Girl next door
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Girl Next Door.
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming, "average" femininity; the opposite of the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, and the slut. The Girl Next Door is the girl counterpart to the "boy next door."
In the idealised American context, falling in love with the "girl next door" is an archetypal romantic fiction. Unlike the femme fatale, the girl next door does not have hidden plans of her own, because her character and personality are open and straightforward, and because her social, economic, and sexual intentions do not need to be concealed. Unlike the princesse lointaine, she seldom is richer or of a higher social status than the boy protagonist. The girl next door likely is a girl whom the protagonist has known most of his life, but in the past could not appreciate the depth of his feelings for her because of his youth.
The girl next door is always physically in close range, yet simultaneously detached from the male protagonist (she needn't literally live next door). She is the sweet-tempered girl he sees daily, a really great 'pal' friend, hence the "perfect" girl to take home to his parents. Often, she is a sexual virgin, and, because of that, her "innocent" manner is the façade of many American erotic fantasies portraying her "girl next door" image as the pretense behind which is the true, very sexually aggressive woman. The friction of these contradictions in the archetype is the key story theme in the film The Girl Next Door (2004).
Contents |
[edit] Examples from fiction
- Betty Cooper from Archie Comics
- Lana Lang in the Superman comics and the series Smallville
- Emily Webb in Our Town
[edit] In film
- Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) in The Wizard of Oz
- Mary Bailey (Donna Reed) in It's a Wonderful Life
- Lorraine Baines (Lea Thompson) in Back to the Future
- Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger) in Jerry Maguire
- Ashley Carlson (Sarah Roemer) in Disturbia
- Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) in Sabrina
- Jules Harbor (Amy Smart) in Varsity Blues
- Kathleen "Kiki" Harrison (Julia Roberts) in America's Sweethearts
- Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) in The Karate Kid
- Wendy Wu (Brenda Song) in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
- Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) in High School Musical
- Maggie Carter (Marla Sokoloff) in Whatever it Takes
- Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart) in Just Friends
- Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) in the Spider-Man film series
- Ursula Ditkovich (Mageina Tovah) in the Spider-Man film series
- Toni (Lori Loughlin) in Secret Admirer
- Stephanie Jameson (Chelsea Staub) in Minutemen
- Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore) in The Wedding Singer
- Cherry Valance (Diane Lane) The Outsiders
- Judy (Natalie Wood) in Rebel Without a Cause
- Heather (Mena Suvari) in American Pie
[edit] In animation
- Susie Carmichael on Rugrats and All Grown Up
- Patti Mayonnaise on Doug
- Nazz on Ed, Edd, n Eddy
- Gwen Stacy on The Spectacular Spider-Man
[edit] On television
- Madeline Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale) on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
- Haley James Scott (Bethany Joy Galeotti) on One Tree Hill
- Charlene Robinson (Kylie Minogue) on Neighbours
- Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon) on That '70s Show
- Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) on Dawson's Creek
- Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) on Smallville
- Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) on Smallville
- Mary Ann Summers (Dawn Wells) on Gilligan's Island
- Winnie Cooper (Danica Mckellar) on The Wonder Years
- Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) on The O.C.
- Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel) on Boy Meets World
- Melody Hanson (Christine Taylor) on Hey Dude
- Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Amber Thiessen) on Saved by the Bell
- Malini Sharma (Sriti Jha) on Dhoom machao dhoom
- Kathy (Erin Chambers) on Drake and Josh
- Robin Wheeler (Tinashe Kachingwe) on Out of Jimmy's Head
- Meena Paroom (Maiara Walsh) on Cory in the House
[edit] Further reading
- Deborah Jermyn, "Death of the Girl Next Door": Celebrity, Femininity, and Tragedy in the Murder of Jill Dando, Feminist Media Studies, Vol. 1 No. 3 (Nov. 2001)
- Michael Levine, Feeling For Buffy — The Girl Next Door in Michael Levine and Steven Schneider, Buffy and Philosophy, Open Court Press 2003
- Frank Rich, Journal: The Girl Next Door, New York Times, Feb. 20, 1994
- Michael Walker, SHE SPITS ON THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 6, 1994
- Elizabeth Wurtzel, Women: Read my lips: Are you a girl next door or a second wife?, The Guardian, Dec. 22, 1998
