I'd never considered how attraction to the concept of "bad boys" could be partially aspirational within one's own human psyche, but it totally makes sense in the context you described it.

I wrote a piece, not too long ago, about the differing perceptions of "bad boys" and "nice guys" -- and people's interpretations for assigning those labels also may provide insight into how we view one another as humans:

https://medium.com/bigger-picture/stop-telling-me-what-a-nice-guy-i-am-b14aaa3fc900