Women in refrigerators

Women in refrigerators is a literary trope coined by Gail Simone in 1999 describing a trend in fiction which involves female characters facing disproportionate harm, such as death, maiming, or assault, to serve as plot devices to motivate male characters, an event colloquially known as "fridging". Simone's original list of over 100 affected female characters, published on the "Women in Refrigerators" website, sparked discussions on sexism in pop culture and the comic-book industry. The trope's influence extends beyond comics, with critiques of its presence in film and television franchises. Notably, author Catherynne M. Valente, inspired by Gwen Stacy's portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, wrote The Refrigerator Monologues, addressing the trope's impact on female characters in superhero narratives.