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Legally blonde follows the life of a college sorority girl named Elle Woods. Elle has dreamed of becoming the wife to her boyfriend Warner Huntington but is astonished that her boyfriend broke up with her with the reason that she is “too blonde.” Determined to win her boyfriend back she develops a plan to enroll in Harvard Law School and continue to pursue him. Along the way, Elle encounters many obstacles but also discovers her knew interest of law and how it can be used for good.

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Legally Blonde GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Abstract: Female professors continue to face challenges in the male-dominated academic disciplines of law, medicine, and engineering.

Citation:

Ward, L. (2008). Female faculty in male- dominated fields: Law, medicine, and engineering. New Directions for Higher Education, 2008(143), 63–72.

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The article by LaWanda Ward (2008) explicitly demonstrates what women experience when they encounter fields that are dominated mainly by men. In the movie, Elle attends Harvard law and begins to notice that majority of the classes are filled with mostly men. The men Elle is surrounded by, especially her ex-boyfriend, often dismissed her ideas and viewed her as inadequate. In the Ward (2008) article, it is discussed that Myra Bradwell who was the first female attorney in the United States was denied bar admission as they believe that women were too timid and delicate to practice law. This directly connects to Elle as many of her male counterparts like her ex-boyfriend, viewed her as unassertive and weak minded simply due to the fact that she was a woman working in law.

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Elle Woods GIF - Elle Woods Legally - Discover & Share GIFs

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As someone who also expresses and prioritizes my femininity, this film shows that in order to be successful as a woman you do not need to adhere to societal standards of how a woman should appear (i.e., phenotype and creative expression) in the workplace. Legally blonde, is a positive and fun film that demonstrates women navigating and succeeding within the patriarchal society they are placed in.

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Abstract: Taking as its inspiration Joanne Entwistle’s understanding of the “power-dressing” phenomenon thattook over the United States from the late 1970s as a discourse on the body, sexuality, gender perfor-mance, and power, this paper considers the implications of power-dressing when applied to anotheriteration of gendered performance; one which instead of carefully negotiating between masculineand feminine traits, instead presents a hyper-feminine, hyper-sexualised professional appearance tothe ends of power and professional success. However, the professional backdrop of this research isnot of the office but of sex-work (defined in the Dictionary as “a person employed in the sex industry, as a prostitute, pornographic film actor, stripper, nude model, or creator of sexually explicit online content”), and celebrity. This paper uses the case studies of two women who employ exaggerated

feminine performance, and explicitly harness, rather than “manage” their sexuality, in their professional careers during the 90s and early 2000s — writer, filmmaker and ex sex-worker Virginie Despentes, and media personality (and sex-tape star) Paris Hilton. My aim is to explore how hyper-feminine dress and presentation, synonymous with unacceptable female sexuality, might interact with questions of power and agency, and subvert historic theories on the subject.

Citation:

Lever, S. (2023). “Power Dressing”: Hyper-Feminine Performance and the Professionally Self-Sexualised Female Body. ZoneModa Journal, 13(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2611-0563/17116

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Women who take pride in their femininity are seen as shallow and superficial. Many women believe that they are required to forego their feminine traits in order to succeed in a career. Many women tend to power dress when they are in work environments and shy away from more vibrant colors that are deemed to be feminine. The term power dressing refers to wearing attire that is usually in neutral colors (e.g., brown, black, and grey) which is said to exude confidence and professionalism. The problem arises in the film as Elle’s attire is seen as very bright and feminine which many in the film deemed as silly and unprofessional like her ex-boyfriend, peers and professors. Although Elle received many misogynistic remarks regarding her wardrobe and feminine appearance, she did not allow this stop her from working and studying law. In the film, Elle demonstrates that engaging in more masculine traits just to succeed is not needed and that having faith within your true self can aid in achieving goals as a woman. In addition to this, the article by Stephanie Lever (2023) discussed many celebrity women that challenged sexuality and gender performance stereotypes within various lines of work.

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Abstract:

This article is an analysis of the relationship between, on the one hand, empirical findings and

theoretical perspectives on the sexualization of the workplace and, on the other, changes in

public policy intended to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment as a problem for employed

women. The sexualization on the workplace is conceptualized as all consensual and coerced

sexual interactions at work, that is, both sexual harassment and sexual relationships. A

summary of the evidence regarding both types of behaviors reveals that sexual harassment is

experienced quite often by women workers; occasionally, women engage in sexual relation-

ships with persons met at work. Harassment has significant negative consequences for the

economic, emotional and physical condition of women, delimiting further an economic

position for women which has already been affected severely by occupational segregation and

employment discrimination. In assessing the impact of guidelines of the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission defining sexual harassment as sexual discrimination, issues are

raised concerning the use and effectiveness of the guidelines by women workers, courts, and

employers. It is argued that public policy on harassment is necessary and progressive but

limited in its impact; the bulk of the problem, especially with regard to co-worker behavior,

and the structural context of inequality are left relatively untouched

Citation:

Schneider, B. E. (1985). Approaches, Assaults, Attractions, Affairs: Policy Implications of the Sexualization of the Workplace. Population Research and Policy Review, 4(2), 93–113. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40229743

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Physical features of a woman contribute to how they are viewed and treated within society. In the film, Elle Woods is seen as the stereotypical blonde woman who is unintelligent and only used for the male gaze. In addition to this, she is also sexually harassed by her professor as she was led to believe he would help her progress her career. In the article conducted by Beth Schneider (1985), it is stated that many women frequently experience sexual harassment within the workplace. The Schneider (1985) article also discusses that this type of harassment is demonstrated to assert masculine privilege within the workplace. In the film, the professors who harassed Elle insinuates that she should give him sexual favors in order to succeed in her career path.

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Sexual Harassment at workplace - Legally Blonde