Different Types of Girlfriends There Are

May. 5, 2011
I am Brandon Scott Gorrell and I am pumped!!!

The Giver

Like some gift of fate from the doe-eyed gods above us all, The Giver magically appears in one’s life and proceeds to break down all preconceived notions regarding intimacy and relationship roles. The Giver is a girl that shows more sexual stamina, interest, and participation than any girl her partner’s ever been with; she takes the task of pleasing her partner by its shoulders, looks it in the eyes, grins, says “I can do this,” and feels excited to do so. And she does do it, sweetly, over and over again, more than her partner would have ever imagined humanly possible, and for a time, the partner exists in a dazed state of emotional and sexual bliss. Apart from the partner’s own standards of fairness or relationship justice, no repayment of any kind is expected or even necessary. Obviously, then, the Giver can most often be observed in acts such as undressing for yet another round of sex, making her partner a lunch that s/he can take to the coffee shop where s/he works, going down on her partner for the second time today, or making sure her partner has the most comfortable pillow. It is as yet unknown why The Giver maintains such a selfless and generous relationship role, but it can be surmised that her worldview is one that dictates the role of girlfriend as one who provides and maintains – as would a mother. Or, The Giver is simply turned on by it.

  • Most likely to be spotted at: In bed with her partner
  • Favorite drink: Anything non-alcoholic (she wants her partner to have fun tonight)
  • Favorite website: New age blogs that cover healthy food, Yoga, meditation, etc.

The Needy and Depressed Girlfriend

Reminiscent of Winona Ryder à la Girl Interrupted, the Needy and Depressed Girlfriend is inconsolably dark, constantly wrapped up in doom-laden thoughts of the future, her relationships with her friends and family, and work/ school. The Needy and Depressed Girlfriend is more or less an abusive/ exploitative being, and this is most transparently evidenced by the fact that while she’s basically up against the same world and the same problems as everyone else in the Western World, she, for some reason, makes a huge, whiny deal about how she “can’t handle” them, and clings to her partner – using her or him, in a sense – as if s/he were a life raft. The Needy and Depressed Girlfriend is most likely to be cherished by her partner for some spark of brilliance to which they were once witness, which – in vein, most of the time – the partner is most likely to spend most of his or her time seeking. All the while, the Needy and Depressed Girlfriend is sucking the life out of the partner, using him or her as a crutch for her own insecurities and reliance on maladaptive coping mechanisms. Consequently, we are most likely to see her partner at social events, alone, yet on the phone with the Needy and Depressed girlfriend, assuring her that things are okay, that everything will be fine, and that – don’t worry – s/he’ll be home soon.

  • Most likely to be spotted at: Buried into her partner’s shoulder
  • Favorite drink: Whatever she can spike with Valium or Ambien
  • Favorite website: Facebook, where she can pine over old friends with whom she’s not in contact anymore

The Girlfriend You Can’t Have

The Girlfriend You Can’t Have is in a relationship with someone that is not you, and her partner has no idea how special she really is. The Girlfriend You Can’t Have is beautiful, and no one except you knows the extent of her beauty and uniqueness. You have known the Girlfriend You Can’t Have for quite some time, now, and – respectful of her relationship with the guy/girl you secretly think is an idiot (or the guy/girl that just so happens to be your best friend) – you’ve watched her silently, sage-like. Both her sweetness and intellect are terrifying and irresistable at the same time, and every time you see her smile, you melt. You kissed the Girlfriend You Can’t Have, once, in the bathroom of your friend’s house party. She was drunk, and so were you, and it was one of the sweetest kisses you’ve ever had. You haven’t spoken about it since, and you probably won’t, ever. The world can sometimes stack its deck against potential lovers, such that potential lovers, unfortunately, accept defeat as a matter of course.

  • Most likely to be spotted at: A house party, from a distance, holding her partner’s hand, laughing that way she does
  • Favorite drink: Whatever you think is the most adorable thing someone can be into drinking
  • Favorite website: She’s not really into the internet (this is part of how special she is) TC mark

You should follow Thought Catalog on Twitter here.


Cataloged in

Text Size:

A | A | A

  • Drea

    damn, i've been denying that i'm a jealous girlfriend but i totally am.

  • http://stephentullydierks.blogspot.com stephen

    feel i have witnessed many of these specimens in the wild, some at close range

  • Anna

    Totally the needy and depressed girlfriend in high school, fuck. Poor guy.

  • http://twitter.com/hereticaneue Heretica Neue

    I'm totally The Giver, except I drink alcohol (because my bf wants me to have a good time tonight, isn't he sweet?).

  • Spainfest

    Totally the party gf, but I can't seem to move beyond that. Sorry, fellas.

  • http://diaryofafreakinrican.com/ Debbie

    I loved the sexual orientation neutrality (“s/he” all the way through the article). <3

    • scooter

      was I the only one who found that extremely distracting?

  • http://twitter.com/brandollars Brandon Silverman

    aww, the girlfriend you can't have — perfectly described. except for me the drunk kiss was outside a bar in Chicago

  • http://phmadore.com P. H. Madore

    ScarJo is so perfect a picture for this. Her lips. Her lips. Both sets. Amen.

  • kt

    I like how neatly packaged these categories are. It's very disheartening how people these days relinquish any kind of personal responsibility when it comes to relationships. The “jealous girlfriend” isn't born out of thin air. I've seen several created through the course of really shitty relationships involving dishonesty and affairs. And “the giver” is not entirely selfless, but someone who believes they can gain security and validation by being so “generous.” It is its own kind of subtle manipulation in a relationship. None of these types are inherent. They're a result of a big mix of experiences, learned behaviors, environments, etc. And it's also important to note, that all of these “types” can easily apply to dudes too. So if you actually wanted to be neutral, you could replace “girlfriend” with “partner.” But I get it, this is a guy's assessment, albeit an overly cliche and predictable one.

    • http://twitter.com/madlabz mads

      true, I think I fall into the “giver” type more than others and it is a ploy for security. but it's not like that's a bad deal.

  • Reasonable BF

    I mean, they may have their differences but they are all cool in their own way. Even though they might not have been the one, I really enjoyed dating all of them.

    Sincerely,

    Reasonable Boyfriend.

  • Paige

    The Girlfriend You Can't Have is reminiscent of Summer from 500 Days of Summer. Okay, I retract that statement. Summer is The Girlfriend You Can't Have.

    • Anna

      Really, I never thought she was “The Girlfriend You Can't Have,” I thought she was “The Bitch.”

  • http://twitter.com/jennifersussex Jennifer Sussex

    personalities remind me of clothing, something you try on that's applicable to a forecast. if everyone is always adopting some of these behaviors, then god.dog help us. it's almost summer.

  • JoeyMartin

    Girlfriends are cool. This was a good article.

  • foreverdrone

    BSG you never disappoint bro.

  • Molly

    giving gf is my roommate to a t!

  • oh no

    so… I'm a needy/depressed gf.
    what do i dooooo?!

  • http://disrespectfultone.blogspot.com/ Daniel Schealler

    You forgot the Transparently Mercantile Girlfriend.

    Example.

    An old friend of mine – let's call him Bill – had a girlfriend – let's call her Sally.

    Sally was hot, and she knew it.

    Over New Year's a while ago, Bill, some other mates, and myself went for a trip to Australia. Sally went to Europe with some of her mates. The two kept in touch.

    Bill apparently had promised to buy Sally a pair of expensive, branded shoes as a belated Christmas gift while he was in Australia – we suspect at Sally's suggestion.

    While hanging out in Australia, Bill got a phone call one day from Sally. Apparently Sally had found the absolutely perfect pair of shoes in Europe and was going to buy them if he promised to foot the bill – it would count as his Christmas present. He said go ahead.

    A few days later Sally called Bill again.

    She broke up with him internationally via cell-phone call.

    At the end of the conversation, she asked when he would be sending her the money for the shoes.

    O_o

    • http://profiles.google.com/rosebudmeza Rose Meza

      You also forgot the Psychotic Girlfriend,

      The psychotic girlfriend shows deep seated warning signs from the start. After your first date she changes her status to “it's complicated” and raves about your date online to all her friends. Most guys are blinded by her hotness at first a…nd so go along with the charade, others, the more intelligent realize that she may just be a “stage 5 clinger” but unfortunately, it's too late for these poor souls. She's probably in a tree outside their window this moment.. watching.. waiting.

      • Anonymous

        This has happened to me.

  • http://stephgeorge.tumblr.com Stephanie Georgopulos

    Wow. Brandon, you fucking nailed it. I felt a misplaced sense of pride while reading this.

  • rougecerise

    I'm such a GIVER.

    xo

  • AES

    Oh man, fuck this article. Why don't you just call it “A Typology of Hysterics,” get in your time machine, and go back to 1892?

  • Trevor

    The Girlfriend You Can't Have actually falls into one of the prior categories. You just don't know it yet…

  • http://brianmcelmurry.blogspot.com/ Brian McElmurry

    Really sweet. The last one seems to have a personal back story for you.

  • burgy

    I'm a “giver” who wants the “girlfriend you can't have” =(

  • NiceCosbySweater

    I'm a Scorpio.

  • NiceCosbySweater

    I'm a Scorpio.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Recently Cataloged