Girl next door
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Girl Next Door (disambiguation).
The prototype of the girl next door is often invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming, or "average" femininity; this is contrasted with other stereotypes such as tomboy, valley girl, and slut. She is the female counterpart to the "boy next door." To fall in love with the "girl next door" is an archetype of romantic fiction and a key plot element. Unlike the femme fatale, the girl next door does not have hidden plans of her own, partly because her character is open and straightforward, and also partly because her intentions would not need to be concealed. Unlike the princess lointaine, she is seldom much richer or of much higher social status than the protagonist. The girl next door is most likely someone the protagonist has known for most of his (or her) life, but in the past could not appreciate the depth of her feelings because of his age.
The girl next door is always physically in close range, yet at the same time detached from the male protagonist (she does not necessarily have to live next door). She is the sweet girl he sees every day, a really great friend, or the perfect girl to bring home to his parents. She is often a virgin. Due to her innocent manner, many erotic fantasies use the girl next door purely as a pretense behind which a real woman is secretly very sexual. This friction in the archetype is a key element in the 2004 film The Girl Next Door.
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[edit] Examples
- Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) in Spider-Man
- Betty Cooper from Archie Comics
- Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole) in the Superman comics
- Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) in Sabrina
- Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) in The Karate Kid
- Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart) in Just Friends
- Toni (Lori Loughlin) in Secret Admirer
- Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's play Our Town, in which the girl next door is a key plot element
- Lorraine Baines (Lea Thompson) in Back to the Future
- Kathleen "Kiki" Harrison (Julia Roberts) in America's Sweethearts
- Dorothy Boyd (Renée Zellweger) in Jerry Maguire
- Jules Harbor (Amy Smart) in Varsity Blues
- Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) in High School Musical
[edit] On television
- Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), Eric Forman's next-door neighbor, on That '70s Show
- Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) on Dawson's Creek
- Mary Ann Summers (Dawn Wells) on Gilligan's Island
- Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) on Smallville
- Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue) on Neighbours
- Patti Mayonnaise on Doug
- Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) on The O.C.
- Maddie Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale) on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
[edit] In anime
[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
