Despite its superficial facade, the movie Legally Blonde tells underlying wisdom many of us cannot find out for ourselves until late in life. Through the story of Elle Woods, a glamorous affluent college aged girl who wants to prove her ex boyfriend wrong, Legally Blonde unpacks themes of sexism, perseverance and self-worth.
Perhaps what I find most refreshing about this movie is that it is not trying to be pretentious in the way the messages are told. It is straightforward and requires little in depth analysis to get to the life changing themes. I love that. But more importantly, it relates to how many women feel about femininity. Being feminine and outwardly expressing so is intimidating because it objectively devalues ourselves to others.
Wearing a pink fur-lined jacket, having a chihuahua in a purse, or getting mani pedis should not be the end all determinant of someone’s intelligence. Nor should talking about generally feminine topics, like hair care, the Bachelor or relationships.
“Whoever said orange is the new pink was seriously disturbed,” Elle Woods said in the movie.
Agreed, Elle. In fact, that’s the smartest thing I’ve heard someone say all day. She’s not trying to be someone she’s not and she’s saying things other people are too scared to. Yet, this outward expression of her femininity is what made her boyfriend find her unintelligent and decide to break up with her.
I relate with Elle Woods in that proving my intelligence to others, as a woman, is frustrating and largely unsuccessful. If someone thinks you are a certain way, unintelligent in Elle Wood’s case, it will take a hell of a lot to convince them otherwise. Even attending Harvard Law wasn’t enough to prove Elle’s intelligence to her ex boyfriend. It wasn’t Elle who was unintelligent, though. As she puts it:
“I need a boyfriend who’s not such a complete bonehead.”
If someone is incapable of valuing you for more than an outward appearance, their toxicity can be spent elsewhere.
Which leads me into another fundamental theme Legally Blonde beautifully portrays: women can be both pretty and smart.
I will never forget an encounter I had with a Wyoming politician, who will remain nameless for my own protections, who “graciously” gave me unsolicited career advice. I told him I was majoring in economics in which he responded to me by suggesting I take up nursing or accounting. It was more employable, he said. Then why did he not give career advice to the male international relations student next to me?
Because economics is a male dominated field, and nursing and accounting are female dominated fields. Simply put, I am too feminine to be doing anything besides “women-oriented” things, let alone talking about economics, finance, math or American politics. The politician’s advice has been long swept aside, per Professor Stromwell’s advice in the movie Legally Blonde:
“If you’re going to let one stupid prick ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.”
Like Elle by the end of the movie, I am not making career choices exclusively to prove him wrong, but I’ll let my future success speak for itself. News flash! I am perfectly capable of painting my nails and studying the IS-LM model at the same time.
Intelligence has no image and ultimately cannot be consistently defined. My impression of intelligence is different than yours, so why immediately assume someone is not of a certain stature based on a rudimentary outward characteristic.
Thank you Legally Blonde for bringing attention to an issue I have long encountered. I truly recommend this movie to not only the girls, but anyone with a Netflix subscription. Even my 65-year-old dad, who watches exclusively survival shows, endorsed Legally Blonde.
