Pretty & Smart. What, Like it’s Hard?

By: Amy Kim

The movie Legally Blonde was released on July 13, 2001. It is about a girl named Elle Woods who goes to Harvard Law school in order to prove her ex boyfriend that he was wrong about her and that she is capable, more than a pretty blonde girl.The character Elle Woods is portrayed as a blonde, white, rich, girlie girl, nice girl, dressed in a signature look of pink from head to toe, fashionable and often seen with her chihuahua named “Bruiser”.

Elle Woods is an icon of girlhood culture and embodies elements from 3rd wave feminism and post feminism. Elle Woods lies on the murky line between 3rd wave feminism and post feminism. The 3rd wave of feminism is,” much more inclusive of women and girls of color… In response and opposition to stereotypical images of women as passive, weak, virginal ,and faithful, or alternatively as domineering, demanding, slutty, and emasculating, the third wave redefined women and girls as assertive, powerful, and in control of their sexuality”(Britannica). Post feminism is defined as, “ trend that the world is beyond sexism and thus, are beyond the need for collective action,’the pastness of feminism’” (Singh, 02/15/2022). Through the examination of scenes from the movie under the lens of themes within girlhood studies such as: high femme vs radical feminist, the can-do girl vs at-risk girl, and nice girl persona vs sexualization contributed to murky line between the 3rd wave of feminism and post feminism.

In the movie Elle is shown as the can-do girl and at-risk girl. According to Anita Harris (2003) the can-do girl,” is flexible, resilient, self-driven, and self-made and who easily follows nonlinear trajectories to fulfillment and success”(16). While the at-risk girl,” through the designation of ‘at-risk’ that another kind of female subjectivity is produced, that is, the girl as failure”(Harris,2003). These two idea of “the girl” set a binary that a girl can either be one or the other. In a particularly scene between the Elle and her boyfriend Warner at a restaurant and he tells her that, if I want to be senator, well I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn” (Luketic, 2001, 07:53- 08:00). In this scene Warner informs Elle that if he wants to achieve his goal of being a senator then he needs to marry a Jackie (Kennedy), not a Marilyn (Monroe). Through examining this scene it is clear that Warner has placed Elle in one specific category: Marilyn. Based on Harris’ definitions of the can-do girl and at-risk girl and the language Warner uses: Jackie Kennedy is the ideal of the can-do girl and Marilyn Monroe is seen as the at-risk girl. In this case Elle is viewed as the “at-risk” girl though the comment made by Warner of Elle being a Marilyn informs that he does not see any qualities in Elle that would be beneficial towards his success. Rather viewed her as a pretty girl to be with temporarily. Also indicates that since she is not considered to be a Jackie then she does not fit the can-do girl narrative. Therefore is considered a failure. By the end of the movie Elle does achieve the can-do girl status with graduating from Harvard as valedictorian, winning her first murder case, getting engaged to her love interest Emmett, and an internship at a big law firm.

Elle’s transformation from the at-risk to the can-do girl contributes to the thin line between 3rd wave feminism and post feminism. Elle’s attitudes through her journey still emulates her celebratory of femininity and being independent which matches up with the 3rd wave feminism, but at the same time she also fits into the post feminism narrative of the “successful girls”. According to Shauna Pomerantz et.al (2013) successful girls are,”Not only are girls outshine boys, but they are seen to be taking down boys in the process, creating crisis of masculinity that has displaced boy from their ‘usual’ place on top”(190). Through the successful girl narrative it shows that women/girls are taking over typically male centered spaces. Among Elle’s successes she becomes valedictorian at Harvard in a field that is typically male dominated sends a message to girls that they can do anything without any possible restrictions or limitations. With the idea of the “successful girls” blurs the ability to see possible limitations such as sexism. Also that within 3rd wave feminism and post feminism there still reproduction of only 2 types of girls.

An important aspect of the can-do girl is the “do it yourself” and the need to continue to better yourself. This aspect ties into post feminism. According to Sarah Banet-Weiser (2014),”“This is visible, now evaluated, self is simultaneously encouraged by that empowerment discourse of post feminism and its investments in consumer capitalism”(89). This shows the conenction between the self and capitalism. An example of this is Elle at the salon. Elle goes to the nail salon frequently in the movie to relax and feel safe. Also interactions with a woman named,” Paulette” comfort each other. This expresses how in order to focus on the self then the need to participate in consumer capitalism to better themselves. Also in connection to post feminism and neoliberalism, “This verison of girlhood is a fantasy promise that if girls work hard not only can they avoid becoming at-risk, but they can achieve anything. Particularly the neoliberal consumer culture, this narrative promises unbelievable happiness and achievement - girl power- for the girl who embodies can-do status through career, fashion ,and lifestyle choices”(Porjansky,2014).This shows what is being promised if one achieves being the can-do girl. It appears that the can-do girl is still being used as athe ideal standard.

Within the murky line between 3rd wave feminism and post feminism lies the nice girl persona vs sexualization. The nice girl persona is a tactics used in post feminism. “ maintain a ‘nice’ persona so they would not have to blame anyone for the social injustices they saw around them …often attributed to girls’ learned performance of femininity, which does not include ‘masculine‘ traits , such as anger or rebelliousness”(Pomerantz et al., 2013). This quote demonstrates the purpose of the nice girl persona. It is used to avoid blaming someone for a social injustice and by not addressing it, makes it not visible. Also reinforces that girls are supposed to be sweet and submissive.

An example of the nice girl persona in connection to sexualization is when Elle’s Professor Callahan attempts to negotiate a summer internship in exchange for a sexual favor. In the scene Elle and Professor Callahan are seen in his office where he compliments her smartness and then asks her how far she would go to get the internship by touching her upper thigh. Elle calls him a “pathetic asshole”(Luketic, 2001, 1:14:18-1:15:18). Elle still maintains the nice girl persona, she does not yell at him. Rather she appears to be very defeated that her professor viewed her for her looks and body. This represents the murky line between 3rd wave feminism and post feminism because in post feminism there is the use of the nice girl persona to avoid blame or acknowledgment, but in Elle’s case she called out her professor and said an insult to him which goes against the nice girl persona.

Overall in the film Elle is depicted as hyper feminine: into fashion, make-up, always dressed in pink, etc. Also is seen in the movie to be successful and resilient. Elle Woods raises a question whether she should be taken seriously. In a sense of whether hyper femininity can be taken seriously enough to viewed under the lens of radical feminism. According to Becky Francis et. al(2016) when asking girl participants if they thought hyper feminine would pursue in physics this was the conclusion,” However, besides the references to ‘stereotyping’, we can already see emerging within these quotes constructions of femininity as lacking in substance (‘ concerns with appearance’) and dim (‘not so smart’)...”(7). This quote represents thoughts that are associated with hyper femininity. Based on Becky Francis et. al research suggests that there are assumptions regarding hyper feminine girls such as they care a lot about appearance and are viewed not to be smart.

An example of these assumptions can be seen in the movie where Elle re encounters her ex boyfriend Warner at Harvard. In the scene Warner is visibly confused to see Elle at Harvard and asks her whether she is there to see him. In response to his question Elle tells him that she goes there (Luketic, 2001,24:31-24:54). Due to Warner’s existing ideas/history with Elle, he is unable to fathom that she got into Harvard which is considered to be a prestigious institution of learning. There appears to be an assumption due to her hyper femininity that she is not able to be smart or be interested in academic

Hyper femme vs Radical feminist contributed to the murky line between 3rd wave feminism and post feminism because Elle’s hyper femininity and attitudes fits into the ideas of 3rd wave feminism such as “girlie feminism”. According to Carol M. Dole (2008) girlie feminism is,” adult women.. Whose principles are based on reclaiming of girl culture”(59). Which Elle does by reclaiming the color pink and through her fashion. But there appears to be a component where being too feminine is seen not to be socially acceptable, embarrassing, and difficult to interpret (Dole, 2008). Which is evident throughout the movie where people stare at Elle in curiosity, in disbelief, or simply amused by her. Despite society placing gendered expectations, it appears that there is a certain amount of displaying these expectations is limited. In post feminism ideology Elle’s desire to dress like a girlie girl is her individualized choice, but if hyper femininity is seen to be embarrassing. Would other’s respect her choice of her performance or be seen as valuable?

In conclusion Elle Woods and the movie Legally Blonde are an influential piece on girlhood culture and deemed to be iconic. Through analysis of this movie showed important aspects of girlhood themes such as:high femme vs radical feminist, the can-do girl vs at-risk girl, and nice girl persona vs sexualization contributed to murky line between the 3rd wave of feminism and post feminism. Elle Woods character depicts how small of a difference she represents 3rd wave feminism and post feminism. The small difference is important to pay attention to in order to find ways to critically observe the dominant narratives surrounding girlhood.

References

Banet-Weiser, S. (2014). Am I Pretty or Ugly? Girls and the Market for Self -Esteem. 10.3167/ghs.2014.070107

Chapter 4 The return of pink Legally Blonde,third -wave feminism ,and having it all. (2008). In S. Ferriss & M. Young (Eds.), Chick Flicks: Contemporary Women at the Movies. Taylor & Francis. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9GSUAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA58&dq=legally+blonde&ots=1T_stgyKQh&sig=XWZa-1b8FeNDraCuIVk6pLUH9K4#v=onepage&q=legally%20blonde&f=false

feminism - The third wave of feminism | Britannica. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-third-wave-of-feminism

Francis, B., Archer, L., Moote, J., Witt, J. d., & Yeomans, L. (2016). Femininity, science, and the denigration of the girly girl. Taylor & Francis Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2016.1253455

Harris, A. (2004). Future Girl: Young Women in the Twenty-First Century. Taylor & Francis. https://rutgers.instructure.com/courses/173971/files/22223244?module_item_id=6042925

Luketic, R. (Director). (2001). Legally Blonde [Film]. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Pomerantz, S., Raby, R., & Stefanik, A. (2013). Girls Run the World?: Caught between Sexism and Postfeminism in School. Sage Journals. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243212473199

Projansky, S. (2014). Spectacular Girl, Intro. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://rutgers.instructure.com/courses/173971/files/22223257?module_item_id=6043012