History Main / DoubleStandard

* MegaCorp: Corporations are perceived differently largely due to how long we've been using their products and what we're ''told'' to think of them by others. In the UsefulNotes/ComputerWars and the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars for example, {{Microsoft}} is the evil empire, and Bill Gates is {{Satan}} incarnate, while other corporations -- Creator/{{Sony}}, Creator/{{Nintendo}}, {{Apple}}, Website/{{Google}} etc. -- can be just as shifty and underhanded in their quest for your money without being subjected to such vehement opposition and criticism.
* On a different note; but still related to MegaCorp, political views of Mega Corporations. Since a lot of people (Primarily right-winged libertarians) seem to think that only governments can screw you over; ignoring of course that {{Mega Corp}}s can screw you over ''just as much'' for yours and other peoples' money if given the shot.

* MegaCorp: Related to HypocriticalFandom above, corporations are perceived differently largely due to how long we've been using their products and what we're ''told'' to think of them by others. In the UsefulNotes/ComputerWars and the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars for example, {{Microsoft}} is the evil empire, and Bill Gates is {{Satan}} incarnate, while other corporations -- Creator/{{Sony}}, Creator/{{Nintendo}}, {{Apple}}, Website/{{Google}} etc. -- can be just as shifty and underhanded in their quest for your money without being subjected to such vehement opposition and criticism.

* HypocriticalFandom: Fans of certain works or even ''entire genres'' will hate on their opposing work for certain things, whilst ignoring that their ''own'' work of choice has the same stuff. This goes double for Genres and Authors, triple when it overlaps with ItsPopularNowItSucks.

* AffirmativeActionGirl, PositiveDiscrimination: The effort is admirable, sort of, but it still leaves a sour taste.

* PedoHunt: Male pedophiles are '''eviscerated''' and burnt at the stake by society. Female pedophiles? Unless they're also [[PsychoLesbian lesbians]], they're hardly ever mentioned and given a "free pass" despite being guilty of the same depravity. In addition, guys seen talking to children who are not family members are automatically thought of as pedophiles due to this and AllMenArePerverts.

* RaisedByDudes : Men cannot nurture babies nor can they raise children correctly without the help of women, especially if the child is a girl.

* DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale: A subtrope of BlackComedyRape. Supports that a) Only a man can hurt another man by sex b) The victim is an AcceptableTarget for not having been able to defend himself c) Unless it's BlackComedy, laughing at a female victim of rape is being a [[JerkAss complete asshole]].

* MommasBoy: A woman dominated by her father is a poor victim. A DaddysGirl might be annoying, but not necessarily. A man dominated by his mother is an instant ButtMonkey and an [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Target]].

* FatGirl: Seldom seen and almost always the show's AcceptableTarget. Positive portrayals are extremely rare, especially is she's White. Compare to BigFun and FatBastard who are almost exclusively male.

* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Examples of women being unable to achieve physical arousal (rare as they are) are invariably PlayedForDrama, or the woman's male sexual partner is blamed for being unable to arouse her. Male examples are infinitely more common, and are almost invariably PlayedForLaughs (as the trope description itself acknowledges): the man suffering from erectile dysfunction is a kind of AcceptableTarget.

* ProneToTears and ShrinkingViolet: Women get depicted as emotional, weak or painfully shy much more often; however, they have a greater chance to [[CharacterDevelopment grow out of it]], and attacking them openly is seen as [[KickTheDog unforgivable]] in-story. When a man is depicted as such, though, he's an AcceptableTarget and PlayedForLaughs, and no one will sympathize with him or be good to him, even if they are genuinely scarred by such an abuse.

Remember that TropesAreNotBad, and that many of these tropes are only noteworthy because of their prevalence across entire genres or societies; one example in a particular work doesn't automatically mean anything on its own. It is only the fact that these tropes appear time and again that calls attention to them.

* HighHeelFaceTurn: Women have to do twice the evil to get the same recognition as evil. Women disproportionately score more convenient redemptions then men. Related to BeautyEqualsGoodness. May be partially explained by [[MostWritersAreMale most writers being male]] and viewing women as more beautiful then men. But it does not entirely explain it, since there have been [[AncientGreece times]] [[AncientRome and places]] where MostWritersAreMale did not coincide with viewing women as more beautiful and redeemable then men. DracoInLeatherPants is a related fandom phenomenon in which fangirl sympathy for male characters is directly proportionate to fangirls' desire to... er... [[RedemptionEqualsSex show them the error of their ways]].

* DepravedHomosexual, DepravedBisexual, PsychoLesbian: Three character types that fall outside society's established sexual roles and portrayed as mentally unstable sexual predators whose evil tendencies stem from their unusual sex drives, especially if the first two are male and if the last one is ''not'' bisexual. Which "proves" that men and women who have interest in same-sex relationships are dangerous and threatening, if not downright insane. Don't even get started on the even ''bigger'' can of worms opened up [[InternetBackdraft when someone asks if it's possible to have one of these characters]] ''without'' UnfortunateImplications.

* TheFourLoves[=/=]IJustWantToBeBadass: WishFulfillment tropes that downplay what women and men are supposed to want out of life. Since a woman is NeverASelfMadeWoman, being a mother and wife is all that ''should'' matter. For men, there's no other valid way to exist than being violent, [[{{Jerkass}} assholish]] and [[AllMenArePerverts sexually hyperactive]]. Only then can you claim the crowning titles of "manly" and "respectable".

* FragileFlower and ShrinkingViolet: Women get depicted as painfully shy and weak much more often; however, [[CharacterDevelopment they have a greater chance to grow out of it]], and attacking them openly is seen as ''[[KickTheDog unforgivable]]'' in-story. When a man is depicted as such, though, he's an AcceptableTarget and PlayedForLaughs, and ''no one'' will sympathize with him or be good to him, even if they ''are'' genuinely scarred by such an abuse.

* ThreeWaySex: A man has sex with 2 girls at the same time: One manly badass!! A woman has sex with 2 guys at the same time: [[ThisIsUnforgivable Eww!! What a whore!!]] The men in a MMF Threeway don't come off much better, the insult being that they are somehow [[YouFailLogicForever gay for even being there]].

* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter / GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion and MandatoryMotherhood / ChildHater: You don't like babies and don't want to be a parent? '''[[ThisIsUnforgivable HOW DARE YOU!!]]''' No matter the reasons, [[ButThouMust you are commanded to like children and babies]], ''especially'' if you're a woman and you shall freak out once [[MyBiologicalClockIsTicking you approach menopause]] if you're still childless. Else, you're a bad person. [[IncrediblyLamePun Period]].

* There are some exceptions though, such as those who play fantasy sports, fans of "[[AmericansHateSoccer That Other Football]]" (ex. an American Football fan in Britain or a Soccer fan in America), and teams that have a really long championship drought; such as Chicago Cubs fans, but even they aren't as lambasted as other [[AcceptableHobbyTargets fandoms]].

* DudeLooksLikeALady: for a woman to wear men's clothing is pretty much normal nowadays. For a man to wear ''women's'' clothing? A big, ugly deal.

* AllLesbiansWantKids: A so-called TruthInTelevision that is, in many or even most cases, just not true at all. But enforced many times and often focusing mainly on the difficulty of finding a semen donor, who invariably turns out to be a straight man. Usually stems from the fact that [[MostWritersAreMale Most Writers Are Straight Males]] and have only a limited understanding (sometimes coloured by [[FetishFuel unrealistic]] [[GirlOnGirlIsHot fantasy]]) of how [[UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest relationships]] between homosexual women work, and / or a desire to reassure themselves (and the male audience) that men still form a vital part in women's lives, even if the women in question are gay.

* AllGaysArePromiscuous: The homosexual version of AllMenArePerverts. But while female sexuality in the absence of men is a beautiful, chaste thing and lesbians are portrayed as [[WomenAreWiser loving]] and [[AllLesbiansWantKids maternal]], male sexuality in the absence of women is [[AllMenArePerverts sexually predatory and insatiable]]. Add in some [=AIDS=] and the story becomes a metaphor for how male sexuality in the absence of women is not only dirty and filthy but [[BuryYourGays lethal]]. One disturbing UnfortunateImplication of this trope is that [[DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale gay men can't be raped by other men]].

* PedoHunt: Male pedophiles are '''eviscerated''' and burnt at the stake by society. Female pedophiles? Unless they're also [[BuryYourGays lesbians]], they're hardly ever mentioned and given a "free pass" despite being guilty of the same depravity. In addition, guys seen talking to children who are not family members are automatically thought of as pedophiles due to this and AllMenArePerverts.

* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Cheerleaders are dumb, cruel and shallow by default, and if you like one of them, you'll never appreciate real good women. Implies that men think only with their [[AllMenArePerverts penises]] and therefore would choose an attractive, but abusive woman over a less attractive but sweet one. .

* Be it this trope, or Bitch Girlfriend, there is also the danger of [[MisaimedFandom unwittingly encouraging]] people to blow slight relationship problems way out of proportion and treat them as cases of the significant other displaying consciously hurtful, controlling or neglectful behavior.

* BeastAndBeauty: ...and many other subtropes thereof, having a woman that must be hot and a man hat must be fugly.

* TheFourLoves [=/=]IJustWantToBeBadass: WishFulfillment tropes that downplay what women and men are supposed to want out of life. Since a woman is NeverASelfMadeWoman, being a mother and wife is all that ''should'' matter. For men, there's no other valid way to exist than being violent, [[{{Jerkass}} assholish]] and [[AllMenArePerverts sexually hyperactive]]. Only then can you claim the crowning titles of "manly" and "respectable".

* AnythingThatMoves: In theory applicable to both but much more often applied to women - especially in porn - since a male sex-crazed omnisexual is often '''''much too''''' threatening for the heterosexual male audience.

* {{Stripperiffic}}: And its sub-tropes, such as BreastPlate and ThongOfShielding - scant, usually impractical armor designed to show as much skin as possible. Common in {{RPG}}s, but notably less so in other genres and media; averted in some cases and with both genders fitting the bill in others. FrankFrazetta, who might be considered the grandfather of this trope, was about as fond of the LoinCloth as he was the FurBikini, although he generally adhered to the standard convention that man in loincloth = badass, woman in fur bikini = {{Fanservice}}.

* {{Gendercide}}: Almost always applied to men and the world will often be shown as a {{Utopia}} without them. And if women are wiped out, men's only concern will be to simply finish the job and massacre themselves until there's no a single human being left. (With maybe some anal rape thrown in.)

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: The practice of killing off a character in a particularly gruesome manner for the sole purpose of goading a more important character into action is not, in itself, sexist. In many cases, however, the implications are unfortunate. It tends to happen to women more often than men (see Gail Simone's archived web page WomenInRefrigerators, the former TropeNamer, for specific examples), and female deaths that fit the trope often involve some manner of humiliation, sexual or otherwise. This sometimes carries an implicit message that male superheroes and sidekicks die because they're in a dangerous profession, while female superheroes (and the wives or girlfriends of male superheroes) die because they're women.

* SubbingVersusDubbing: Where to begin? If a change was done from the Manga to the anime, it inevitably gets blamed on the Dub...even if it was there in the original version. If a character is a BrattyHalfPint in the dub, it's clearly the dub's fault (If not, then the voice actor), even they were written that way and were faithfully translated over in the dub. References to western culture or the like is clearly the dub's fault; even if it was in the sub too...

* VocalMinority: The more vocal one side of an issue is the more {{Demonization}} it gets regardless of whether if the [[NotSoDifferent other side can be just as guilty]] if not even more so of things like FanDumb. While this definitely can apply to Gender roles, it can apply to all sorts of other issues as well such as Race, Religion, to even things such as fanbases and more.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: If a show has averted BloodlessCarnage upon Humans it would be deemed FAR too graphically violent to be seen by children. But you can mutilate, smash and slice apart other types of creatures ESPECIALLY robots and that would be just fine though. To be fair creatures that are actual RealLife animals might be exempt but thats not always the case.

* NeverASelfMadeWoman: According to media and due to MostWritersAreMale, a woman just '''''can't''''' achieve major success/strength/power/[[BadAss badassery]], in short anything important, without the help of an AlwaysMale mentor/family member/friend/lover who is automatically stronger and cooler than she is. She will always be a superior man's daughter/ward/sister/lover/student before anything else.

* VasquezAlwaysDies: Tough, [[BadAss badass]] women are more likely to die before the end of the story because NoGuyWantsAnAmazon, especially not one that [[BestHerToBedHer isn't after]] [[AllAmazonsWantHercules Hercules]]. Also contains an underhanded [[AnAesop aesop]] to female viewers that refusing to appeal to males means death. Could also be due to the WorfEffect, wherein the most badass and capable are taken out first in order to ramp up the tension.

* {{Ryona}}: Fan-made videos that fetishize violence dealt to women in fighting and survival games. The phenomenon carries many UnfortunateImplications and marks a particularly sadistic brand of [[HeManWomanHater misogyny]]. Related to StuffedIntoTheFridge and MonsterMisogyny.

* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: Highly offensive to both but much more to men than to women. First, it holds that mercy, refinement and kindness are [[WomenAreWiser "female" virtues]] as opposed to crudeness, violence and cruelty which are seen as [[ARealManIsAKiller "male" attributes]]. Second, should genders be reversed, the female will always be a HornyDevil, no other flaw needing be mentioned, because MyGirlIsNotASlut; and the male will be portrayed as a pansy for his gracious nature is [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass Unmanly]]. Finally, EvilIsSexy for both genders, plus it's {{Badass}} for men but Good is only desirable for women because, in fictionland, [[UnfortunateImplications kindness equals weakness]] and [[RealWomenDontWearDresses weakness is the very definition of femininity for many]]. Thus, men ''MUST NOT'' [[GoodIsNotNice be gentle in their "goodness"]], lest they'll be branded as [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass sissies]].

* MenAreUncultured: Beethoven, Picasso and Shakespeare notwithstanding, men wouldn't know cultural refinement if it bit them on the ass, because being cultured is un-{{Badass}} thus Unmanly.

* RealWomenDontWearDresses: To many fans, it's '''''impossible''''' to be strong/{{badass}} if you're feminine! You must be a macho man in the body of an ActionGirl, throw out your miniskirts, piss on men and insult any woman less "badass" than yourself, if you want some respect and be seen as a "strong female", else you're useless.

* StandardFemaleGrabArea: Female {{Badass}}es are often subdued far more peacefully -- and improbably -- than their male counterparts. Apparently it's enough to stop an ActionGirl from doing something "silly"...

* {{Stripperiffic}}: And its sub-tropes, such as BreastPlate and ThongOfShielding - scant, usually impractical armor designed to show as much skin as possible. Common in {{RPG}}s, but notably less so in other genres and media; averted in some cases and with both genders fitting the bill in others. FrankFrazetta, who might be considered the grandfather of this trope, was about as fond of the LoinCloth as he was the FurBikini, although he generally adhered to the standard convention that man in loincloth = {{Badass}}, woman in fur bikini = {{Fanservice}}.

* ThreeWaySex: A man has sex with 2 girls at the same time: One manly {{Badass}}!! A woman has sex with 2 guys at the same time: [[ThisIsUnforgivable Eww!! What a whore!!]] The men in a MMF Threeway don't come off much better, the insult being that they are somehow [[YouFailLogicForever gay for even being there]].

* BookDumb: BookDumb male heroes are a dime a dozen, but you rarely hear of a BookDumb female hero unless it's a DumbBlonde. In fact if a female hero ''does'' seem to be BookDumb the chances are very good she is actually really book-smart but [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending otherwise]] to [[PopularIsDumb fit in]] (this very rarely (remember Columbo) happens with a BookDumb male). While being BookDumb isn't bad, looked at this way it reinforces the notion that boys are inherently bad (or willfully irresponsible) in school... unless they're yucky {{nerd}}s. Point being, female characters can be book-smart and {{Badass}} or even desirable, but it's almost as though male characters need to choose between one or the other. On the other hand, the lack of female BookDumb characters may be a result of girls needing role models.

* SamusIsAGirl: As explained in the introduction, having a {{badass}}, violent {{Big Damn Hero|es}} that turns out to be a woman all along is a TwistEnding because it relies on the general assumption that women are not supposed to take action in the first place, let alone be {{Badass}}, and even less be successful.

* BookDumb: BookDumb male heroes are a dime a dozen, but you rarely hear of a BookDumb female hero unless it's a DumbBlonde. In fact if a female hero ''does'' seem to be BookDumb the chances are very good she is actually really book-smart but [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending otherwise]] to [[PopularIsDumb fit in]] (this very rarely (remember Columbo) happens with a BookDumb male). While being BookDumb isn't bad, looked at this way it reinforces the notion that boys are inherently bad (or willfully irresponsible) in school... unless they're yucky {{nerd}}s. Point being, female characters can be book-smart and {{Badass}} or even desirable, but it's almost as though male characters need to choose between one or the other. On the other hand, the lack of female BookDumb characters may be a result of GirlsNeedRoleModels.