymous Steven is TheHeart of the Crystal Gems, a young, emotional [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-alien]] boy InTouchWithHisFeminineSide in a team of {{Action Girl}} aliens. He often ends up in midriff-exposing outfits that show off the magical gem that is embedded in his belly button. |
| 337 | ** Rose Quartz, the former leader of the Crystal Gems, wore an outfit with a star-shaped belly window around the gem in her belly button, to emphasize her gentle, nurturing, motherly nature. |
| 338 | ** Out of the antagonistic gems introduced in the second half of the first season, the dainty, feminine-looking Lapis Lazuli wears a midriff-baring halter top, whereas the buff, aggressive Jasper and the small, brainy Peridot wear uniforms that cover their midriff. |
| 339 | ** The Ruby Squad are five nearly identical-looking Ruby soldiers who can be most easily told apart by the location of their gems. One of them, nicknamed "Navy" by Steven, has her gem on her navel, and her uniform is customized in a way to show it. She appears to have the sweetest, most naive personality out of the five, [[spoiler:though she's actually a BitchInSheepsClothing]]. |
| 340 | ** Pink Diamond was the youngest and girliest member of the Great Diamond Authority, wearing a poofy outfit exposing the gem on her navel. |
| 341 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'': April O'Neil is the Turtles' primary female ally and she's primarily shown wearing a purple crop top. |
| 342 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': |
| 343 | ** Starfire wears a midriff-baring outfit and is generally gentler and more cheerful than the brooding {{goth}} girl Raven or the three boys on the team. When [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Terra]] joins the team, she also starts wearing a black crop top. |
| 344 | ** In the Titans East team, their leader and only female member Bumblebee wears a yellow-and-black striped, midriff-baring top, whereas the male members all cover their midriffs. |
| 345 | * ''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. |
| 346 | * ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': |
| 347 | ** 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 sleepwear 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, Staci), or are athletic (Eva, Jo, Sky, Priya), 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). So far, the only boy to ever expose his midriff is [[CampGay Bowie]] from the fourth generation. |
| 348 | ** All the interns in ''Revenge of the Island'' wear red shirts that look like Chris'. Even the girls wear these, despite its large size. The first female intern looks rather manly and keeps her shirt unkempt. Dakota temporarily becomes an intern, and since she is very feminine and fashionable, she ties the shirt into a knot, exposing her midriff. |
| 349 | * ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': All three main characters regularly wear midriff-baring outfits, and they are all teenage girls with girly interests. |
| 350 | * 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. |
| 351 | * ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'': Lord Dominator's original, masculine-looking TinTyrant outfit covers everything. When [[SamusIsAGirl she's revealed to be a woman]], she changes to a midriff-baring crop top that [[MsFanservice accentuates her figure]]. |
| 352 | * Debbie Thornberry from ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' has as default outfit a crop-top that shows her midriff, which contrasts her more tomboyish sister Eliza. Their mother Marianne also has a midriff-baring outfit, although her navel isn't illustrated as consistently. The male Thornberrys wear covering clothes, or in Donnie's case, walk shirtless. |
| 353 | * ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': The Winx girls are all teenage {{Girly Girl}}s who tend to wear midriff-baring outfits both in their civilian and their fairy form. In the original run, the only girl whose fairy outfit did not show her midriff was the tech-savvy Tecna. As the series goes on, they end up wearing outfits that provide coverage for their midriffs. |
| 354 | * The titular ''WesternAnimation/WITCH2004'' are a team of teenage girls who all wear outfits that show some skin around the belly area in their Guardian forms. In their New Power forms, only Taranee and Hay Lin do. |
| 355 | [[/folder]] |
| 356 | |
| 357 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 358 | * UsefulNotes/BellyDancing outfits typically bare the dancer's midriff to draw attention to their hips as they perform dance moves that emphasize their femininity. Notably, these outfits are a Western creation and a result of {{orientalism}} - mostly dating back to the appearance of the exotic dancer [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Egypt_(dancer) Little Egypt]] at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair - as authentic traditional Middle Eastern dancing outfits cover the midriff. |
| 359 | * 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. |
| 360 | * When performing traditional [[UsefulNotes/{{Oceania}} Polynesian]] dances, male dancers are typically bare-chested whereas female dancers tend to combine a skirt with a midriff-baring top, typically a strip of cloth wrapped around the chest, but sometimes a modern bikini top or a coconut bra. |
| 361 | * 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. to 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. |
| 362 | * 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 closeted gay man. This is despite the fact that male athletes wearing crop tops was quite common up until the 90s in the US. |
| 363 | [[/folder]] |
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