# What does the "All-American Girl" look like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175 "2009-04-15T14:51:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/1 "2009-04-15T14:51:36Z")
I’d always assumed (or absorbed from TV/movies) that the stereotypical “American Girl” crush object was a “farmgirl” type: blond, blue-eyed, a Monroe or Mansfield, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Has this changed? Or have I been wrong all along? (I’m reasonably sure that this is a CS question. Feel free to move it if that seems incorrect.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/2 "2009-04-15T15:04:47Z")
There are as many different answers to this as there are Americans. For my money, it will always be [Mary Ann](http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/gil2.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/3 "2009-04-15T15:05:36Z")
Red hair, freckles, big smile, big tits. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/4 "2009-04-15T15:08:50Z")
These days? I’d say Anne Hathaway. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/5 "2009-04-15T15:24:30Z")
Monroe or Mansfield? Hardly. They were stars precisely because they weren’t “All American.” The classic All-American Girl didn’t bleach her hair, didn’t wear much makeup – so you could tell if she had freckles. She wasn’t especially tall or very short. Her hair could be any color, as long as it was natural. Think [June Alyson](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/June_Allyson_in_The_Secret_Heart_trailer_2.JPG) or a pre-plastic surgery [Meg Ryan](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/warner_brothers/you_ve_got_mail/_group_photos/meg_ryan1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800020044/photo/35065&usg=__9iuF7yVq7kq5LaHWSB0p9eZ5aQc=&h=341&w=350&sz=27&hl=en&start=122&tbnid=Ylc6FNKTTrXFZM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMeg%2Bryan%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26start%3D120). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/6 "2009-04-15T15:31:34Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Red hair, freckles, big smile, big tits. She’s a GINGER?! ::shriek:: ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/7 "2009-04-15T15:44:43Z")
According to ABC in 1994, it was Margaret Cho who was the “All American Girl”. She ruminates about it on her first cd, “I’m The One That I Want”. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/8 "2009-04-15T15:44:59Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I’d always assumed (or absorbed from TV/movies) that the stereotypical “American Girl” crush object was a “farmgirl” type… You can stop there. Hair color, etc. are not so important. “All-American” is a code word for saying “not sophisticated or European-like in attitude, but European in race.” Needless to say, this eliminates a huge percentage of the U.S. population. “All-American” is a completely obsolete term. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/9 "2009-04-15T15:46:57Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > You can stop there. Hair color, etc. are not so important. “All-American” is a code word for saying “not sophisticated or European-like in attitude, but European in race.” Needless to say, this eliminates a huge percentage of the U.S. population. Kind of like Ensign Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific.” Or the main character in this horrid teen novel I just reread/recapped on my blog called The Terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/10 "2009-04-15T20:56:28Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Red hair, freckles, big smile, big tits. Well, that’d be a silly standard considering less than 4% of us have red hair in the US, and that 4% includes dudes too. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/11 "2009-04-15T21:03:19Z")
There used to be (and still is?) a hiring practice with temp agencies who provide receptionists. If the company seeking help wrote “AA” on the request, that meant All American, code for white, blonde, blue, and young. 60 Minutes did a thing about it. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/12 "2009-04-15T21:04:42Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Well, that’d be a silly standard considering less than 4% of us have red hair in the US, and that 4% includes dudes too. Still I assume that about 4% of American women have red hair. Funny thing about percentages. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/13 "2009-04-16T01:33:26Z")
Decently strong arms. Not muscular, but still right there alongside the troops. [http://www.cesa8.k12.wi.us/teares/math/it/webquests/DecadeCentury/images/WWII%20poster.jpg](http://www.cesa8.k12.wi.us/teares/math/it/webquests/DecadeCentury/images/WWII%20poster.jpg) Blue clothes (matched with white skin and red lips.) ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/14 "2009-04-16T01:43:22Z")
About #205 wobbles a bit, comfortable shoes, unpleasant attitude, nondescript haircut. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/15 "2009-04-16T01:47:21Z")
Dawn “Mary Ann” Wells is “The Girl Next Door.” Cheryl Tiegs at least how she looked in the 70s was the “All-American Girl” ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/16 "2009-04-16T01:58:50Z")
Before being touched by any altering surgeries or by the mentality of the porn industry, I give you the [All American Canadian](http://www.posters57.com/images/Pamela-Anderson.jpg). This type is what I think of with the “All American” term. I’m female, and was a teenager in the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/17 "2009-04-16T02:28:40Z")
The new “All-American” girl would be Megan Fox in Transformers. Super-hot without trying, midwestern, unpretentious, likes cars and rock & roll. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/18 "2009-04-16T02:42:13Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > You can stop there. Hair color, etc. are not so important. “All-American” is a code word for saying “not sophisticated or European-like in attitude, but European in race.” Needless to say, this eliminates a huge percentage of the U.S. population. > > “All-American” is a completely obsolete term. The traditional concept of “All-American” sort of went out in the 90s. Prior to that, the All American guy was a slightly hickish, good looking, not too douchey, beer drinking, rock listening, pickup driving athlete. The All American girl was his skinny, naturally blond, jean and tight T shirt wearing friendly cheerleader girlfriend. Both were middle class, popular, not dumb per se but not all that academic or intellectual either. In the 90s, the mood changed and all of a sudden, there were all these people saying “hey, that image does not represent MY America.” The video for Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit captures this mood perfectly. The traditional “All American” became a symbol of commercialism, conformity and a sort of elitism of the mediocre (as least intellectually). And now that traditional All American image seems hopelessly ignorant, provincial and ridiculous. The new “All American” is an upper-middle class over-sexed slightly chubby bimbo whining OMG! on her Blackberry 50 times a day because she can’t have a Ferarri for her sweet 16. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/19 "2009-04-16T03:00:21Z")
When I think of “All-American girls,” I think of girl-next-door types. Beautiful, yes, but friendly and approachable, and with a natural and minimally enhanced beauty (like the aforementioned Mary Ann and early Meg Ryan). Current or recent examples in cinema: [Amy Adams](http://www.welokee.nl/welokee/faces/img/amy_adams2.jpg) [Michelle Williams](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RQNADF_j1H8/SQVA-xkkupI/AAAAAAAAAsA/uXCx0oU2jro/s400/michelle_williams.jpg) [Sandra Bullock](http://fulltun.com/images/sandra-bullock1.jpg) [Rosario Dawson](http://www.newchatter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/rosario-dawson.jpg) They come in all hair colors. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/20 "2009-04-16T03:08:16Z")
The All-American girl is whoever’s gone missing on Nancy Grace’s show. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175.md?page=2)