Popular media reflects and reinforces societal biases through the use of tropes, which are narrative elements, such as archetypal characters and plot arcs, that occur frequently across media. In this paper, we specifically investigate gender bias within a large collection of tropes. To enable our study, we crawl tvtropes.org, an online user-created repository that contains 30K tropes associated with 1.9M examples of their occurrences across film, television, and literature. We automatically score the “genderedness” of each trope in our TVTROPES dataset, which enables an analysis of (1) highly-gendered topics within tropes, (2) the relationship between gender bias and popular reception, and (3) how the gender of a work’s creator correlates with the types of tropes that they use.
Here is the official page for our paper.
We crawled TVTropes.org to collect a large-scale dataset of 30K tropes and 1.9M examples of their occurrences across 40K works of film, television, and literature. We then connected our data to meta-data from IMDb and Goodreads to augment our dataset and enable analysis of gender bias.
Our data can be found here (~650 MB). It contains the following:
- tropes contains trope names, IDs, and descriptions
- lit_tropes, film_tropes, and tv_tropes contain the trope names, titles, and examples across each form of media
- lit_goodreads_match, film_imdb_match, tv_imdb_match contain the tropes, examples, and titles linked to the metadata
Samples of each table are shown at the end of this document.
Each script contains the code for each different analysis conducted in the paper. Please ensure you have the requirements listed in requirements.txt installed to run the scripts.
If you use this dataset or code for your research, please cite:
@inproceedings{gala-etal-2020-analyzing,
title = "Analyzing Gender Bias within Narrative Tropes",
author = "Gala, Dhruvil and
Khursheed, Mohammad Omar and
Lerner, Hannah and
O{'}Connor, Brendan and
Iyyer, Mohit",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the Fourth Workshop on Natural Language Processing and Computational Social Science",
month = nov,
year = "2020",
address = "Online",
publisher = "Association for Computational Linguistics",
url = "https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/2020.nlpcss-1.23",
doi = "10.18653/v1/2020.nlpcss-1.23",
pages = "212--217",
abstract = "Popular media reflects and reinforces societal biases through the use of tropes, which are narrative elements, such as archetypal characters and plot arcs, that occur frequently across media. In this paper, we specifically investigate gender bias within a large collection of tropes. To enable our study, we crawl tvtropes.org, an online user-created repository that contains 30K tropes associated with 1.9M examples of their occurrences across film, television, and literature. We automatically score the {``}genderedness{''} of each trope in our TVTROPES dataset, which enables an analysis of (1) highly-gendered topics within tropes, (2) the relationship between gender bias and popular reception, and (3) how the gender of a work{'}s creator correlates with the types of tropes that they use.",
}
| Title | Trope | Example | CleanTitle | tconst | trope_id | title_id | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 584615 | TheGreatestShowOnEarth | ItsAllMyFault | Holly blames herself... | thegreatestshowonearth | tt0044672 | t11922 | f13212 |
| 157973 | DoubleHarness | TheReveal | Joan tricked John int... | doubleharness | tt0023960 | t23423 | f3550 |
| 239952 | HeartsOfDarknessAFilmm... | LifeImitatesArt | The documentary point... | heartsofdarknessafilmm... | tt0102015 | t12858 | f5396 |
| 257511 | HowToTrainYourDragon2 | BoringInsult | Referenced; Hiccup ... | howtotrainyourdragon2 | tt1646971 | t02651 | f5803 |
| 560066 | TheDarkKnightRises | SequelDisplacement | Downplayed with The D... | thedarkknightrises | tt1345836 | t19847 | f12644 |
| 221031 | GoneGirl | TechnologyMarchesOn | Shooting films on, uh... | gonegirl | tt2267998 | t22391 | f4995 |
| 545152 | TheBookOfEli | MilesToGoBeforeISleep | In The Book of Eli, E... | thebookofeli | tt1037705 | t14122 | f12286 |
| 103778 | CasinoRoyale2006 | WackyWaysideTribe | A variation occurs in... | casinoroyale2006 | tt0381061 | t25452 | f2238 |
| 326503 | LordOfWar | WarIsHell | Those who suffer in w... | lordofwar | tt0399295 | t25547 | f7348 |
| 565976 | TheDuchess | TheTheTitle | The Duchess | theduchess | tt0864761 | t23569 | f12796 |
| Title | Trope | Example | trope_id | title_id | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 570728 | TheFan | TheTheTitle | The Fan | t23569 | f12916 |
| 45611 | AvengersInfinityWar | Jossed | Marvel Cinematic Univ... | t12127 | f1027 |
| 55227 | BatmanBegins | SoftGlass | The Dark Knight Trilo... | t20790 | f1197 |
| 55513 | BatmanBegins | ItIsBeyondSaving | As stated by the page... | t11906 | f1197 |
| 259789 | IHeartHuckabees | OpposedMentors | Philosophically oppos... | t16302 | f5885 |
| 563212 | TheDeathsOfIanStone | MySpeciesDothProtestTo... | The Deaths of Ian Sto... | t14904 | f12692 |
| 661142 | TheStepfather | VeryLooselyBasedOnATru... | The inspiration for t... | t25182 | f14882 |
| 452058 | ScoobyDooMusicOfTheVam... | TakeThat | Daphne and Velma are ... | t22219 | f10422 |
| 414934 | QuickChange | IndyPloy | Fortunately, Grimm is... | t11355 | f9612 |
| 605187 | TheLastSamurai | WaterfallShower | Nathan comes across h... | t25594 | f13694 |
| Trope | Gender Ratio | Tokens | FemaleTokens | MaleTokens | Corpus | Normalized Gender Ratio | TotalMFTokens | TokenRatio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GodOfGods | 0.07650127974738415 | 2763 | 5 | 215 | in a setting with a f... | -0.9535353505968780 | 220 | 0.079623597536025210 |
| CaptainColorbeard | 0.11810722355618752 | 1020 | 2 | 55 | probably as a result o... | -0.9282651120002727 | 57 | 0.055882352935697810 |
| TheTropeKid | 0.09900163152562196 | 1143 | 1 | 33 | in the wild west a man... | -0.9398692921953062 | 34 | 0.029746281712183176 |
| TheDeadRiseToAdvertise | 0.00000000000000000 | 1503 | 0 | 24 | there was a point when... | -1.0000000000000000 | 24 | 0.015968063871193077 |
| CouncilOfAngels | 0.05518124442745930 | 1658 | 1 | 60 | the problem with god i... | -0.9664845191555433 | 61 | 0.036791314834934176 |
| DoubleStandardViolence... | 0.06600109415444158 | 1209 | 1 | 50 | it seems very common f... | -0.9599128575334266 | 51 | 0.042183622825294980 |
| EvolutionPowerUp | 0.00000000000000000 | 1604 | 0 | 47 | when something or some... | -1.0000000000000000 | 47 | 0.029301745634083432 |
| SuperSentaiStance | 0.12021625927588820 | 1264 | 1 | 27 | this is performed by a... | -0.9269841451247101 | 28 | 0.022151898732424690 |
| WeaponsOfTheirTrade | 0.08209891807068978 | 1005 | 1 | 40 | a specific style of im... | -0.9501355080970305 | 41 | 0.040796019896438210 |
| TheAllegedHouse | 0.08209891807068978 | 1677 | 1 | 40 | so a character just b... | -0.9501355080970305 | 41 | 0.024448419795799137 |
| Title | Trope | Example | CleanTitle | author | verified_gender | title_id | trope_id | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 188809 | TheHitchhikersGuideToT... | Panspermia | The Hitchhiker's Guid... | thehitchhikersguidetot... | Douglas Adams | male | lit11735 | t16621 |
| 352675 | TheYearling | ShootTheDog | Ory does, but being a... | theyearling | Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings | female | lit14099 | t20162 |
| 268330 | LastManStanding | DidNotGetTheGuy | Claire clearly wants ... | lastmanstanding | David Baldacci | male | lit5827 | t27195 |
| 328992 | TheFriendsOfEddieCoyle | DeathByIrony | The ultimate fate of ... | thefriendsofeddiecoyle | George V. Higgins | male | lit11367 | t05271 |
| 105688 | TalesOfTheFiveHundredK... | LiteralGenie | In the Mercedes Lacke... | talesofthefivehundredk... | Mercedes Lackey | female | lit9895 | t12970 |
| 268142 | WomenInLove | FriendToAllLivingThings | Gudrun has this tende... | womeninlove | D.H. Lawrence | male | lit15279 | t08611 |
| 26546 | Discworld | PermanentElectedOfficial | Late Jim Cloop, the m... | discworld | Terry Pratchett | male | lit2804 | t16862 |
| 116830 | BitingTheSun | BodyBackupDrive | Everyone in the citie... | bitingthesun | Tanith Lee | female | lit1261 | t02560 |
| 109767 | BeautyAndTheBeast | TheZelig | In Once Upon a Time, ... | beautyandthebeast | Jenni James | female | lit1131 | t29367 |
| 192813 | ThePostmanAlwaysRingsT... | BettyAndVeronica | A version that became... | thepostmanalwaysringst... | James M. Cain | male | lit12796 | t02154 |
| Title | Trope | Example | trope_id | title_id | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 396695 | SixGunSnowWhite | AdultsAreUseless | Because none of the s... | t00330 | lit9089 |
| 183214 | GentlemanBastard | FeedTheMole | Gentleman Bastard: Th... | t07855 | lit4031 |
| 262733 | KingdomOfLittleWounds | RoyalBlood | Important for politic... | t19105 | lit5631 |
| 675680 | Worldwar | FreudianTrio | the three most senior... | t08567 | lit15330 |
| 671819 | WitchAndWizard | MagicWand | Witch & Wizard - Wist... | t13559 | lit15221 |
| 22603 | Airman | BlindMusician | Linus Wynter. | t02472 | lit456 |
| 106633 | DarkestPowers | ApocalypseMaiden | Margaret looks at C... | t01137 | lit2458 |
| 235051 | IfWeWereVillains | ThereIsOnlyOneBed | When James comes to v... | t23409 | lit4999 |
| 55743 | Berserker | HumanityIsSuperior | In Fred Saberhagen's ... | t10685 | lit1187 |
| 81605 | Charly | OppositesAttract | Paul, who studies phy... | t16306 | lit1853 |
| TropeID | Trope | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14949 | t14950 | NailEm | Nail guns are a commo... |
| 14579 | t14580 | MostGamersAreMale | This trope holds that ... |
| 14085 | t14086 | MidairCollision | So you have a bunch of... |
| 26985 | t26986 | OffScreenMomentOfAwesome | Something big is abou... |
| 13189 | t13190 | LoserFriendPuzzlesOuts... | Some people are obviou... |
| 26927 | t26928 | SpearCounterpart | One common method use... |
| 13529 | t13530 | MagicHair | This page covers hair ... |
| 26522 | t26523 | YouMeddlingKids | When the evil charact... |
| 4727 | t04728 | CreepyCoolCrosses | Most Japanese are not ... |
| 17837 | t17838 | ProtectionFromEditors | (This writer can't be ... |
| Title | Trope | Example | CleanTitle | tconst | trope_id | title_id | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22299 | AvengerPenguins | ComicalOverreacting | The episode "Beauties... | avengerpenguins | tt0481434 | t04131 | tv377 |
| 395560 | TheDreamstone | ComicallyLopsidedRivalry | Basing itself heavily... | thedreamstone | tt0299286 | t04126 | tv6098 |
| 1697 | AbsalonsHemmelighed | TheGloriousWarOfSister... | Subverted. With their... | absalonshemmelighed | tt0929638 | t22931 | tv63 |
| 186926 | JAG | ICouldABeenAContender | JAG: Bud's college ro... | jag | tt0112022 | t27383 | tv2866 |
| 91333 | Defiance | AwesomeDearBoy | Nicole Munoz says she... | defiance | tt2189221 | t01599 | tv1455 |
| 181722 | IceFantasy | ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty | Or maybe 30. Ka Suo a... | icefantasy | tt5022298 | t11124 | tv2723 |
| 346693 | StarTrekTheNextGeneration | ProudWarriorRaceGuys | The first two books o... | startrekthenextgeneration | tt0092455 | t30554 | tv5461 |
| 227860 | MagnificentCentury | WasItAllALie | After Sadika breaks h... | magnificentcentury | tt1848220 | t25574 | tv3529 |
| 412829 | TheLateShow1992 | UnusualEuphemism | "Financial Advice", u... | thelateshow1992 | tt0103468 | t24977 | tv6457 |
| 440578 | TheTwilightZone1959 | BarredFromTheAfterlife | In the The Twilight Z... | thetwilightzone1959 | tt0052520 | t01869 | tv7004 |
| Title | Trope | Example | trope_id | title_id | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70722 | Chespirito | ShaggyDogStory | The Cyrano de Bergera... | t20004 | tv1051 |
| 159405 | HamishMacbeth | OpposingSportsTeam | Dunbracken in the Sh... | t16304 | tv2391 |
| 457324 | TonganNinja | InsistentTerminology | Never mind the fact t... | t11527 | tv7244 |
| 59250 | BustedKorea | CompetitionFreak | Sehun, big time . He... | t04199 | tv877 |
| 146010 | GameOfThrones | PostRapeTaunt | In Game of Thrones, B... | t17456 | tv2143 |
| 157831 | Grimm | PoisonedWeapons | Monroe uses an elepha... | t17304 | tv2346 |
| 120131 | ErkyPerky | ExpositoryThemeTune | The theme song explai... | t07305 | tv1803 |
| 313687 | SaturdayNightLive | AttentionDeficitOhShiny | In the '80s, Saturday... | t29900 | tv5018 |
| 43438 | BoardwalkEmpire | HollywoodHypeMachine | Gretchen Mol was tout... | t10402 | tv710 |
| 272149 | OrphanBlack | WinBackTheCrowd | Orphan Black also see... | t28118 | tv4266 |
