this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2026
133 points (100.0% liked)
WomensStuff
1026 readers
201 users here now
Women only trans inclusive This is an inclusive community for all things women. Whether you're here for make up tips, feminism or just friendly chit chat, we've got you covered.
Rules…
- Women only… trans women are women, and transphobic or gender critical talk isn’t allowed. Anyone under the trans umbrella (e.g. non-binary, bigender, agender) is free to decide whether a women's community is a good fit for them.
- Don’t be a dick. No personal attacks, no aggression, play nice.
- Don’t hate on groups, hatefilled talk about groups is not allowed. Ever.
- No governmental politics, so no talk of Trump actions etc. We recommend Feminism@beehaw.org for that, but here is an escape from it.
- New accounts or users with few comments may have their posts removed to prevent spam and bad-faith participation.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Isn't this just typical 'damsel in distress' shit? Why do you need a new term like 'fridging' to describe it?
It was called fridging after one character literally had his girlfriend murdered and stuffed in a fridge. There was a lovingly rendered discovery scene.
Women dying for male character impetus is very different from "damsel in distress" Btw
Damsel in distress is where the woman needs saving.
Fridging is where the woman has faced near or fully irreparable harm or death and the hero feels a need to avenge her as a result.
That's only half of it. The point is that a woman is killed/harmed and her story cut short, simply to start the male hero's story.
I didn't disagree, I included bodily harm in damsel in distress. Just that it's not the entire focus unlike fridging.
It's a bit of a square/rectangle thing. All of the women who get fridged are/were damsels, but not all damsels get fridged.
Oh, I think it works as a subtrope really well that way
Because in the Green Lantern comic it came from, the hero's girlfriend got dismembered and stuffed in his fridge. Killing off female characters for the sake of easy drama is especially prevalent in superhero comics, extending way before this specific issue (see Gwen Stacy to start). But this incident is what prompted fantastic writer Gail Simone to coin the phenomenon's comic-related incarnation.
Superhero comics are the American cheese product of written entertainment.
I think "fridging" implies more bodily harm (or threat thereof) than the traditional "damsel in distress" which is often a kidnapping or often a form of arranged marriage, though bodily harm is part of both. Either way, tropes change and can get new names over time, so I guess this might be a more modern term for an old trope with some new stuff added?
It reminds me of Mr Freeze from Batman, who is motivated to save his literally fridged wife
Years of media have taught me that damsel-in-distress could easily be a woman tied to train tracks with an oncoming train or about to plunge off a cliff in a run away stagecoach. I disagree that damsel-in-distress is exclusive to non-bodily harm.
Both of these examples are "imminent danger" where she hasn't been harmed yet, and can still be saved. Fridging would be if the hero discovers her already run over or walks in right as she's shot or whatever.
I could see that. But that’s not what the meme says.
True it says facing