Plain and simple, they're a band.
Made up of Joel & Benji Madden, Paul Thomas, and Billy Martin at the moment.
Like any normal people, they shift and evolve in their styles and such. It's human. Each of them has a rather distinct fashion, ranging from brilliant liberty spikes to shiny hip-hop get-ups.
They're being themselves, exploring their tastes and enjoying themselves, trying on every look just like you did in front of your mirror. For GC, though, we're the mirror.

They're not poseurs, because they're only claiming to be Good Charlotte. Indeed their musical style's just teeming pop and punk and whatever. It's not quite so condensed into such nimrodical labels.
True, they sing about sucky lives while right now we'd all like to be in their place in a happy little mansion-type place, but they did used to be living their words. It's not like they've completely ground out all memories. They can relate to so many, because countless people these days lack money, lost a family member, whatever. It's not like you'd go and continue sitting in a cardboard box (hush up, obviously an exaggeration, don't jump on me yet) if you had the chance to totally improve your lifestyle just by doing what you adore.

No, they're not just MTV clones for preppy losers. I only know perhaps three people who like Good Charlotte. Everyone else simply despises them. And out of these people, I only know one closely -- one of the others, I know, used to be lovely and herself and rather preppy, but has succumbed to ICP and stereotypical black hair. But the one I do know does indeed lead a sucky life, but exudes utter love for Good Charlotte, plus many others who she genuinely appreciates, such as the Sex Pistols, Green Day, and The Killers especially. My friend's got a mom who recently broke her door she was so damn upset at "how fucking ugly your face is," an alcoholic father who doesn't hold stuff back ("Why the fuck are you dressed up like that? You look ridiculous, you look like a freak."), a whore of a sister. Honestly, very few people like her at school. Very few. The rest find her bizarre, don't get her sense of humor ("No, I am a lesbian." "From now on I'll call people who are idiots fruitstands, ha." "NO MEGAN NO."), disgusting, perhaps. She's definitely not pretty, not skinny, none of that. Plus she's currently living in a literal little trailer park. Fun.
What I'm saying is, go make your fucking judgments, don't soak up what you hear here, about the mindless hypocrisy and whiny attitudes of bands you most likely don't know a goddamned thing about.

A band that is only popular because the goons at MTV made them popular. Some people think that all bands on MTV are good, but good bands are bands that make music not for cash, but for the fans and meanings.

a poser-punk band that tries to be emo but in reality, just sucks. they dress punk but then their music sounds like a darker version of the backstreet boys. if you would like to hear more about this band, head over to hot topic and ask all the preppy chicks, im sure they have a lot to say.

A poseur punk-pop band from D.C. The lead singer sounds like a castrated church boy. Thanks to the folks down at MTV, we have to put up with these ass wipes.

Alright, I will state that I was curious about this band about four years ago. I thought to myself: "Good Charlotte can't be that bad if they have so many 'hardcore' fans that go everywhere, buy everything and speak anything that is to do with Good Charlotte." Man, was I wrong. Good Charlotte sucks. They're basically a boy band that wears black clothes and wears eyeliner. Their music sounds like sped up emo music. You could describe their music as "emo with estrogen". MTV markets them to the teenybopper crowd. How so many young, impressionable kids can get suckered hook, line, and sinker into ANY of the garbage that this pathetic excuse of a band dumps onto them is beyond me. They definitely appeal to 12 year old kids, who have such a horrible life because they can't go to the mall and buy new clothes or get a new video game.

They are a whiny band that love to sing about how "horrible" and "tragic" their life is, meanwhile they are sitting in cash in their mansions. No one cares except for their legions of self-pitying fans who feel they can truly connect with GC's "deep" and "inspiring" so-called "music". They even have whiny ballads that sound like the rest of the "pop-punk" and "emo" genres at the moment. Yeah, GC is fuelled by teen angst and armed with extremely bad talent. I'm sorry kiddies but Good Charlotte is nothing more than pop. I'm 16 & I'm already getting tired of the new music because it is getting horrible & more horrible. It's a manufactured popularity c...

A band that starts many arguments about what a 'real' punk is, but, has never stated their own music category.

a band that used to be cool. then they sold out big time, and there fanbase is a bunch of preppy teenage girls who think they are rebellious. also the lead singer thinks he is black.

Is NOT a punk band at all. They are seriuosly a band for 9 year olds ( I should know because for reasons unknow I was obsessed with them WHEN I WAS 9). They're a bunch of whiny preps dressed in black in order to sell their self-pity albums. And they marry people like fuckin Nicole Richie. Big time wanna-bes. One of them even said "I guess if you're gonna dress like you listen to The Cure all the time, you're gonna get s... for it". LOSERS! Don't even dare compare yourselves to the greatness of The Cure. Damn whiny emos....