In the pantheon of pop culture, certain female figures loom large, not just for their talents and beauty, but for the tragic narratives that have come to define their legacies. From Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow to Anna Nicole Smith and Brittany Murphy, these women have been immortalized as cautionary tales—symbols of the destructive forces of fame, beauty, and the pursuit of success. Their lives, cut tragically short, often serve as fodder for what can only be described as “trauma porn,” a disturbing fascination with the suffering and downfall of women who seemed to have it all.
Enter Ollie Sills, the protagonist of my debut novella, Bad Sugar Baby. Ollie is a 31-year-old aspiring writer who, despite her financial struggles and professional setbacks, refuses to succumb to the narrative that trauma is a prerequisite for success. In crafting Ollie’s character, I consciously challenge the stereotype that women must suffer—and visibly so—to be considered complex, worthy, or successful. Let alone attractive, as I also wanted to subvert the expectations around what a sugar baby is supposed to look like.
Ollie Sills: An Antidote to Trauma Porn and Porno-Sheen All at Once
Ollie Sills is fiercely independent, unabashedly honest, and refreshingly flawed. Her journey begins not with a tragic backstory or a catastrophic fall from grace, but with the loss of a job she didn’t particularly care for in the first place. Fired from her position as a social media manager for a reality TV diva due to her refusal to sugarcoat the truth, Ollie’s predicament is one of many relatable struggles faced by those trying to make ends meet in a world that often values flattery over substance.
However, Ollie's story is not one of inevitable decline, unlike the tragic heroines of Hollywood so regularly punished in stories of women who engage in societally verboten behavior. Instead, it is a comedic exploration of the absurd lengths people will go to in the pursuit of financial security and personal fulfillment. When Ollie decides to dive into the world of sugar babying—a choice made out of necessity rather than desire, but with a healthy dose of curiosity—she does so with a sense of agency and a clear goal: to turn her experiences into a publishable narrative. She is not a passive victim of circumstance but an active participant in her own life, fully aware of the choices she makes and the consequences they may bring.
This sense of agency is crucial in distinguishing Ollie from the tragic figures that haunt our cultural consciousness. Where women like Marilyn Monroe and Anna Nicole Smith were often depicted as powerless in the face of their own beauty and fame, Ollie is someone who refuses to be defined by her circumstances. She may be cash-strapped and unsure of her next move, but she is never without hope or a plan. Her story is not one of assured demise but of resilience, humor, and the determination to carve out a place for herself in a world that often seems stacked against her.
Soooo Ready for New Heroines
The trope of the tragic heroine is deeply ingrained in our cultural narratives, particularly when it comes to women in the public eye. With her breathy voice and platinum blonde hair, Marilyn Monroe became the quintessential tragic starlet—an image reinforced by her untimely death at 36. Her life story, marked by failed marriages, struggles with addiction, and an elusive search for love and acceptance, has been retold countless times, often with an emphasis on her vulnerabilities rather than her strengths. Even as recently as 2022, films beckoned audiences to feast on Norma Jean’s suffering. And what have we learned?
Similarly, Brittany Murphy’s death at the age of 32, shrouded in mystery and speculation, has been the subject of numerous documentaries and tabloid headlines, each one delving into the darker aspects of her life. Her death greatly affected me, and I think of her often: what if she had come of age in a more body-exclusive time? Her dream in life was to be a movie star, and reportedly, executives said she was “not f***able,” which led her to eating disorders, diet pills, and worse. Perhaps it’s naïve to think she could still be with us if only she had fewer pressures placed upon her to fit a one (very tiny) size-fits-all image of a star… and instead was supported for her many gifts, including her relatability.
Anna Nicole Smith, who rose to fame as a model and reality TV star, became a symbol of the dangers of excess, of the hunt for maintaining cultural beauty ideals. Unlike Ollie, Anna Nicole was goaded by so many operators of the patriarchy within pop culture to damage herself in the pursuit of an unattainable ideal. At first rewarded for taking dangerous weight loss drugs to conform to societal standards, ultimately she succumbed to the overwhelming demands placed upon her. Her death became a tragic end to a life dictated by others' expectations. Did we ever really know the woman beneath the image? That may be the greatest tragedy of all.
These narratives, while undeniably compelling, often reduce these women to mere symbols of tragedy, overshadowing their talents, ambitions, and the complexities of their personalities. They become one-dimensional figures, defined more by their suffering than by their achievements. This reductionist view not only perpetuates harmful stereotypes but also reinforces the notion that women must endure significant trauma to be worthy of attention or admiration.
These narratives also did not have to happen.
I am sick and tired of that particular storyteller’s fetish. The “tragic woman” and her downfall. While we’re at it, why don’t we say she’s beautiful but doesn’t know it, too? Let’s add all the tired tropes.
Bad Sugar Baby offers an alternative. Ollie’s story is not one of tragedy but of comedy—a genre that, traditionally, has allowed for more nuanced portrayals of women. Through humor, I aimed to explore the challenges and contradictions of the sugar baby lifestyle without resorting to the voyeuristic tendencies that often accompany stories about women in unconventional roles. Ollie’s misadventures are not presented as evidence of her downfall, but as opportunities for growth and self-discovery.
Femme Vitales
In literature and film, the archetype of the fallen woman—often characterized by her sexual transgressions, loss of innocence, and eventual demise—has been a staple for centuries. From Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter to Fantine in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, these characters are often punished for their choices, their stories ending in suffering or death.
Ollie, however, refuses to play this role. While she does enter the sugar baby world, she endeavors to do so on her own terms and with her own set of rules. Her experiences do not lead to her undoing, but rather to a deeper understanding of herself and the world around her. She learns to navigate the complexities of relationships, the intricacies of power dynamics, and the true value of honesty and self-respect. Her journey is one of empowerment, not victimhood.
This reclamation of the narrative is particularly important in the context of modern culture, where stories of women’s suffering are often sensationalized and commodified. The popularity of true crime podcasts, documentaries, and TV shows that focus on the brutalization and exploitation of women is a testament to our society’s obsession with trauma porn. By offering a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, Bad Sugar Baby challenges this obsession and offers a new way of seeing female protagonists—one that does not rely on their suffering to be compelling.
It is not that stories of tragedies and their implicit warnings aren’t important or fascinating, but that they have become outsized and morally oppressive.
A key figure in Ollie’s story is Milan, a social media influencer who embodies the eternal emptiness found at the bottom of the barrel in the quest for perfection. Milan represents the darker side of modern beauty standards, where the pursuit of an ever-changing ideal leaves one hollow and unfulfilled. In contrast to Milan’s artificiality, Ollie’s journey is grounded in authenticity, emphasizing the value of self-acceptance over the endless pursuit of an impossible ideal.
Ha!
Humor plays a crucial role in Bad Sugar Baby, serving as both a coping mechanism for Ollie and a narrative tool. Through humor, Ollie is able to navigate the absurdities of her situation without succumbing to despair. Her sharp wit and biting sarcasm provide a counterbalance to the more serious themes of the novella, allowing readers to engage with the story on multiple levels.
Moreover, I was able to explore the often-overlooked comedic aspects of the sugar baby lifestyle. While the term “sugar baby” may conjure images of glamorous young women living lavishly off the generosity of wealthy benefactors, the reality is often far more mundane—and funnier. With its unspoken rules and unpredictable dynamics, Ollie’s attempts to navigate this world provide ample opportunities for comedic situations that are as relatable as they are entertaining.
In this way, Bad Sugar Baby subverts the expectations of both the genre and the audience. Rather than presenting the sugar baby lifestyle as either a path to success or a descent into moral decay, may we consider a more nuanced view—one that is grounded in reality but not without its moments of joy.
Ollie’s journey is not one of tragedy, but of comedy, and it is through this lens that she is able to reclaim her narrative and redefine what it means to be a leading lady.
Bad Sugar Baby is more than just a rom-com or a beach read; it is a bold statement against the cultural obsession with female suffering. It challenges the myth that women must be broken, traumatized, or victimized to be compelling or successful. Ollie is flawed, funny, and fiercely independent—a woman who refuses to be defined by her circumstances or her mistakes. It is a story that celebrates resilience, humor, and the power of self-determination. Ollie Sills may not have all the answers, but she is not afraid to ask the questions—and that, in itself, is a victory.
By Erin Carere, author of Bad Sugar Baby (2024)
Bad Sugar Baby, published by Finch Benson Books, is FREE on KINDLE and ONSALE in paperback for an END OF SUMMER SALE from September 17th-September 21st, at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8971RSJ
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