What exactly IS the "girl next door" type?

[Anonymous]

Explain her looks & personality.

I never fully understood the term..

[Gone_But_Not_Lost]

In my opinion the girl next door is supposed to be this sweet, very pretty but not straight up hot, who's non threatening or imposing sexuality to her. Something that makes her appealing without ever getting over the top. Usually regarded as a T-Shirt and jeans type by some, or a cute summer dress by others.

One definition I just read was as follows.

"The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door is invoked incontexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly-girl, or the slut.". The male equivalent is the "boy next door". Both gender examples of the "Next Door" archetype are quintessentially addressed with Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the characters of Emily Webb and George Gibbs or in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer series within the characters of Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher.

"In the idealized American context, falling in love with the "girl next door" is a classic exemplar of 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 need not 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."

Now enough about what they think. Honestly there are tons of guys who are quite smitten with such an archetype girl. I myself happen to be dating what has to be the ultimate girl next door. Admittedly though I confess that it took me like 4 years to start falling for her, but when I did I fell hard. Clearly some guys want that kind of girl, but not all of them, and others, like the article said, simply don't notice her. Partly because she doesn't tend to stand out in that way.

What you can sometimes do to fix this problem, is you can get proactive from time to time. By that, I mean you can try making moves of your own on some of these guys. You can flirt with (or directly hit on) some of these guys to help break their possible misconception about you, and start thinking about you as a potential girlfriend. True its not "old fashioned" but that just helps you more.

That's all I got for now.

[Gone_But_Not_Lost]

Anyway if you want I do have other suggestions. Ideas if you like. Maybe if you can tell me about your guy troubles I can be more specific. Help you out with other suggestions, if they fit better.

[Gone_But_Not_Lost]

I'm checking back on a lot of my old answers like I usually do. I wanted to do a follow up to see if what I told you was at all helpful to you. So did my advice help?

[PowerPlay7]

Girl next door is the girl living next to my apartment

[Anonymous]

jeans and a t-shirt type

friendly or quiet. not sexy or flirty or a party girl

doesnt dress really hot or trendy

sometimes considered plain or boring, often goes unnoticed

[selfishstars]

To me, the "girl next door" is someone who is cute and nice, but not super hot and intimidating. She's more the "average" girl that you feel comfortable with/comfortable approaching.

[Gone_But_Not_Lost]

Sounds like my opening statement. So obviously, I agree!