together images of physique, strength, courage, and will in an image of comic-book manliness. The controlling male stereotype is that of the muscular action-hero male as manly and of other men (non–weight lifters, nonmacho straight men, gays) as lacking courage, strength, and decisiveness. As critics of the usage pointed out, referring to someone as a girly-man requires adopting this stereotype as an instrument of either humor or derogation. And it further entails adopting the complementary stereotype that women are not so strong or decisive as men. Contrasting the expression "girly girl" with "girly man," Battistella suggests that in the former the adjective intensifies the stereotype present in the noun, while in the latter the adjective negates components of the stereotype to produce a range of derisive meanings. References Arnold Schwarzenegger Effeminacy Pejorative terms for men Saturday Night Live catchphrases