Bad boy archetype

The bad boy is a cultural archetype that is variously defined and often used synonymously with the historic terms rake or cad: a male who behaves badly, especially within societal norms.

In films and other narratives, a bad boy is a type of antihero, sometimes a trickster. Such characters reject authority and traditional moral standards, following their own unique code of ethics that can unsettle those around them.¹ Despite their often questionable or near-criminal habits, they are frequently depicted in a way that makes them relatable or even likable. "Bad boys typically bring a lot of fire, defiance and eroticism to the story, along with a sense of danger".¹

Bad boy characters came to the fore with the counterculture of the 1960s. An influential example is Paul Newman's character in Cool Hand Luke (1967).¹ Jim Stark, James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause, is also considered an example of the bad boy archetype,²³ although he has a strong moral compass beneath the rebellion.

An article in The Independent compared the term "bad boys" with men who had a particular combination of personality traits, sometimes referred to as the "dark triad", and reported that a study found that such men were likely to have a greater number of sexual affairs.⁴

When having a criminal connotation, the "bad boys" archetype was popularized by the American TV show Cops, which premiered in 1989 using the song "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle as its opening theme.⁵ In the U.S., the criminal "bad boys" archetype may be more likely to be placed on Black and Hispanic youth and men.⁶⁷