With Lena Dunham’s sitcom Girls premiering on HBO this month and New Girl going strong on Channel 4, showbiz isn’t short of funny, women-fronted comedy – but that doesn’t mean the genre lacks its own uniquely female cliches. After hours of trawling through romcom classics and Sex and the City episodes, we round up the biggest offenders…

1. The makeover scene

2. Shopping montages are to women what training montages are to Rocky

3. Eating (or drinking) your feelings

4. Smalltown girl moves to the big city

5. The ‘fuck yeah, girl power’ moment

Words: Zing Tsjeng