Girl next door


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 "".

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 an innocent virgin who lacks the promiscuity or sexual sophistication that is associated with the big city.
Doris Day of 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.