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Good girl gone bad. It’s not a new saying. The phrase itself has been around for as long as I can remember. Most people use the "good girl gone bad" expression to describe a woman or a girl who was seemingly a "good girl" but then turns bad. We have seen this several times with celebrities like Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna and, most recently, Chloe Bailey.

I know plenty of us probably saw it in our towns and schools — or maybe it was you. We saw girls who were considered to be the smart and quiet good girl for years. Suddenly, she seemingly came out of her shell and started to dress and act differently. Maybe she started wearing tight clothes, shirts with cleavage showing or crop tops. Or perhaps she started dating, or someone heard she was having sex. She’s no longer quiet and timid, but outgoing and having fun.

This change is usually when the stereotype comes into play. It has nothing to do with sexualization. If we’re honest, most girls are sexualized as soon as our bodies start to develop and curves begin to show up.

“Good girl gone bad” is outdated and needs to be forgotten. There are no set guidelines for what or who is a good girl or bad girl. Is it even a real thing? Haven’t we moved past the need to coin a woman or girl “good” or “bad”?

Juleana Jackson

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed