I started thinking about the lyrics to Avril Lavign's "Sk8ter Boy" the other day and I get the feeling that Lavigne is, on some level, punishing "ballerina girl" for her decision not to date skater boy. You could even say that the song was an attempt to humiliate her. (Not necessarily in the dramatic sense but more of a, "look what I have that you don't" sort of feeling.) She says that ballerina girl "looks up at the man that she turned down." "Looking up" at someone is usually associated with rank. You look "up" at someone who outranks you (aka makes you feel small.) Lavigne is saying that ballerina girl made a big mistake. But did she? Let's examine.
Let me start by saying that I don't personally know Lavigne so I cannot comment on whether or not this relationship is fictional or otherwise. I am ONLY commenting on the situation as referenced in the song.
First off, we don't know if the "she's just a girl" (a.k.a. ballerina girl) and the "he's just a boy" (a.k.a. skater boy) are in high school or university. I would assume it's high school because university students aren't as well known for cliques but since she's got a baby 5 years later, we can assume it's either last year of high school or first year of university when the fateful meeting occurs.
The reason the timeline is significant is because of the relationship ballerina girl has with her friends. If she is like most people, the friends she makes in university will stick longer than the friends she makes in high school. According to the song, when she sees "skater boy rocking up MTV," she calls these friends. Okay here is where I start making assumptions.
If these are high school friends then ballerina girl cannot be that shallow. How many friends from high school do you regularly keep updates on? Since she calls them up I assume she has their numbers which, five years later, must certainly have changed a fair few times. She cares enough about these friends (a.k.a. the baggy pants haters) to keep current information on them. Therefore the information they gave her about the boy should and was taken to heart. Perhaps what Lavigne thinks of as shallowness is in fact just a cultural difference. No matter how much you "like" someone the relationship will not work long term if you have nothing to communicate about. Since ballerina girl does, well, ballet, we assume Lavigne is saying she has more refined taste than skater boy which could be why she rejects him, as opposed to the idea that "she's just being a bitch."
As for her sitting "alone" instead of automatically assuming that he dumped her after knocking her up perhaps we can speculate that the father of the baby is just not home or perhaps that he passed away? Or that she left him because he was abusive? Or even that they aren't together but still communicate. As for the baby, I don't see anything inherently wrong about having a baby. She's feeing the child so it must be less than 3. Let's assume the "worst case scenario."
If ballerina girl graduated high school at 18 and five years later had a three year old child she would have gotten pregnant at 19/20. She was old enough to make an informed decision. It's not the same as being pregnant at 16. Plus the idea of finger pointing ballerina girl as "being a slut" is not something that can be easily attributed to her. In keeping with the lyrics a girl who would reject skater boy for having less refined taste would not leave school and get pregnant right away.
Now, let's examine this wonderful prize Lavigne boasts about, skater boy.
Lavigne thinks skater boy is worthy because he's on MTV and making a living playing music but that's only her opinion. Having money and fame and playing music for a living might not be for everyone. Perhaps ballerina girl wanted a nice quite life with an intellectual? Why should we give value to skater boy just because he's famous? Famous doesn't equal better.
The song claims that skater boy was rocking up MTV to show "pretty face just what's he's worth." Ouch! So if we are to assume the lyrics are true, everything he has done to come to this point is because needs to prove himself to one girl who rejected him in high school. His current girlfriend even wrote a song about his rejection. I can't speak for anyone else but that sounds pretty insecure to me. Skater boy might be suffering from low self esteem but even worse than that, he seems to have obsessed over this ballerina girl for all those years.
So what we have here is a weak, insecure and potentially obsessive guy. I predict that if ballerina girl plays her cards right she will be able to get this guy. But seriously, who would want him?
