Dik_Trom_en_the_blind_girl_next_door_by_Johan_Braakensiek_end_of_19th_century

The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later often develops into romantic attraction. A similar expression is " boy next door".

Characteristics

A "girl next door" character is often seen as natural and unpretentious. A trope that evokes nostalgia, it is associated with small towns and more local or even rural ways of life. The girl next door is often portrayed as innocent. Doris Day of the 1950s is described as a pioneering embodiment of the "girl next door" image in film, the "Hollywood's girl next door". A common cliche is when a male protagonist is caught in a love triangle between two women, he will usually choose the "sweet, ordinary, and caring girl next door" he grew up with rather than a more well-off or beautiful woman with fewer morals. Other times, this character ignores the hero for another male character, despite being the object of his affections. The character Mary Ann Summers from the TV show '' Gilligan's Island'' (portrayed by Dawn Wells) had the girl next door allure, in a contrast with the more glamorous character

Ginger Grant Ginger Grant is a fictional character portrayed by actress Tina Louise in the 1964 to 1967 television sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. Character summary Born in New York City on September 1, 1937, Grant is a "movie star" and would casually ment ...

(portrayed by

Tina Louise Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the las ...

). Due to the popularity of the show and the two lead female characters, the question "Ginger or Mary Ann?" became shorthand for asking someone whether they preferred a girl next door type or a more glamorous type.

Characteristics

See also

References

Further reading