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The Misunderstood Anti-Heroine

Flawed queens rule this world

By Stacie EvansPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Alyson: The misunderstood Queen of Mean

Queen Bees

A fictional cliche seen in the media; from teen movies from the 90s and 2000s; to young adult novels of the 2000s; to TV teen dramas on The CW. Being popular was a thing back in the noughties; not always, but it was definitely glamorized.

I should know. I was a teenager during that time.

These days, it's not a very common trope. The only Mean Girl we see is Cheryl Blossom on The CW's Riverdale. It's more or less realistic that there's no social hierarchy in schools; but that doesn't mean there is no such thing as a Mean Girl. They're a thing, starting from preschool to adulthood.

In recent Young Adult Fiction, the main female character is typically written as an ordinary girl with some quirks. She usually doesn't have any special anything; unless you're writing a sci-fi or a fantasy, then she gains some kind of power to supposedly save the world from something.

But this piece ain't about girls that are "plain" with "special powers." No, we're going to keep things real with some exaggerations.

Quirky Girl vs Queen of Mean

Enter the Mean Girl in works of fiction. In recent published works, they're pretty much nonexistent. Go on Wattpad, on the other hand, they're prevalent. The main girl in the Wattpad books are not just plain and shy; they're also the victims.

The Mean Girl on Wattpad is your stereotypical Regina George and then some. She's blonde; popular; has a squad of minions who do her dirty work; a head cheerleader; dates the hot quarterback. She's always the villain, especially when her jock boyfriend takes an interest in the shy girl.

The Wattpad story makes her a one-note character. There's nothing to her other than be the girl who'll throw a tantrum over her now-ex-boyfriend. Then again, the shy girl is also a one-note character, unless the author gives her a sad backstory.

Growing up, I was always fascinated with the mean girls in the works of fiction; including the iconic Mean Girls. As a Wattpad writer, I could've taken the cliche route; or go a whole other direction.

The Anti-Heroine

In my series, The One, the main female character is everything that Wattpad writers hate. She's the head cheerleader; she's blonde; has a squad of minions and a bestie; is popular; and is dating a British lacrosse player.

She's also the Mean Girl, and she's also the protagonist.

Shocker, right?

She's got a name ya'll, and it's Alyson Bauer. Yes, she is the protagonist, but since she's the Queen of Mean, she's also the anti-heroine. She's got her typical gesture of flipping her blonde hair while being a bully to other girls. One would think she would just be a one-note character, but no, she's not.

I don't mean to get spoilerly, but you need an idea of what she's like.

She has natural dark brown hair, but she dyed it blonde. I mean, the setting is in 2004. Being blonde was all rage! Just ask Paris Hilton!

She ended up dating another guy that she long preferred anyway, which will be a whole other article. Her bestie started dating Alyson's lacrosse ex-boyfriend; and she was more than okay with that.

She was fangirl of a British pop act, which will be another article. She has goals in mind, and she has ambitions. She even formed a pop group to compete on live TV! In a way, it makes her a girl boss at the tender age of fifteen.

She came from a conservative family who try to impose strict religious practices on her. In a way, she was a "good girl" because she doesn't go to parties and such; but she rebelled in different, safe ways. One of them included being very outspoken regarding organized religion and conforming to religious rules.

Her family may have been stable, but the toxic environment made her more determined to make her pop group a success.

She may have been the resident Queen of Mean, but it didn't mean she didn't have problems. She wanted an escape, and she was going to make that happen.

Stan Alyson

Honestly, this is just the surface of Alyson Bauer. She does go through a major development throughout the series, but I can't say much else.

The point is this: Everyone has a story to tell, including your resident Mean Girl. Maybe some will grow out of it; others won't. Published novels may be fine with their quirky girls; but Wattpad writers could use some flavor in their works. No one needs a tragic backstory, and not everyone needs to be the nicest person you'll ever meet.

Besides, what's wrong with having a little bit of chaos? As long as that "chaos" doesn't include fighting over toilet paper, go have fun.

pop culture
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About the Creator

Stacie Evans

I'm a young adult/new adult drama/romance writer and a pop songwriter. My books are on Amazon and my music on SoundCloud. I'm switching from my Covid lockdown articles to works of fiction and songs. Hope you'll enjoy my work!

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