Why does "bad guy" have negative connotations, but "bad girl" tends to have notes of sexiness behind it?

[Ez-Bri-Z_v2]

Something I never understood, but yeah, when an adult is labeled as a "bad guy", they are considered a villain or a negative influence, but call a grown woman a "bad girl", and it sounds flirty and naughty in a sexy way. Of course, this doesn't hold true when talking about a child misbehaving.

So why is it that way? Your thoughts?

[DangerouslyCute]

I think it depends on the culture what "bad boy" and "bad girl" mean...

in Poland "bad boy" has more positive meaning than "bad girl"... bad girl in some regions means literally a whore... when a bad boy is someone confident, rebellious and open for taking risk... :D

[Berethor]

The word guy sounds more mature than the word girl, so it's taken more seriously, bad boy sounds less serious, and bad boys tend to be much more popular than bad girls, because bad girls can be seen as masculine and slutty, being seen as player is not as bad.

https://allthetropes.org/wiki/All_Girls_Want_Bad_Boys

[NathanDavis]

when I hear "bad guy" is mostly in the movies... exactly as you said, the bad guys, the villains...

when I hear "bad girl" though... is usually in music, and the context is also that... someone so good in naughty that it is the kind of "trouble" one would like

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Do you mean bad guy or bad boy? Those are two separate things

[Ez-Bri-Z_v2]

I mean bad guy as in "this actor was the bad guy in the movie"

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

…so the “bad girl” sexual connotation is also carried in “bad boy” but “bad guy” is primarily used for villains. But a “bad boy” is usually a dark love interest in a romance novel with toxic tendencies that magically change for the woman protagonist. So the male equivalent exists, it’s just also directly related to the same kind of sexual infantilization as the terms “boy/girl” if that makes sense

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

“Guy” is one term that’s kind of like “dude” in that while it’s primarily used in a masculine sense, it can also be gender-neutral.

[Zack-Bann]

The equivalent of “bad girl” is “bad boy”
And both have a sexy connotation if you want them to


But I get what you mean
It does feel overused in a double standard way

[Chazmatazz269]

Societally we all but refuse to acknowledge that women can be bad at all. So we tend to minimize it no matter how bad they are.

[Communicationisking]

Because of Tony Montana

https://www.youtube.com/embed/0gbhE1II2ro

[exitseven]

When somebody is labeled a bad girl it means she had questionable morals and may have sex with anybody with a dick.

[TheoreticallyGreat]

Probably because bad guy has more of a connotation of villainy in my opinion

[Sal_Monella]

Because women are les prone to violence and criminality. So Bad is assigned to low morality.

[Anonymous]

Because we live in conservative society, so "bad girl", usually means she is ready to do something non-conventional.

[MasterKS]

some words needs to add there to make it sexy like 'women loves bad guy' LOL

[Willowwww]

Because of the culture!

[TwoToTooTutu2]

My guess is degradation/humiliation kinks.

[Jennz6]

Men are just as naughty

[CubaPirate]

Gender hypocrisy

[Anonymous]

Bad boy , can sometimes be sexy