Basic Trope: No man wants to date a woman, no matter how attractive, who is stronger or better at fighting than he is.
- Straight: Bob doesn't pursue Alice romantically because she outclasses him in fighting ability.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice is a 8-foot, musclebound warrior and Bob is a skinny, weak nerd that's barely the size of her arm who doesn't even look in her direction.
- Alice is a white-belt in kung fu. Bob avoids and/or out-right rejects her because of the fact that she even knows kung fu in the first place.
- Alice is viewed this way just because she plays a sport like softball.
- Downplayed:
- Bob appreciates Alice, but her training gives her habits or personality quirks that he doesn't like, such as being smug or overprotective.
- While Bob finds her superior fighting skills to be unattractive, it isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for him.
- Alice is perfectly capable of getting men - but she has no luck with relationships and only obtains one night stands.
- Justified:
- Bob knows that Alice is beautiful, but is intimidated by her strength and doesn't think he can pursue her.
- Bob guessed the reason why Alice needs all this strength because Alice is a Jerkass who likes to push men around to prove that women are better than men and gets away with it, thus quickly concludes that all Amazons don't deserve love.
- Alice is a Blood Knight, a Sociopathic Soldier, or some other kind of extremely violent/overwhelming archetype which is extremely hard to approach to... Never mind try to engage in romantic interaction!
- Alternatively, even if Alice is sweet, shy or even timid, her looks are intimidating enough that most men would be too scared of her to consider pursuing a romantic relationship.
- Bob is more intimidated by a girl who can beat him up than a guy who can because he will be the laughingstock of the entire town and no one would take any of his injuries seriously.
- Everyone thinks that Alice is out of their league - that they need to be a superhuman badass to even approach her.
- Bob doesn't want to wind up with a girl who uses her strength to treat men like her personal toys.
- Bob may find Alice unattractive because of her musclebound physique alone.
- Hell, Bob doesn't even like women or romance in the first place! Let alone hooking up with an Action Girl.
- Inverted:
- Amazon Chaser and/or Action Girlfriend.
- Bob wants to date a woman who is feminine in every way.
- Alice won't date any man that she can't beat in a fair fight.
- Tralgasks consider a beautiful woman who is unable or unwilling to fight a complete deal breaker.
- Gender-Inverted:
- Alice won't date Bob because he's a 90-pound weakling.
- Alice won't date Bob because he's a macho guy.
- Subverted:
- Alice looks extremely fit, but it turns out she just lifts weights. In an actual fight, she has to get Bob to defend her and he falls for her afterward.
- Bob sees Alice kicking butt in a dojo, but it turns out she was practicing a scene for a movie that she's in.
- Bob finds her unattractive for other reasons.
- Alice is a Gender-Inverted Miles Gloriosus. In other words, she lied about being a good fighter to impress people or because she has an undeserved big ego.
- Bob isn't intimidated at all, but he values high parental investment and doesn't think a relationship (more specifically, marriage) with Alice would work out, because her Action Girl lifestyle doesn't go hand-in-hand with it.
- Double Subverted:
- She was just pretending to be helpless to get Bob's attention.
- ...and that practice includes actually learning kung fu.
- But her fighting skills are one of the reasons, just not the only reason.
- Alice only said she lied about her fighting skills to impress him because she didn't want him to turned off by said skills.
- Parodied:
- Alice is beautiful, sweet, charming, and ladylike to a fault. However the minute Bob sees her use a Tai Chi move to fend off a mugger he treats her as if she has the plague.
- Bob starts warning all of his friends about Alice because she beat him at arm wrestling once.
- Zig Zagged:
- Bob's attraction to Alice waxes and wanes according to the day of the week - one day he's turned on by her ability to fight, the next he's attracted to her physically but thinks she should act more feminine, then he likes her personality but is turned off by the muscles.....Ad infinitum.
- Bob is turned off by Alice's strength and muscles, but Charlie thinks that it makes her more attractive.
- Averted:
- Alice has just as much chance of winning Bob's affections as anyone else.
- Or Bob is a Celibate Hero and nobody has a chance with him.
- Or Bob is a Camp Gay and doesn't like girls in general.
- Enforced: "People might relate to an aggressive, athletic woman, but no-one will want to think of her as a romantic interest."
- Lampshaded:
- "Boys don't make passes at girls who can kick their a-"
- "I tried to warn you, Alice, I really did and you didn't believe me. The men you may find attractive won't be interested by your fighting skills and will prefer a more delicate woman."
- Invoked: Alice felt threatened by men as a teenager, and started working out as a way of scaring them off.
- Exploited: Betty, knowing Bob is turned off by Action Girls, gets him to see Alice in a fight. So that she can have him all to herself.
- Defied:
- The author is an Amazon Chaser and cannot comprehend why anyone wouldn't want a woman with muscles.
- Heir to the Dojo Alice has hordes of suitors lining up for the privilege of watching her take down challengers (none of them would stand a chance and they know it).
- Alice tries to avoid guys finding out about her Action Girl credentials out of fear of invoking this trope.
- Bob is initially intimidated by Alice's strength or fighting skills, but tries to be understanding and look past it.
- Best Her to Bed Her
- Discussed: "So are you one of those wussy guys who's scared of a girl who can put you in a Full Nelson?" "See, the simple fact that you call me a wuss already proves that you don't find me attractive. Sorry, but I'll pass. Find yourself a guy stronger than you, since this is what you're looking for anyway.
- Conversed: "Poor Alice, you'd think more guys would be clamoring after a woman that hot".
- Deconstructed:
- While it starts out as the standard "guy ignores girl who can fight" situation that's sometimes Played for Laughs, the story focuses on Bob for a while. When Bob sees Alice in a particularly messy fight, it triggers a horrific flashback: Bob lies in a bloody heap on the ground as authorities restrain a violently angry woman. It's revealed that she was Bob's abusive ex-girlfriend Susan, who was sent to prison for nearly killing him after an argument escalated into a physical fight. Bob's attitude and previous actions towards Alice are seen in an increasingly depressing light as time goes on.
- Alice wants to pursue Bob romantically but is aware of his dislike towards her type. So she pretends to be weak and asks advice from her friends, in which Hilarity Ensues in their attempts. She successfully convinces Bob she is a weak female who needs to be protected and happily dates her. However, she begins to have identity issues because of her changes and breaks down after seeing Bob beaten-up (who feels morally responsible to protect her) by a gang and Alice is un-sure what to do.
- Bob gets called out by others for being too picky in what he prefers in women and mocked by others (especially guys) for not being "manly" enough to handle women like Alice.
- Reconstructed:
- Alice works to maintain Bob's trust after finding out the truth, and he eventually moves past his issues.
- Alice's friends come to help and shout that she should be who she is. Bob watches her successfully takes out the gang and learns that physical strength doesn't determine character. They continue to happily date.
- Implied: Alice is very strong, and complains that she can't find a boyfriend. When someone asks why, Alice is quiet, but the camera meaningfully pauses on her toned biceps.
- Played For Drama: Alice's romantic troubles lead her to do more intense exercise, and it eventually crosses the line into self-harm.
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