rdfs:comment
| - In some works, female animals, aliens, monsters and fantastical/mythical creatures tend to have lighter fur, feathers, scales, or skin on their bodies than male animals, aliens, monsters, and fantastical/mythical creatures. This is also true of many other species, especially avians. Males tend to have darker, flashier colors, while females are more drab--peacocks are an especially dramatic example. Some species Inverted Trope this, notably raptors, where the females are larger, darker, and have more ostentatious markings. Examples of Pale Females, Dark Males include:
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| - In some works, female animals, aliens, monsters and fantastical/mythical creatures tend to have lighter fur, feathers, scales, or skin on their bodies than male animals, aliens, monsters, and fantastical/mythical creatures. This trope may have its roots in the fact that, on average, human women of a given ancestry have a lighter skin tone than men of the same ancestry and that there is a sexual preference for paleness in women and darkness in men in many cultures throughout the world. To the limited extent that this trope is expected of real-life humans, it's probably an artifact of farming times, when men were more likely to work long hours out-of-doors than women. This will darken the skin of even already dark-skinned people. This was justified in the European middle ages when women were expected to stay inside to tend to the house while men spend their time outside hunting, laboring or socializing. As a result, men would end up more tanned while women were pale. Although this effect is less prominent in the West nowadays with the tanning fad and the increase in indoor, white-collar jobs, it still shows up in developing countries where labor-intensive outdoor jobs are more common. This is also true of many other species, especially avians. Males tend to have darker, flashier colors, while females are more drab--peacocks are an especially dramatic example. Some species Inverted Trope this, notably raptors, where the females are larger, darker, and have more ostentatious markings. This trend actually goes way back in art history as well. Often the way to discern gender in old, simple paintings was by the skin tone. To invert this, some will go further in the opposite direction than played-straight examples go in the original, such as giving a pale guy a dark-skinned girlfriend, etc... Obviously a case of Colour-Coded for Your Convenience. Pink Girl, Blue Boy is tangentially related. See also Where Da White Women At? Examples of Pale Females, Dark Males include:
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