Bad boy archetype


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

Definitions

The stereotypical "bad boy" was described by Kristina Grish in her book Addickted as "the irresistible rogue who has the dizzying ability to drive women wild" with a "laissez-faire attitude about life and love".
An article in The Independent compared the term "bad boys" with men who had a particular combination of personality traits, sometimes referred to as a "dark triad" of Machiavellian traits, and reported that a study found that such men were likely to have a greater number of sexual affairs.