History Main / SeeminglyWholesome50sGirl

* Marty's mother Lorraine in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' wants to be this, to Marty's understandable alarm. Not only is she Marty's ''mother'', she hypocritically berates her children for acting this way in the future (at least until Marty improves history).

* Gender inverted with Cry Baby's brother from the self-title Music/MelanieMartinez ConceptAlbum. He looks like an average, studious young man but is a drug user with implied negative (or at least depressive) character traits. The entire family keeps up a [[StepfordSmiler facade]] [[HappyMarriageCharade of happiness]] but Cry Baby herself is a BrokenBird. She [[SanitySlippage cracks]] over the album.

* ''TwinPeaks'',with its very retro-'50s aesthetic, naturally played with this one. Given that essentially every character on the show had a secret of some kind, every female character was at least a borderline example of this trope, but a few really stand out.

[[NaughtyByNight Come the night she was such a pleaser]]\\

[[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces In Cherry Hill Park]]!"''

* Subverted in the pilot of ''HappyDays'' where one girl's "reputation" turned out to have originated entirely from boys bragging about how far they'd gotten with her.

* Then there was the aforementioned Mary Hill in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QbOcy3iqhQ Billy Joe Royal's "Cherry Hill Park"]][[note]]"Cherry Hill Park" being in Cherry Hill, [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]], the quintessential Jersey suburb (of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, in this case). It's in the area marked "Happy White Families" [[http://i.imgur.com/Pwnf4.jpg here]].[[/note]] Which, because it's a fantastically catchy '60s pop tune that deals with something potentially salacious, could also be a case of "GettingCrapPastTheRadar" if one isn't paying too much attention to the lyrics.

In Cherry Hill Park!"''

* The plot of ''Film/Hairspray'' starts when one of the seemingly wholesome girls on the in-universe ''The Corny Collins Show'' leaves for an unstated reason...for nine months.

->''Now in the daytime Mary Hill was a teaser\\

In Cherry Hill Park!''

* Then there was the aforementioned Mary Hill in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QbOcy3iqhQ Billy Joe Royal's "Cherry Hill Park"]][[note]]"Cherry Hill Park" being in Cherry Hill, [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]], the quintessential Jersey suburb (of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, in this case). It's in the area marked "Happy White Families" [[http://i.imgur.com/Pwnf4.jpg here]].[[/note]] Which, because it's a fantastically catchy '60s pop tune that deals with something potentially salacious, could also be a case of "GettingCrapPastTheRadar}}" if one isn't paying too much attention to the lyrics.

* Kathryn Merteuil in ''Film/CruelIntentions'' definitely qualifies. Though at the end of the movie, her game is exposed for all to see, courteasy of her deceased step-brother's diary.

* ProfessionalWrestling actually brought us one of these in the form of Cherry, a manager for Deuce & Domino, a tag team of [[{{Delinquents}} greasers]]. Unfortunately for Kara Slice, the girl behind the gimmick, it was her only shot at the big time. According to some sources, she was reportedly released for being [[HollywoodPudgy "too fat"]] to be a [[strike: wrestler]] Diva.

* Kathryn Merteuil in ''Film/CruelIntentions'' definitely qualify. Though at the end of the movie, her game is exposed for all to see, courteasy of her deceased step-brother's diary.

She seems to be the perfect, wholesome teenage girl of {{The Fifties}}. By day, she's a sweet, innocent ultra-virgin who dresses in knee-length skirts and [[SweaterGirl tasteful sweaters]], and repeatedly says things like "that's swell!" and "peachy keen!". She might [[{{Meganekko}} wear glasses]], attend [[CatholicSchoolGirlsRule Catholic school]], or even be a PreachersKid. Her parents and teachers talk about what a "good girl" she is, but all the kids at school (except for the "squares", of course) know about her "reputation". By night, she drinks, smokes and hangs out with (gasp!) boys. She "parks" with them, while the car radio plays {{Nothing But Hits}}, and may even have experienced sexual intercourse. In other words, she's either something of a Hot {{Hypocrite}} or at the very least something rather different from what she appears to be. After all, she doesn't want to be a "square" and the male hero needs a girlfriend that ''appears'' respectable, but isn't a prude. Bonus points if her mother or grandmother was a [[TheFlapper flapper]], teaching their daughters and granddaughters the way of sly rebellion and liberation.

She could be seen as a subversion of the ultra wholesomeness stereotypically associated with the Fifties, but it's more likely just an example of {{Truth in Television}} (more or less). There were large differences in premarital sex rates after the pill was introduced in 1961, and again from the sexual revolution. Despite this, by the 1970s the '50s were often just treated as the present in regard to sexual behavior, except with far more hypocrisy. Perhaps it's just the fact that the whole franchise of Fifties nostalgia films about the sex lives of teens couldn't possibly exist without her. She is a perfect combination of the nostalgic 50s charm and 1970s priorities. It is no coincidence when this trope became popular. And, of course, this type of ersatz "good girl" can still be found (or suspected) in more culturally or religiously conservative environments even in the present day.

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086896/ Angel:]]'' "High School Honor Student by Day. Hollywood Hooker by Night." One wonders [[IncrediblyLamePun how she kept her grades up]], [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre if you know what I mean]].

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* Then there was the aforementioned Mary Hill in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QbOcy3iqhQ Billy Joe Royal's "Cherry Hill Park"]][[note]]"Cherry Hill Park" being in Cherry Hill, [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]], the quintessential Jersey suburb (of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, in this case). It's in the area marked "Happy White Families" [[http://i.imgur.com/Pwnf4.jpg here]].[[/note]] Which, because it's a fantastically catchy '60s pop tune that deals with something potentially salacious, could also be a case of "{{getting crap past the radar}}" if one isn't paying too much attention to the lyrics.

* Morello in ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', whose "entire world view is based on ''Theatre/WestSideStory''," making her a bit of a 1950s girl in the 21st century. She seems very sweet and very devoted to her fiance, but it turns out she's actually kind of racist. ''And'' [[spoiler:she's having a [[SituationalSexuality lesbian affair]]. However, her naivete might be genuine, as it turns out her fiance doesn't visit and she's the only one who still thinks he's waiting for her.]]

* Morello in ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', whose "entire world view is based on ''Theatre/WestSideStory''." She seems very sweet and very devoted to her fiance, but it turns out she's actually kind of racist. ''And'' [[spoiler:she's having a [[SituationalSexuality lesbian affair]]. However, her naivete might be genuine, as it turns out her fiance doesn't visit and she's the only one who still thinks he's waiting for her.]]

* Then there was the aforementioned Mary Hill in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QbOcy3iqhQ Billy Joe Royal's "Cherry Hill Park"]][[note]]"Cherry Hill Park" being in Cherry Hill, [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]], the quintessential Jersey suburb (of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, in this case). It's in the area marked "Happy White Families" here.[[/note]] Which, because it's a fantastically catchy '60s pop tune that deals with something potentially salacious, could also be a case of "{{getting crap past the radar}}" if one isn't paying too much attention to the lyrics.

* ''{{Pleasantville}}'': Played with, where a girl from our day and age ends up stepping into this role... and by the time the movie's done, ''every girl in town'' is like that to some extent, ''except'' the girl who started the behavior.

* Janet Weiss from ''TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. She's an innocent girl who is Brad's fiancee. Though, during her time in the castle, she has sex with both Frank N. Furter and Rocky...the latter prompting pure jealous rage from the former (over ''him'' sleeping with ''her'', not vice versa). In the end, she's confused about what has occurred, but also realizes the benefits of living a sexually active life.

* Marty's mother Lorraine in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' wants to be this, to Marty's understandable alarm. Not only is she Marty's ''mother'', she hypocritically berates her children for acting this way in the future (at least until Marty improves history). Perhaps not so hypocritically when one considers how the original timeline may have played out. Without Marty pushing his father to be assertive and stand up to Biff, it's possible Biff completed his attempted rape in the parking lot. Lorraine, like many victims of sexual assault, could have ended up blaming herself. It certainly adds some FridgeHorror to a few lines of dialogue in the original 1985 before Marty went back in time:
---> '''Biff:''' ''(lewdly)'' Say hi to your mom for me.
---> (later)
---> '''Lorraine:''' Any girl who acts like that is just asking for trouble...

-->''Now in the daytime Mary Hill was a teaser\\

--->-- '''Billy Joe Royal''', "Cherry Hill Park"

* Played with in ''{{Pleasantville}}'', where a girl from our day and age ends up stepping into this role... and by the time the movie's done, ''every girl in town'' is like that to some extent, ''except'' the girl who started the behavior.
* Marty's mother Lorraine in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' wants to be this, to Marty's understandable alarm. Not only is she Marty's ''mother'', she hypocritically berates her children for acting this way in the future (at least until Marty improves history).
** Perhaps not so hypocritically when one considers how the original timeline may have played out. Without Marty pushing his father to be assertive and stand up to Biff, it's possible Biff completed his attempted rape in the parking lot. Lorraine, like many victims of sexual assault, could have ended up blaming herself. It certainly adds some FridgeHorror to a few lines of dialogue in the original 1985 before Marty went back in time:

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* TruthInTelevision. While premarital sex rates did [[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3728126 rise dramatically]] in the '70s and '80s, it was fairly commonplace [[http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2006/12/19/index.html even in the 1950s]]. It reads: "Contrary to the public perception that premarital sex is much more common now than in the past, the study shows that even among women who were born in the 1940s, nearly nine in 10 had sex before marriage."
** Old quote - "Every generation thinks ''they'' invented sex."

[[/folder]]

---> '''Biff:''' ''(lewdly)'' Say hi to your mother for me, kid.

** Audrey Horne, [[SmokingIsEvil cigarette-smoking]] daughter of the town millionaire, is initially set up as the WolfInSheepsClothing version of this, but gradually becomes more of a GoodBadGirl through her [[AmateurSleuth investigation of Laura's murder]] and [[LoveRedeems her crush on Agent Cooper]].

* Chuck Berry's hit "Sweet Little Sixteen" narrates a girl like this.

* Subverted into a straight up CrowningMomentOfAwesome and CrowningMomentOfFunny when Mary Lane of ''Film/ReeferMadness'', the ingenue of ingenues, takes one puff of "marijewana," at which point... [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FqaOVz3dYE&feature=related Some things just need to be seen.]]

She could be seen as a subversion of the ultra wholesomeness stereotypically associated with the Fifties, but it's more likely just an example of {{Truth in Television}} (more or less). There were large differences in premarital sex rates after the pill was introduced in 1961, and again from the sexual revolution. Despite this, by the 1970s the '50s were often just treated as the present in regard to sexual behavior, except with far more hypocrisy. Perhaps it's just the fact that the whole franchise of Fifties nostalgia films about the sex lives of teens couldn't possibly exist without her. She is a perfect combination of the nostalgic 50s charm and 1970s priorities. It is no coincidence when this trope became popular. And, of course, this type of ersatz "good girl" can still be found (or suspected) in more culturally or religiously conservative or repressive environments even in the present day.