12. Kaiyue L. - Legally Blonde Analysis

The iconic film Legally Blonde highlights many stereotypes that are associated with gender and class, specifically the main character, Elle’s identity as a White, upper-class woman, and the privileges and challenges that come with holding such identities.

At the beginning of the film, Elle lives a lifestyle of ease, luxury, and social approval. She's the president of the UCLA sorority, Delta Nu, and was in a happy relationship with an attractive, aspiring senator Warner Washington. Life seemed perfect until Warner broke up with her before transferring to Harvard. He does not see a future with Elle, telling her that if he wants to be a senator by the time he's 30, he needs to marry a "Jackie, not a Marilyn," implying that he believes Elle is "too blonde." Heartbroken but determined, Elle follows Warner to Harvard Law School, planning to humiliate him with her intelligence. Now living a life that's the complete opposite of her poolside Malibu activities, Elle for once is socially disapproved due to her unsophistication and innocence. Warner, on the other hand, is now in a new relationship with "a Jackie", the brainy, serious classmate, Vivian Kensington. Rejected by the love of her life and flunking out of school, she used her sadness as fuel to study and quickly excelled in her classes. She slowly began to earn the respect of her peer and developed a passion for law. In the end, Elle graduates from Harvard with high honors and is the elected speaker at the ceremony, she not only gets invited to a prestigious law firm but also finds true love.

Elle Woods is an example of a character breaking the traditional stereotypes of feminine women. While she fully embraces a love of pink, having her nails done, shopping, and her small dog, she is not naive or uncaring like the "dumb blonde" people around her assume her to be. She challenges the notion of the “girly girl” with her intelligence, advocacy, and resilience. 

One of the central themes of Legal Blonde that impacted me as a kid is that a girl being into fashion doesn’t make her unintelligent–and those fashion smarts aren’t inherently a “useless” form of knowledge. Elle’s fashion smarts are introduced when a storekeeper tries to take advantage of her alleged stupidity by attempting to trick her into buying a discount dress for full price, but Elle sees through it. Later, Elle’s fashion smarts are crucial to her winning her first legal case. This portrayal is truly groundbreaking. Most characters like Elle are treated as cruel, superficial, stupid, or all of the above. Elle is none of these things—and she doesn’t change herself to succeed.

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