Across social media, users are raving about teen media, especially TV shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty. I couldn’t scroll on TikTok without hearing, “Who is Belly going to choose?” or “If she picks the summer, I’m literally going to be so done.”
Maybe you didn’t watch The Summer I Turned Pretty because you prefer Netflix over Amazon Prime. You’ve probably seen To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Sex Education, 13 Reasons Why, Wednesday, or You. Or maybe you use a different streaming service, but chances are you’ve watched at least some of The Vampire Diaries, The Flash, Riverdale, The Walking Dead, Titans, Boy Meets World, Sex and the City, or Friends. If you’re more into animated shows, you’ve likely heard of Arcane and Invincible.
All of the shows listed here use the “disposable Black girlfriend” trope. You might be wondering what that means. It’s a concept identified by media consumers who noticed that shows often include one of the only Black characters, usually a woman, as a placeholder for the plot. These characters are treated as narrative devices that push the story forward. They are often created to help the main character realize their true feelings for someone else, who is usually white or non-Black. After that, they are forgotten, written off, or turned into one of the most disliked characters.
On top of that, some fans make racist and unwanted comments about the character and sometimes even the actor. Black fans are tired of this trope, and they are tired of people not recognizing it for what it is. When representation finally happens and a character gets screen time, it is frustrating to see them written without depth, with their only defining trait being “the girlfriend.” People are done with seeing this pattern repeated across so much media today.
1. Nicole Richardson – The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022–2025)
The Summer I Turned Pretty has been a major topic online, especially now that the series has ended and a movie is on the way. We finally see which brother Belly chooses, but before that, both brothers have their own storylines, especially Conrad Fisher. That’s where Nicole comes in.
At the beginning of the series, Nicole is introduced as Conrad’s girlfriend. She is written to come across as judgy and rude, with no real storyline of her own. She mainly exists to portray a rich girlfriend who gets upset when she realizes she is losing her boyfriend in real time. She is then labeled as “bitchy” for reacting, replaced, and written off so the story can continue with the “main love story.”
Fans weren’t happy that she didn’t return, especially since other characters were brought back. Many also criticized Jenny Han, the author and series creator, noting that this is not the first time her work has followed this pattern.
2. John Ambrose – To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
This story, also by Jenny Han, follows a girl whose love letters are accidentally sent out, leading to unexpected relationships. Again, we see a love triangle.
In the first movie, Lara Jean is with Peter Kavinsky, and they struggle to make things work. In the second movie, her main love interest becomes John Ambrose. While this trope most often affects women, there are instances where it affects men as well, and this is one of them.
If you’ve seen the film, you know John is portrayed as kind, thoughtful, and compatible with Lara Jean. They share interests, and as you watch, it feels like he could be the right choice. But ultimately, Lara Jean realizes that while dating John, she misses Peter and wants to be with him instead.
3. Julianna Porter – XO, Kitty (2023– )
Staying within the Jenny Han universe, this trope continues even years after the original trilogy. XO, Kitty follows Lara Jean’s younger sister as she attends a new school in Korea and learns to navigate life on her own. And you guessed it… another love triangle.
While XO, Kitty is not directly adapted from one of Jenny Han’s books, it is built from existing characters and storylines. The original films stayed true to the books in terms of endgame relationships, and fans acknowledge that. However, many still feel frustrated that certain aspects of the story can be changed or expanded, just not when it comes to Black love interests.
There isn’t enough space here to cover every example of this trope, especially since the list is so long and I took up most of the space to talk about the Jenny Han verse. Yet, the list I provided is just the surface level of the trope that only includes current day media. This pattern exists across many projects, including shows many of us watch every day, even if we haven’t noticed it before.
While I only mentioned modern media, many more examples exist. In fact, some of your favorite daily shows follow this exact pattern, even if you didn’t notice.