bad boy archetype

{{Short description|Stock character; a roguish macho}}

File:James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.jpg's character in Rebel Without a Cause, is considered an example of the bad boy archetype.{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/03/bad-boys-hollywood-alec-baldwin |title=The Evolution of the Hollywood Bad Boy |last=Jacobs |first=Laura |date=21 February 2013 |publisher=Vanity Fair |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613053841/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/03/bad-boys-hollywood-alec-baldwin |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/better-understand-your-attraction-to-the-bad-boy |title=Better understand your attraction to the bad boy |last=Bell |first=Noel |date=18 April 2016 |publisher=Counselling Directory |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=16 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016230059/http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/better-understand-your-attraction-to-the-bad-boy |url-status=live }}]]

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.