Who doesn't love a bad boy?

What is it about bad boys that seems to draw girls in? We've all seen it. In movies, in books, even in our own schools. There's lines of sweet, romantic guys willing to treat his lady like a queen yet he can't seem to get the chance to because all the girls are swooning over the school bad boy. Natsuo Kirino's novel "Real World" follows the story of four girls whose lives are forever changed by the ultimate bad boy, Worm. Although each girl knows that Worm murdered his own mother with a baseball bat they can't seem to help theirselves from falling in love with him and helping him evade the police.

In today's society, the bad boy image is something that a lot of guys strive to achieve. Everywhere you look you can see pictures of muscular guys covered in tattoos with a "I couldn't care less about anything" epression their face. This look seems to make most girls melt almost instantly. The thought of dating someone with a reputation seems to make girls want them more. It's like Eve with the forbidden fruit in The Garden of Eden. She's told repeatedly how bad the fruit is and how she's not allowed to have it, yet she still takes the bite that changes her entire life. Wanting something that you can't have or are not allowed to have seems to be something that's incoded in female DNA. 

Other than just the pure thrill of dating someone that has a reputation, the excitement of having a bad boy comes from the idea that you might be able to change him. All girls want the feeling of being able to change a guy for the better. They want to be able to say that they took the player out of the game and evolved him into a better guy.

However, in Kirinos book, the four girls don't seem to change Worm as much as he changes them. The girls seem to thrive off of the sense of danger that comes with helping a murder who's the same age as them evade arrest from the police. With all the stress of having to perform well in school and keep their parents happy, the girls find relief in having a new distraction. One girl, Toshi, even finds a new identity for herself and decides to never go back to the old person that she use to be.

Dating a bad boy can be thrilling to say the least. For teenage girls, this could be a major act of rebelling against their parents. The reckless feeling of dating someone who could be dangerous mixed with the excitement of having the opportunity to rebel against your parents is something that girls today thrive on and will most likely continue to thrive on for a long time to come.

Who wants to be Cinderella when you can be Wonder Woman.

The Hunger Games. Divergent. Brave. These films all have their leading ladies playing the role of the heroine going against the norms set of how a women should behave. In recent years, women have begun to have stronger leading roles in movies, books, and television shows. No longer are they cast as the damsel in distress but rather as the indepent, strong willed heroine. 

In Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen is as indepent as they come. Taking on the role as the provider for her family when her father died, she's nothing like the typical girls you would see in the leading role of a film a decade or so ago. Her average looks, lack of interest in girly things such as dresses and make up, and ability to hit any target she pleases with her bow give her more of tom boy apperance than a princess. This plays right into the wave of evolution that is taking place in our society today. Young girls no longer dream of growing up to be a princess. Now they wish to be the hero. They have traded in the idea of finding their Prince Charming for becoming a self sufficient woman who can kick butt when the time comes. 

With the audience for princess movies decreasing drastically by the day has caused companies such as Disney/Pixar to release statements saying they will no longer be making princess based movies. In an article from 2010, that can be found here, Disney said that after the release of the movie Tangled they had no plans of releasing any more princess/ fairy tale themed animation films after the release of the cartoon film The Princess and the Frog did so poorly. However, the animated films Brave and Frozen have both been released since the article was published. Although both movies are based off of princesses, they aren't portrayed as normal princess' are. Yes, there are castles. Yes, there are parties with fancy dresses. And yes, they do wear a tiara. Even though they have the traditional look of a princess, their manerisms and personallity are not as regal as the rest. They not only defend their selves from dangers, but they also protect others, not needing a prince to come along and save the day. 

Although society is starting to push more for women being the hero of their lives, they also still want them to maintain a feminie appearance. In the book, Katniss has her own prep team that makes sure she looks her absolute best whenever she's in front of the cameras. They even make sure her hair and makeup is done before being launched in the arena for the Quarter Quell. Not many people would care what they look like when fighting for their lives. This shows the pressure that women are under by  society to make sure that they look like a lady, even if they want them to fight like a man. 

Women have always been seen as the weaker gender. Having them become the hero of the story has shown a remarkable step towards a new set of social and gender normalities in our society today.