Generally speaking, people and societies that believe in strict gender roles tend to frown on people who don't conform to what people/society says they "should" be. For men, this typically involves certain people or entire societies looking down on them for having traditionally feminine interests, hobbies, or characteristics. Said mistreatment might either be supported or condemned by the narrative. In the former case, a male character's feminine traits will be treated as something to be ridiculed and scorned, and any criticism or bullying they receive for it being portrayed as deserved. In works that don't agree with this view will portray those who hold it as bigoted jerks trying to dictate how men should behave.
The exact reason why a guy might be treated this way varies; men who are willing to do things that are traditionally considered "women's work" such as house chores, knitting, or taking care of children will sometimes be looked down on for their willingness/ability to do such tasks, with househusbands being especially derided. Guys who have "feminine" hobbies and interests will often be looked down on by those who believe that certain hobbies should be exclusive to specific genders. Men with "feminine" characteristics such as sensitivity, submissiveness, emotional, etc. will often be ridiculed by those who believe that men should be the opposite.
The types of characters who hold this set of attitude are usually male, but it's not unknown for women to hold this sort of attitude. Specific characters who hold these sorts of views include parents who expect their sons to conform to traditional ideas of masculinity, bullies who think a guy being feminine is a sign of weakness, and homophobes who assume that a guy who shows feminine traits is gay.
How exactly the "sissy" in question feels about being criticized can vary; some give their detractors no mind, simply seeing their derision as just hateful nonsense. Others try to defend themselves, either insisting that there is nothing wrong with a man enjoying typically feminine things or that it's stupid and/or old-fashioned to decide that certain activities are exclusive to a particular gender. Someone who's shamed by large numbers of people might try to change themselves to be more typically manly, but eventually decide that being themselves makes them happier than trying to conform to societal standards of manliness.
Because of Values Dissonance, whether or not effeminacy is considered a negative trait depends largely on the time period and/or region the work was produced in. In some time periods and regions, effeminacy was/is demonized with accusations of being effeminate in being considered a serious insult as well as a way of slandering one's enemies. One interesting example of this is how the English word bad is believed by some to come from the Old English word bǣddel, meaning an effeminate man, implying that a man being not manly is inherently a bad thing.
Spear Counterpart to Stay in the Kitchen. A man who's In Touch with His Feminine Side, One of the Girls, Camp Gay, Camp Straight, or Camp in general will receive this sentiment. A Heteronormative Crusader will often have this sort of view towards men who aren't gender-conforming. Characters who hold this attitude are unlikely to believe that Real Men Wear Pink or that Real Men Cook, but are likely to believe that Pink Is for Sissies, Men Don't Cry, Real Men Eat Meat, Real Men Hate Sugar, and/or that Gender Nonconforming Equals Gay. Guys with an Unmanly Secret will likely have a fear of this trope. Could be part of a "Gender-Normative Parent" Plot. Guys who are a victim of this will often be the victim of one or more Gendered Insults.
The bi-axial gender inversion of Tomboy Angst.
Because this trope is both very common and deals with serious issues, No Real Life Examples, Please!.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Ghost Stories:
- In the ADV dub version of episode 3, when Momoko sees how skilled Leo is at seaming, she compliments his skill but fears that he's a homosexual.
- In the ADV dub version of episode 11, when Keiichirou finds a doll in a trashcan and wants to keep it, his older sister Satsuki doesn't let him have it because she thinks boys shouldn't play with dolls and she doesn't want a "retarded, gay brother".
- My Dress-Up Darling: The very first scene in the series is Wakana Gojo's childhood friend, Nobara Aoyagi, ostracizing him when they were kids over his love for Hina dolls, telling him he's a freak and that she hates him. This childhood incident would seriously traumatize Gojo to the point where he became a loner up until high school and kept his hobby hidden from everyone around him except his grandfather, a Hina doll craftsman. Chapters 103 - 106 provide more insight into this childhood incident, revealing that Nobara never thought this of Gojo, and her outburst was more out of anger due to him ignoring her attempts to cheer him up after both his parents died, with him finding solace in Hina dolls instead. It was also revealed Nobara immediately regretted her harsh words, but didn't apologize until they reunited in their teens because she felt doing so would make things worse and that she wasn't worth forgiving. Thankfully though, the two quickly reconciled.
Comic Books
- The Simpsons: In the comic "Bart Simpson's Pal, Milhouse", Sherri and Terri berate Milhouse for inviting them to the school dance, claiming that girls are supposed to ask boys to dances, not the other way around.
Comic Strips
- In Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin doesn't sign up to play baseball at recess because he hates organized sports, and instead spends his time on the playground with Susie. Moe then calls him a sissy and a wimp, and Calvin signs up after all to shut him up.
Fan Works
- A Diamond Under Pressure: Raquel's scumbag father Percival always shames him for dressing femininely and misgenders him if he doesn't comply. Raquel then dresses in more masculine clothing to try to appease him, but his friends convince him to be true to himself.
- Pokémon: Gospel Version: While eating at a restaurant, Ash and Misty, who are fundamentalist Christians, are unnerved by the fact that all of the cooks are men, with Misty stating that cooking is supposed to be a woman's job. Since the author is (maybe) a fundamentalist Christian, the readers are actually supposed to agree with the two.
- In Push Comes to Shove
, Jiraiya insists that Minato wasn't a real man because he treated his wife Kushina as an equal and stayed faithful to her rather than dominate her and exploit his reputation to sleep with other women on the side.
- With Pearl and Ruby Glowing
- Several male characters (Hiccup, Chicken Little, etc.) who have feminine interests or are otherwise bad at masculine things are subjected to bullying from peers, disappointment from parents who Wanted a Gender-Conforming Child, and sometimes sexual assault. This also applies to trans people on all parts of the spectrum; trans woman Wilhelmina, when she was young and didn't realize she was trans yet, was told to act more like a boy by her parents, and trans man Peekablue was accused of faking being trans because he still liked to dress and act femininely.
- The cult God's Will First adheres to strict gender roles, believing that men and boys must not be weak and must have masculine interests. Those who aren't like that are put on their hit list, often under the assumption they're gay (even if they're not).
- A conversation among some characters about historical figures mentions that Ancient Rome didn't mind gay men who topped but considered bottoming to be sissy, and this caused a scandal about the relationship of Roman nobleman Badrang and Saxon pirate Clogg.
Films — Live-Action
- Casualties of War: When PFC Eriksson objects openly to Sgt. Meserve's plan to have their squad gang-rape a Vietnamese civilian to "keep up morale", Meserve berates and humiliates him by accusing Eriksson of being gay and screaming homophobic slurs at him for being unwilling to sleep with a woman. When that doesn't make Eriksson back down, Meserve simply threatens to kill him in a friendly fire "accident" if he tries to stop them.
- Hot Fuzz: Simon Skinner has the nickname "Sissy" thanks to a childhood studying ballet. This nickname serves to conceal a familial relationship to another character to the main character and the audience but is well known to the other characters.
Skinner: I’m afraid my nickname of Sissy is only a revelation to yourself. My teenage years studying ballet are well-known.Wainwright: Yeah, Sissy Skinner.Cartwright: What a gaylord.Skinner: Thank you, Andrews.
- Rocketman (2019): Stanley's view of masculinity was so narrow that he would deny Reggie anything even slightly soft or feminine, such as fashion magazines or hugs. It also manifests as general homophobia, as he suggests that looking at the magazine would somehow turn Reggie into "a fairy". His disdain for his son's less masculine tendencies results in him treating Elton rather cruelly when they reconnect years later, Elton having made a career out of singing in flamboyant costumes; it doesn't help that he really is gay and visited with the goal of coming out to him. It becomes clear that Stanley has nothing but contempt for him, and he's a lot less strict with his two new, more traditionally masculine sons. The fact that Elton is generally not campy when he's "out of character" doesn't change anything, Stanley still just considering him to be strange and soft.
Literature
- Captain Underpants: Invoked in Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers, when kindergartener George and Harold are messing with Kipper Krupp, the school bully. They sneak things like pretty dresses, dollies, and a friendship bracelet kit into his locker, and send messages to his friends from his phone like "UR invitid 2 my pritty dolly tea party. If U need 2 borow a dolly, meet me @ my locker. I got xtras!!! xoxo."
Loogie: Dude, can I bring a teddy bear to your tea party, or is it just for dollies only? (everyone laughs)
- Deathstalker (Simon R. Green): One Church Militant official publicly insults the Sissy Villain Valentine Wolfe for his debauched lifestyle and extravagant makeup. Valentine being an Agent Peacock who's far more dangerous than he looks, it doesn't land.
Kassar: You look like a degenerate. Wipe that paint off your face.Valentine: Lick it off.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg sometimes razzes his friend Rowley for listening to a pop star named Joshie and using a diary with fairies printed on it by saying that those things are for girls. Zigzagged in the first book when Greg turns down Rowley's option of a "best friends forever" necklace and claims that those are for girls, but his real reason is that he's afraid of the commitment attached to the "forever".
- In the kids' book Jacob's New Dress, a little boy named Jacob likes wearing dresses. His male classmates tease him and say that he should only play with the girls, but he takes the insults.
- In the kids' book I'm a Girl, a boy tells both the eponymous girl who he's mistaken for another boy, plus an actual boy, who are both playing with dolls, that "dolls are for girls".
Boy: "No, they're not!"Girl: "I am a girl!"
- The Masquerade: Prince Svirakir faced mounting disapproval from his parents for acting like a woman despite claiming to be a man (in particular, preferring to be submissive and bottoming during sex). According to Mansion Stakhieczi constructions of gender, if he'd simply acceded to being a woman, they'd have been perfectly fine with it (though he'd lose his inheritance), but his insistence that he was a man despite his feminine behavior meant they disdained him as a liar.
- Oliver Button Is a Sissy: Oliver is a young boy who gets picked on by the other boys at school because he doesn’t like and isn’t good at sports, and instead prefers dancing and theatre. They steal his tap shoes, play keep-away with them, and write “Oliver Button Is a Sissy” on the school wall. Oliver's father also tells him not to be a sissy and that he should get into sports, though he comes around and ultimately supports him in the talent show.
- Pinky and Rex: In Pinky and Rex and the Bully, Pinky is taunted by a bully named Kevin for his feminine name, preference for hanging out with girls, and love of the color pink. Pinky feels so insecure about it that he tries to become less girly by changing his name to Billy and getting rid of all of his pink stuff. Fortunately, after talking with a neighbor, Billy realizes that a person's gender doesn't dictate what they are and aren't allowed to like and dislike, and decides it's better to be himself.
- The Sissy Duckling is about a male duck named Elmer who's an outcast because of his preference for feminine activities such as fashion and playing with dolls over more masculine activities such as baseball. Elmer is bullied at school, and his father tries to get him to be more manly, and eventually disowns Elmer out of shame. Fortunately, Elmer's father comes around when Elmer saves him after he gets shot and even rebukes Elmer's bullies when they continue to insult him.
- A Song of Ice and Fire: Samwell Tarly has been sent by his father Randyll Tarly to the Night's Watch because he was ashamed by his son's interest in scholarship and thought it beneath him to send Samwell to the Citadel to become a Maester.
Theatre
- Antigone: A large source of Creon's antagonism in the play comes from his frustration at Antigone and Haimon subverting their usual gender roles. Specifically, he considers Haimon to be emotional, soft, and lovesick — all the things that he conflates with traditional femininity. He tries to get him to drop Antigone, who, by contrast, is much more masculine (by ancient Greek standards), as he believes that she's the source of Haimon's "effeminate" nature.
Video Games
- In Persona 4, Kanji cultivates an image as a surly, manly delinquent because of the scorn he received from men and women for having "girly" hobbies like crocheting and making dolls. He's so self-conscious about being judged by others that even implying that he could be gay is a Berserk Button for him. His Social Link is dedicated to him learning that his hobbies do not define him and that continuing to act in a stereotypically manly way isn't doing him or his loved ones any favors compared to being himself.
Visual Novels
- Being a ΔΙΚ: Jamie is made fun of for his hobby of gardening by the other DIKs for it being too feminine, to the point that he had to invoke his DIK code just to stop the rest of the fraternity from talking about it. A DIK MC can potentially do so as well, while a CHICK or Neutral MC encourages him, even accepting the plant he gives him to keep in his room.
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: It's heavily implied this is the reason why Chihiro Fujisaki prefers to dress in girls' clothing when he's out in public rather than open himself up to vicious bullying from the outside world. Unfortunately for him, Mondo Owada — the first character he admits this to — flies into a jealous rage at his bravery and kills him.
Web Animation
- Helluva Boss: Moxxie isn’t overtly feminine per se, but he’s still the Feminine Boy to his wife Millie’s Masculine Girl; he has a rather polite and gentle demeanor outside of his job as a Professional Killer, is the least physically strong out of all members at I.M.P., has a big interest in musical theatre, and enjoys Millie ”pegging” him every so often. His lack of ”manly” attributes is shown to be one major reason why Millie’s family dislike him immensely, as it clashes with the Wrath Ring’s Testosterone Poisoning culture, and his homophobic and Abusive Dad Crimson is also shown to hold his son in contempt both over this and his bisexuality, as he derided Moxxie’s relationship with his ex-boyfriend Chaz as a "sissy lifestyle".
- Manga-Waido: I was made fun of by my co-worker for liking to cook but...: Fuji looks down on his co-worker Narita for liking to cook, calling him sissy for it. He's also envious of the fact that Narita is close to Kitano, whom Fuji has a crush on. Despite Fuji's views on men cooking, he has no problem with assisting in the company barbeque to impress Kitano, though he underestimates just how difficult barbequing is and doesn't really help.
- Sekai no Fushigi: My sexist co-worker was making fun of my cooking skills but then..: Waruine is a sexist who looks down on his co-worker Kaito for taking cooking classes, insisting that cooking is for women and that Kaito is girly for doing it. Waruine refuses to learn how to cook, insisting that he'll have his future girlfriend/wife cook for him. When Kaito starts becoming more popular with women, Waruine insists that no woman wants a man who can cook better than them. The other female co-workers lambast him for his old-fashioned attitude, pointing out that plenty of women like men who can cook and that he'll probably end up single for his outdated ideas.
- Trouble Busters: My father-in-law wouldn't allow me to help my wife with the chores because of he was old-fashioned: Alan's father-in-law is old-fashioned looks down on Alan for his willingness to do housechores and let Melanie work a career, insisting that it's a woman's job and Alan is an embarrassment for it. Alan's father-in-law invites his friends over to berate Alan and even pushes Alan's head into the frying pan. Alan's wife Melanie and the father-in-law's friends are disgusted by their fathers' close-mindedness and cut ties with them.
Webcomics
- Hiimdaisy: In the Persona 4 comic, Dojima insults Yu for choosing to drink sweet coffee, calling him madam for taking coffee with cream and comparing Yu to his daughter Nanoko for choosing coffee with cream and sugar.
- I Want to Be a Cute Anime Girl: When Cheryl (a closeted trans girl) accidentally wears her nail polish to school Randy notices and calls it “kinda gay”, claiming that only girls paint their nails. Despite the irony of that claim, and knowing Randy probably intended it to be friendly banter, Cheryl is still hurt by the comments.
Web Video
- Homophobes React: Heather insists that gay men should always disclose their sexuality and never keep that information private.
Heather: Like, just do it. What are you so afraid of? Ugh, they're such sissies.
Western Animation
- CatDog: One episode has the titular characters secretly discover that Cliff, a big burly thug who constantly picks on them, is taking ballet lessons. Throughout the episode, they laugh at him for it, and near the end of the episode, they reveal the reason why. Despite their expectations, Cliff is actually proud of practicing ballet and when Shriek disparages ballet as being "for sissies". Cliff proves her wrong by showing how his ballet lessons make him better at beating people up.
- The Cleveland Show: In one episode, it's revealed that Cleveland Junior is good at seaming. When Donna asks what the male equivalent of a seamstress is, Cleveland, who doesn't approve of his son seaming, snarks that the answer is "a homosexual".
- Ed, Edd n Eddy:
- At the beginning of "Momma's Little Ed", when Eddy sees Double D sewing curtains, Eddy mocks him for being into "girl stuff". Double D defends himself by pointing out that house chores aren't just for girls and that he was asked to do so by his mom.
- In "Pain in the Ed", aside from the fact that Ed is an absolutely dreadful violin player, another reason why Eddy doesn't like Ed playing it is because violins are for "sissies". He states near the end of the episode that if he played an instrument, he would play something "manly" like a kazoo.
- Gravity Falls: In "Dipper vs. Manliness", Dipper is ridiculed by Mabel and Grunkle Stan for lacking chest hair, his voice cracking, and his enjoyment of girly pop songs. After being humiliated by failing a strength-test game, he seeks advice from a tribe of "manotaurs" who embody masculine stereotypes, but rejects them when they order him to prove his manliness by killing the Multibear. When he relates the incident to Grunkle Stan, he's congratulated for standing up for himself and doing the right thing in the face of peer pressure.
- King of the Hill: In "Goodbye Normal Jeans", after Bobby takes up Home Economics classes, Hank doesn't approve because, in his eyes, housework is strictly a woman's job and he claims that Bobby will have no reason to get married if he learns to do housechores on his own.
- Miraculous Ladybug: The very first Akumatization was Ivan, who got Akumatized because Kim made fun of him for being interested in "feminine" things like music and poetry.
- Rugrats: In "The Clan of the Duck", Chuckie and Phil try wearing dresses to keep cool. When two boys see them, they initially mistake them for girls, and then beat them up upon realising they're boys.
