As I was watching Jane the Virgin this morning, staring at the screen between bites of a breakfast bar, I noticed something shocking about the show -- there was no bad boy.

Then, it hit me that there are not a lot of shows today that feature bad boys.

In any show/movie marketed a romantic comedy where two guys fight over a girl, there is always a 'bad boy.' "Bridget Jones Diary," "Gossip Girl," "Sex and the City," "Casablanca," "Pretty in Pink," "Twilight," and so many more all feature a "bad boy" vying for the heroine's affections. The stereotypical bad boy always is brooding and mysterious all while being a rule breaker and devilishly handsome. He often hurts the heroine and then tries to seek redemption only to do it again and again. The bad boy is caught up in his own emotions and fails to reach out and be selfless and caring. This character trope has been around for decades, so why are we seeing a decline in bad boys in media today?

Let's go back to the "Jane the Virgin idea." In this hilarious television show, our heroine Jane faces a choice between a stable detective whom she has a history with and is kind and caring or a rich hotel owner who has given up his old playboy ways and is equally kind and compassionate. Both men display emotional maturity and a willingness to commit to romance -- a far cry from any bad boy stereotype. Instead, Jane is faced with two wonderful choices that both present stable and beautiful lives for her. Far gone is the bad boy that mistreats the heroine and broods in monochromatic colors on screen -- and that is okay with me.

The choice to get rid of the bad boy is one that was probably prompted by a generation of writers that had watched bad boys on screens and then chased one in real life only to end up hurt and cursing the movies that glamorized those jerks. Women of my generation watched those bad boys on screen, only to find in them real life to be hugely disappointed and hurt. The reality is that women are done with men who aren't going to respect and treat them with kindness, and now media is just representing that change.

The death of the bad boy character after decades also represents a new wave of feminism. No longer is there a heroine taking a walk on the wild side to be with a brooding and pained artist, instead there is a confidant woman making choices that are respectful of her own worth as a person. The history of bad boys highlights a troubling issue for how women see themselves. The bad boy often belittles and mistreats the girl, all while claiming to be mysterious and angsty as justification for their abuse. When young women see the heroine fall for the bad boy, it can make a girl feel like mistreatment and being undervalued in a relationship is okay. That is not a message that women need to be told. Getting rid of the bad boy helps women see that being treated with affection and respect are far better options than being left to deal with a brooding man-child.

Furthermore, getting rid of bad boys help set positive role models for men. When a guy sees an emotionally constipated, semi-abusive, selfish guy get the girl. It encourages young men to mirror those actions. It sets social standards for men by the use of screen-based media and that in turn hurts not only how those young men view themselves, but how they view the actions of other men. Allowing men to be kinder and more open on screen sets a positive and helpful model for men offscreen that allows for more men to feel comfortable not being a "bad boy."

Overall, the bad boy era looks like it is coming to a close. Television and movies today are leaning toward a better model, one in which the choice isn't between a bad guy and a good one but instead two guys who are both good -- and setting a good example for modern dating and love.