Basic Trope: A character's crankiness, uptightness and/or quirkiness is believed to be linked to their non-existent sex life.
- Straight: Steve is an unfriendly, anal, frustrated guy. His friends and co-workers tell him to get some.
- Exaggerated:
- Everyone in the show is incapable of getting some and repeatedly tell one another that they need some.
- Every time Steve shows a tiny bit of irritation, he's bombarded with thousands of comments telling him to get some.
- Downplayed:
- Some of Steve's friends suggest that maybe being celibate is starting to take its toll on him and that maybe, just maybe, considering the dating scene wouldn't be such a bad idea in the end.
- Sex is one of the many suggestions for Steve to be less uptight.
- Justified:
- Anything Steve says or do has really obvious sexual undertones.
- Steve is using NoFap to quit porn and try to get laid. Due to the lack of direction for his newfound energy, Steve feels very sexually frustrated.
- Inverted:
- Steve is a sex addict who is always looking for new pussy. He gets so indiscriminate in his search for sex that his entourage suggests that maybe he could use a little chastity and restraint before siring too many unwanted kids.
- Steve is absolutely awful to be around when he's getting laid because of his willingness to screw other people over in addition to general jackassery. He's actually a far better person when he isn't trying to have sex.
- Subverted: Steve doesn't need "sex". He just needs physical exercise.
- Double Subverted: But, as it turns out, exercise is not enough. He does need sex as well.
- Parodied: Everyone in the show tells Steve he needs to get laid, even if he just casually walks by them.
- Zig Zagged: Depending on the Writer, Steve's problems may or may not stem from lack of sex.
- Averted: Nobody ever brings up Steve's sex life.
- Enforced: The writer believes Sex Is Good, and uses the story as a mouthpiece for that.
- Lampshaded: "You really think sex is gonna fix my problems?" "Not all of them but that would at least solve one."
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: "Don't tell me to get laid unless you volunteer."
- Defied:
- Despite everyone insisting that he needs a sex life, Steve fixes his behavior on his own and it turns out he didn't need any sex after all.
- "I'm an Ace. Which means I not only refuse to get laid, I also find the fact you're telling me to get laid extremely offensive."
- Steve discovers Antisexuality and realizes that sex doesn't make him happy and that socetial pressure for him to get laid was part of the problem. He then gradually makes changes to his life that end up causing long term improvements.
- Discussed: "Why does everyone thinks Steve needs sex?" "Don't tell me you've never noticed how aggressive and argumentative sexually frustrated men are compared to the ones with a satisfactory sex life..."
- Conversed: "It's true that some people's cranky/uptight nature is due to repressed sexual urges but assuming that good sex will fix all their problems is a quite gross oversimplification."
- Implied: Steve is told he needs "a little...something" with some Double Entendre, but it is not certain they were talking about sex.
- Deconstructed:
- Steve does get a girlfriend, but it ends up making him go to the other extreme where he's overly laid-back and too much of a doormat.
- Sex isn't an answer to everything, much less an answer for attitude problems. Not only does Steve remain unchanged, but his awful attitude chases away the girl his friends set him up with.
- Getting laid only causes Steve's entitlement issues to become even worse. He feels that he is owed sex and becomes an even bigger douchebag because of it.
- Upon getting laid, Steve thinks his previous attitude is what made him desirable and becomes worse.
- Reconstructed:
- Steve realizes he's let his standards slide too far, but instead of going back to his old self, he decides to take it in moderation. He comes out of the experience better than before.
- Though it doesn't improve his attitude, Steve starts to see how his unfriendliness chases away people and decides to better himself as a person so he can be worthy for the next girl.
- After seeing that sex has made Steve become entitled, his friends decide to call him out on his awful behavior and perspective. He ends up a better person who recognizes other people's boundaries because of the experience.
- Played For Laughs: A major Running Gag of the plot is everybody, even the people who don't know Steve from Adam, constantly telling him that he needs to get laid.
- Played For Drama:
- Steve is Asexual in an environment where Everyone Has Lots of Sex. Peer pressure ensues, serving to further depress and alienate Steve.
- The girl Steve's friends set up him up with ends up raping him, and when Steve tries to tell his friends, they laugh him off, causing him to become even more bitter and unfriendly.
- Played For Horror:
- Steve's friends get a call girl for Steve thinking that him getting laid will do him a lot of good, not knowing that the "call girl" is actually a "Black Widow" Serial Killer who kills her johns and robs the corpses.
- Steve is an incel. His friends naively believe that getting Steve laid will solve his raging misogyny and entitlement issues. When Steve loses his virginity, things seem great at first. Steve is finally working out, talking to people and is getting sex from women left, right and centre. In reality, he simply traded out one form of toxic masculinity for another. His newfound confidence allows him to bully those he once related to, allowing him to trick people into thinking he's a chad while embracing his newfound attractiveness to become a Serial Rapist.
You Need to Get Laid, dude. Sure! I'll start with you!
