Examples Of Sexism In Legally Blonde

Jessica Butler
Anthony Franklin
ENGL 1110
05 November 2015
Feminism Portrayed in Legally Blonde
In the film Legally Blonde, sexism and feminism are two very evident features, beginning in a negative, stereotypical way, and ending in a positive, strong willed spirit, promoting confidence and understanding your own self-worth. The film was released in 2001, potentially misleading viewers to believe that it was just another “dumb blonde” joke made into a movie. But what they encountered was more or less the opposite. Stereotypes were thrown left and right, and sexist remarks were common. But our leading heroine trampled them all with her overall confidence and strong will, and made viewers, particularly women, believe in themselves. The downside
Beautiful, bubbly, and blonde are only a few ways of describing her, yet her boyfriend Warner decides to dump her, “so he can “get serious” and date someone “smart” before he goes to law school at Harvard(The Rouge Feminist)”. In order to prove everyone wrong, she decides to apply to Harvard and gets accepted. Even though everyone believes Elle to be a “dumb blonde”, she hardly ever doubts her decisions. And this is how she lives her life, striving for goals she knows with no doubt she can attain, even though the world only mocks her for it. Elle is a great role model for other girls and women, as she never sees herself as dumb, even though so many people see her this way. Although Elle falls into several stereotypes of white women, she doesn’t exactly fit into the misogynistic expectations of docile femininity most would expect. She is flamboyant, and loud, and grabs everyone’s attention when walking into a room. Even in the legal world, she continually speaks her mind, and doesn’t compromise being herself. “Elle is a perfect example of how being feminine does not mean you conform to patriarchal expectations of submissiveness(The Rogue
An example could be of the Asian woman working the stereotypical job as a manicurist, only appearing for a joke. Or maybe the Latino man Enrique, who works as a pool boy for Brooke, whom Elle is representing, and lies about having an affair with her, thus forming the stereotype of Latino men being dishonest. His role is mainly to add comedic relief, and also appearing as a joke. One of the most famous parts of the movie is the bend and snap scene. As Elle is teaching Paulette how to do it, a black woman appears from nowhere to add “sexiness” to the motion. This wouldn’t stand out as much if the movie wasn’t so absent of black women, but since it is, it subtly plays into a