Bad Feminists

The internet is excited about the rise of the bad girl. Critics from Bitch magazine to the Guardian have applauded characters like Hannah, Lena Dunham’s character on Girls, and Annie of the film Bridesmaids for upending the traditional injunction that women must be likeable. These women are selfish, obnoxious, and slutty: and they still get the guy! In a superficial sense, the fantasy is indeed a female take on an old comedic trope: the unappealing anti-hero winds up in the arms of a gorgeous, kind woman. The interesting—and troubling—thing about this supposed inversion is that the gender dynamic of the resulting happy couple is pretty much the same, no matter who’s writing the fantasy: the woman is melodramatic and led astray by her emotions; the man is the moral compass who sets her straight.