I think it's too reductive. The typical narrative is that women go for "bad boys" because they don't know their own worth.

Sometimes this is true.

Oftentimes, it is not. There's a whole subset out there who go for these guys because they're disposable and for the excitement. They know that their chance for adventure has to happen before the babies come and you're more likely to get it with a "bad boy" than a guy who follows the rules. Why? Well, what do the rules say? Women have to be kept safe and protected. It's stifling in how that plays out. By default, if you're ever going to have any excitement in your life, any tales to tell, they have to happen before the babies come. After that, any adventure in your life is pretty much over till they're all gone and by then you'll be too broke and worn down to be very adventurous.

There's also a while subset out there that go for these guys because they DO know their worth. They see themselves as high value, but they also see themselves as saviors. They're Florence Nightingale types, but for the soul, not the body. They believe that the power of their love will change this guy; that they just need someone to believe in them.

Some go for these guys because they're easy. They're usually pretty dumb, just saying. They make good stepping stones out of bad situations. Sometimes, young women find themselves in bad or dangerous situations, like mom has taken up with a new boyfriend who's being a creep (you need a place to stay to keep from being raped and a deterrent), that need immediate redress. You go to these guys because their presence is a form of temporary protection till you can get where you want to be. This is a panicked decision that rarely works out like you'd hoped.

Some go for these guys purely as a way to reject religious dogma. I think there's been many more of these alongside the rise of purity culture. It's a big Fuck You to God.

A fair number simply relate to these young men. Let's face it, generally speaking you become a "bad boy" because your whole youth everyone's been telling you you're not good enough. Maybe you were a slow to learn reader, maybe you were curious and that curiosity didn't always work out well, maybe you were poor and didn't have nice clothes or hygiene and the other kids picked on you, maybe you came from a dysfunctional home, maybe you had a parent in prison, and so forth and so on. Whatever the reason, that shit happens to girls too. So it's not that they don't know their worth per se, it's that they genuinely relate to these guys because they've experienced a lot of the same bias bullshit. Like seeks like.

There's other stuff too. The point is, while it's true that a lot of these young women choose "bad boys" because they learned from home that it's not love unless it hurts or that they don't deserve any better and should.be grateful for whatever scraps are thrown their way, it's not ALWAYS that.