# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/61 "2009-04-17T00:19:53Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > With all due respect, speak for yourself. For a waif, she was smokin’. Well, yes…the sexualized non-sexuality - how is that… As opposed to Monroe’s hot sex on toast. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/62 "2009-04-17T01:10:16Z")
The first person the term brought to mind for me was [Hayden Panettiere](http://lawofhollywoodland.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/hayden-panettiere.jpg). Specifically in her early _Heroes_ getup, but just in general. I also thought of [Britney Spears](http://bittenandbound.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/early-rolling-stone-cover-photo.jpg) back in the early days before all the crazy. Sigh. Early Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore, too. ---
**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 17, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/63 "2009-04-17T01:54:07Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > The first person the term brought to mind for me was [Hayden Panettiere](http://lawofhollywoodland.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/hayden-panettiere.jpg). Specifically in her early _Heroes_ getup, but just in general. Female cheerleaders are for some “all-American,” but I think at the same time their outfits are designed to be sexually provocative. Does any other country have cheerleaders in miniskirts? ---
**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 17, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/64 "2009-04-17T05:42:19Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Does any other country have cheerleaders in miniskirts? My British friend says, “Yes.” ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/65 "2009-04-17T06:14:31Z")
First image that flashed through my mind when I saw the thread-title was of [Betty Cooper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Cooper) from the Archie comics. She’s blonde, beautiful, wholesome, friendly; kinda folksy and unworldly - the whole shebang. She’s also very 1950s-ish, which is what I think of when I hear the term “All-American Girl.” ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/66 "2009-04-17T12:43:23Z")
I just think Christie Brinkley back in the day. ---
**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 17, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/67 "2009-04-17T13:17:28Z")
Do other nations have the “iconic” girl? Is there a “German Girl?” ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/68 "2009-04-17T13:46:00Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Do other nations have the “iconic” girl? Is there a “German Girl?” I don’t know if there’s a modern German girl imaged, but when I read your question I instantly imagined a young lady, fresh faced, hair in two looped braids, with the bodice of her German dress not quite doing its job. In the mental picture, she’s carrying 4 mugs of beer and smiling delightfully. (If you replace the beer with tech notes and add a butterfly tattoo to one side of the cleavage- and make the girl half German, half Filipino- you’ve got my friend Nicola at our university’s International Festival.) ---
**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 17, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/69 "2009-04-17T14:26:47Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Do other nations have the “iconic” girl? Is there a “German Girl?” What about that girl that wants to live in my refrigerator? Oh, sorry, she’s from Minnesota. Still, she seems to me like someone who Americans think of as typically German. Kind of like **Leiko** ’s description above. ---
**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 17, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/70 "2009-04-17T14:31:54Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > My British friend says, “Yes.” In other words, you’re saying that the British also have cheerleaders? That’s news to me. Cheerleaders at a soccer game? My mind can’t grasp the concept. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/71 "2009-04-17T19:40:56Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > [AnnaSophia Robb](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1181390336/nm1455681) seems to be filling the bill for the current younger generation. > > Back when I was a teenager, [Hayley Mills](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2369820672/nm0001539) was an AAG. > > The current non-jailbait AAG for me is [Penelope Cruz](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3826158080/nm0004851). Two of your three All-American girls are European. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/72 "2009-04-17T20:28:21Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I just think Christie Brinkley back in the day. That’s exactly who popped into my mind. Naturally cute, a little athletic, and big teeth. ---
**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 17, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/73 "2009-04-17T20:32:29Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > big teeth. [Christie Brinkley] I was discovered for my smile [/Christie Brinkley] ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/74 "2009-04-17T21:07:20Z")
> [@Leiko](#): > > I don’t know if there’s a modern German girl imaged, but when I read your question I instantly imagined a young lady, fresh faced, hair in two looped braids, with the bodice of her German dress not quite doing its job. In the mental picture, she’s carrying 4 mugs of beer and smiling delightfully. Sounds like Hogan’s sweetie when he needed a little non-male loving in the Stalag. [How’s this for a more modern take](http://twincitiesbeerprices.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/screensavercrop1024x768.jpg)? Here’s a [more authentic, though hardly less appetizing photo](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mpOAS-HxaQU/Rvy8pJ7VnFI/AAAAAAAAAUg/zY5AXKModeI/s320/dirndl.jpg). > [@](#): > > (If you replace the beer with tech notes and add a butterfly tattoo to one side of the cleavage- and make the girl half German, half Filipino- you’ve got my friend Nicola at our university’s International Festival.) Your friend sounds like she could be smokin’. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/75 "2009-04-17T21:08:53Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > The current non-jailbait AAG for me is [Penelope Cruz](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3826158080/nm0004851). The Spanish woman with the heavily accented English, sexy as it may be, is your AAG? She is sometimes my AFG, but All American is a bit of a stretch. ---
**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 17, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/76 "2009-04-17T21:20:12Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Do other nations have the “iconic” girl? Is there a “German Girl?” Sure. The “all-Israeli girl” is outdoorsy, tanned, has long dark hair worn in a braid down her back, and wears slightly-too-short shorts and a frayed khaki shirt. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/77 "2009-04-17T22:17:09Z")
> [@Leiko](#): > > I don’t know if there’s a modern German girl imaged, but when I read your question I instantly imagined a young lady, fresh faced, hair in two looped braids, with the bodice of her German dress not quite doing its job. In the mental picture, she’s carrying 4 mugs of beer and smiling delightfully. > > (If you replace the beer with tech notes and add a butterfly tattoo to one side of the cleavage- and make the girl half German, half Filipino- you’ve got my friend Nicola at our university’s International Festival.) You could also have just said the St Pauli Girl. An All-Ausie/Kiwi girl is usually tall, outdoorsy, sporty, always smiling about everything and slightly tomboyish. Think Elle McPherson, Zoe Bell from Grindhouse, Lucy Lawless or Simmone McKinnon from Baywatch. I once worked with a girl like that and the way she talked about her trip back home where she would finally get to roll around in pig shit actually made it seem like the most awesome thing ever. An All Russian girl basically looks like she should be plottings 'gainst Moose and Squirel. Tall, cool, lots of fur clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/78 "2009-04-18T03:30:38Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Sounds like Hogan’s sweetie when he needed a little non-male loving in the Stalag. [How’s this for a more modern take](http://twincitiesbeerprices.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/screensavercrop1024x768.jpg)? Here’s a [more authentic, though hardly less appetizing photo](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mpOAS-HxaQU/Rvy8pJ7VnFI/AAAAAAAAAUg/zY5AXKModeI/s320/dirndl.jpg). > Your friend sounds like she could be smokin’. Her very butch girlfriend (ex-Navy) is inclined to agree. > [@msmith537](#): > > You could also have just said the St Pauli Girl. > > \ Doesn’t she need some hot dish and bars to be the St Pauli girl? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/79 "2009-04-18T04:07:44Z")
Mandy Moore in **A Walk to Remember** : Appealing, but not stripper-y. Winona Ryder, pre-1990 Molly Ringwald/Ally Sheedy irca 1986 ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175/80 "2009-04-18T06:16:09Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > 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. Is that Pamela Sue Anderson? If so, she fucked up a very good thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-all-american-girl-look-like/493175.md?page=5)