Bad Girls Aren't So Bad

I came across this acceptance speech by Reese Witherspoon, at the MTV Movie Awards:

“I get it, girls, that it’s cool to be a bad girl. But it is possible to make it in Hollywood without doing a reality show. When I came up in this business, if you made a sex tape, you were embarrassed and you hid it under your bed. And if you took naked pictures of yourself on your cell phone, you hide your face, people! Hide your face! For all the girls out there, it’s totally possible to be a good girl. I’m going to try to make it cool."

While I respect what I assume she was trying to do... to create some space wherein girls don't feel they have to sexualize too young, or emulate the crotch-flashers of the world, I really hate her choice of words. It's harmful to women.

When I think of bad people I think of Syria's Bashar Al-Asad, giving his people the beats for protesting against his authoritarian government. Or bombing innocent people. Murders? How about rape? Hell, I wouldn't even qualify all the people who do Really Bad Things as bad people. But let's say we did... that still leaves everyone else as Good.

If someone wants to star in a reality show (so what?) get out of a car without underwear, or share a sex tape, I hardly qualify this as bad. So I don't see how not doing these things makes you "good." Good in what way? What's so inherently good about you? That automatically means you rescue whale on your days off?

And this is coming from someone who rarely drinks, has never smoked, never even smoked weed, rarely wears makeup, is vegan, recycles, has had sex with one person, went to church as a teen and ... and... well, alright, I swear like Eddie Murphy, read smut and love Prince.  But still.

I'm as close to a Good Girl as you're liable to find. And I don't give a flying fuck for the term.