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How Legally Blonde became an unlikely feminist classic

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How Legally Blonde became an unlikely feminist classic

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How Legally Blonde became an unlikely feminist classic Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we've been described as being "at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement."

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Throughout history stereotypes have formed based off incidents creating the stereotype around a culture, gender, appearances, or interests and hobbies. Many people can be bullied, harassed, or even hated over stereotypes. "How many blondes does it take...?" These jokes are told daily, often at the expense of some innocent, intelligent girl that just happened to be born fair of hair. Blondes are often stereotyped as dumb and having a little too much fun, thus people make these "blonde" jokes, which are often extremely offensive and harmful to women. Most of these jokes are often directed at women, but fair-haired men being considered far superior. The movie Legally Blonde is a perfect example to disprove all of these stereotypical jokes.
Legally Blonde is a major example of the blonde stereotype because in the beginning of the movie it shows Elle Woods, the main character, as a blonde heiress who likes to party and just wants to be a trophy wife. When her long-time boyfriend Warner leaves her before he goes off to Harvard she becomes determined to get him back by becoming a "serious" lawyer, and attending the same school. Upon her arrival, she finds out that he has gotten engaged to another girl, Vivian. Vivian, later in the semester, invites her to a "costume" party. When Elle arrives as a bunny she realizes that it indeed is not a costume party, but a mean prank from Vivian. She later finds Warner and has the revelation that he will not ever take her seriously; this causes her to become angry and more determined to prove him wrong.
In the beginning of this movie Elle is a stereotypical blonde, she likes to go out to parties not worry about school and does not realizes how she is seen by most people. At one point of the movie she states that no one not even her own parents take her seriously and most people just expect her to go into modeling of some sort. Warner leaves her because he does not see her as a serious person and his family expects more out of him. After Elle recovers from their break up is when she starts to realize how people see her and the different way she is treated. This pushes her to change from this stereotype and into who she later becomes.
Another stereotype that Legally Blonde shows is a

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Throughout history stereotypes have formed based off incidents creating the stereotype around a culture, gender, appearances, or interests and hobbies. Many people can be bullied, harassed, or even hated over stereotypes. "How many blondes does it take...?" These jokes are told daily, often at the expense of some innocent, intelligent girl that just happened to be born fair of hair.

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Pauliefred

This past summer, ‘Legally Blonde’ celebrated its 20th anniversary since its release July 13, 2001.

When the movie was first released, director Robert Luketic had no idea of the future impact his film would have on students. 20 years later, Elle Woods has served as an inspiration to female college students worldwide.

To the naked eye, Woods was just an average college student. She was president of her sorority and was dating well-rounded and handsome Warner Huntington III. But, Woods was much more than she appeared to be on the surface.

She was an independent, headstrong woman who stopped at nothing to achieve her goals. Deciding to attend Harvard Law School, Huntington dumped Woods as he was blind to her potential. He claimed to want a serious and successful new girlfriend that could uphold his new Harvard reputation.

Caught in a crisis of love, Woods was determined to follow Huntington to Harvard and win him back. Despite the doubts and judgment of her new professors and peers, Woods thrived in her new environment.

Throughout her journey, Woods embarked on journeys of love and success to prove that a woman can uphold her integrity while being an asset in the professional world.

Biggest reveals from Netflix’s TUDUM Event about upcoming series, documentaries, movies Netflix followed in the footsteps of DC, PlayStation and Comic-Con Saturday at their virtual fan event announcing anticipated titles for Read…

Twenty years later, ‘Legally Blonde’ has had a lasting impact on all women in education and the workplace. Through lessons of empowerment, independence and integrity, ‘Legally Blonde’ sought to recognize everyone’s potential despite first appearances.

At the end of the film, Woods was chosen to defend a woman’s ploy against a court charging her with murder. Taking control, Woods proved her defendant innocent. The court scene displayed the importance of women’s empowerment to the audience.

Woods was chosen for the case due to her professor’s unprofessional newfound liking to her body. When Woods became aware of the situation, she strove to prove her professional ability in court. Saving the day and winning the case, Woods left Professor Callahan, and the court dumbfounded. Despite all of Woods’s setbacks, she thrived.

On college campuses today, women still struggle in rigorous male-dominated fields, including law. According to Public Legal, as of 2020, the University of Wisconsin’s law school comprises 46% women.

How the “day-and-date” release strategy changed the film industry The film industry found itself grinding to a screeching halt in March 2020 as it, along with the rest of Read…

From the first female graduate, Belle Case La Follette, in 1885, to the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson from the class of 1962, women at UW have shoved through society’s barriers and made a name for themselves at UW law. Just like Woods, UW students have thrived and will continue to succeed at the university.

‘Legally Blonde’ will continue to be an inspiration to all. I congratulate Luketic, actress Reese Witherspoon and the entire ‘Legally Blonde’ franchise for twenty years of inspiration and empowerment.

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The lasting impact of ‘Legally Blonde’ on women, college students 20 years later

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Iconic film ‘Legally Blonde’ tells success story of woman who was underestimated in her film — how have things changed for women in past 20 years?

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Features
Legally Blonde became an instant classic when it hit theaters in 2001, giving us Elle Woods-a feminist hero who didn't have to give up her traditionally feminine traits and pursuits to be seen as smart and strong.

Photo: MGM

Twenty years ago, Legally Blonde's Elle Woods burst onto our screens with her infectious can-do attitude and an early-2000s penchant for all things pink and fuzzy, from her jacket to her phone. Reese Witherspoon's iconic sorority sister who goes to Harvard Law School in pursuit of an ex-boyfriend-dressed in head-to-toe pink, carrying a copy of the Bible (Cosmo, obvi)-didn't jive with the era's conception of a Strong Female Character, a la Trinity from The Matrix, Sarah Connor from the Terminator movies, or Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider franchise. Elle derives her strength from what many would deem her traditionally feminine character traits and pursuits, not in spite of them, like her undergraduate study of fashion and her focus on loyalty and cooperation rather than competition. While some fall for the trap of associating masculinity with strength and intelligence and femininity with conservatism and vapidity, Elle's fans have always seen her for who she really is: a feminist ahead of her time.

Everything about Elle Woods is bubblegum pink femininity, from her wardrobe ("I don't understand why you're completely disregarding your signature color!") and tiny purse dog Bruiser to her enthusiastic vernacular and name, derived from the 2000s teen fashion magazine, which also happens to be the French pronoun "she." When Elle is frustrated, she channels the feeling into studying and achieving. When she's rejected from a study group (essential to surviving law school), she politely takes her homemade treats and leaves. An early precursor to Annie Murphy's Alexis Rose on Schitt's Creek, Reese Witherspoon's charm and relentless positivity help turn an archetype that's normally considered shallow or even villainous into a fully-fledged character with depth and heart.

It's easy to look at Elle Woods and the film Legally Blonde and discredit them both-and many have. She's arguably let into the school based on her looks, and her own advisor made a mean joke about acing a class on polka dots, discrediting her fashion merchandising major. But don't forget that she had a 4.0 GPA and a 179 on her LSAT (out of 180 possible points), making her a top candidate. She was also president of her sorority, involved in extracurriculars and philanthropy. Oh and that pink resume? It's inspired by the true story of how the manuscript for the book that Legally Blonde was based on got scooped from the slush pile.

Legally Blonde doesn't make fun of its heroine for her interest in feminine-coded pursuits like shopping or her penchant for the color pink. An early shopping scene, a spiritual sequel to the couplet in Pretty Woman, sets Elle up to be the butt of a saleswoman's joke about stupid rich girls spending daddy's money. Instead, Elle asks the woman a series of questions about the garment's construction and provenance, the saleswoman agreeing to everything in pursuit of a sale, not realizing she has exposed her own ignorance and deception by doing so. Elle's fashion education isn't an air-headed pursuit, but a fulfilling interest as worthwhile as any other, one where accumulating knowledge can come in just as handy as knowing about political science.

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Legally Blonde is a fish-out-of-water story, so while Elle's hobbies are no less important than how her Harvard classmates spend their time, they're certainly different. She uses her specialized knowledge to figure out parts of the Brooke Windham case (Ali Larter), like realizing that gay men are more likely to know shoe designers than straight ones (even if that's a bit, uh, reductive), and using her shared interests with Brooke to help make her time while incarcerated more comfortable and gain her trust, so that Brooke would share her alibi. The coup de grace, of course, is Elle's use of perm knowledge to expose Linda Cardelini's socialite daughter lying on the stand, causing her to crack and confess to killing her father, exonerating Elle's client Brooke.

Throughout the movie, Elle is happiest in women-dominated spaces that focus on community and collaborative support, traits typically associated with femininity. When she was prepping for a proposal from Warner and then nursing the heartache afterwards, it was as much a Delta Nu experience as it was her own. Once Elle decides to go to law school, the entire sorority pitches in, helping her study for the LSAT and make her video essay. When Elle gets to Cambridge, she once again seeks solace at a nail salon, a place where women take care of one another and give advice, even if they are strangers at first. And it's no coincidence that, when Elle quits working on the Brooke Windham case and wants to leave Harvard altogether, she cries her eyes out at the nail salon, where Professor Stromwell (a pitch-perfect Holland Taylor) overhears her plight.

Warner tells Elle, "If I'm going to be a senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn." In the world of Legally Blonde, women don't have to choose. You can be a shy manicurist, but also have a killer bend-and-snap. You can be a strict law professor who also goes to the salon and has her student's back when a colleague sexually harasses her. It's fitting that, for Elle's moment of triumph, when she takes the lead in Brooke Windham's case, Elle makes her entrance in her signature color: vibrant pink. Since her first class at Harvard, Elle started cosplaying as a normie law student, her clothing getting darker and more traditional to match her surroundings. She traded in her pink-lensed sunglasses for reading glasses. When it was time for Elle to have her crowning moment of achievement, though, she did it by looking and acting like herself, and relying on the knowledge and drive that got her to Harvard in the first place-pink sparkles and all.

Elle's mother doesn't want her to "throw away" being the first runner up in the Miss Hawaiian Tropics contest to go to law school, but over the course of the film, Elle proves that she doesn't have to choose between the two. Furthermore, she doesn't have to choose between love and a career, or settle for a guy who doesn't appreciate her for the powerhouse that she is. While Warner is the catalyst for Elle's journey into jurisprudence, he quickly shows himself to be something of a "bonehead" once they're both in Cambridge, telling Elle she'll never be smart enough to win a coveted internship spot, encouraging Elle to break her word to their client once she does get the internship, and then never noticing the sexism of their professor who only asks the women to fetch him food and drink. Eventually, Warner does come around, like all of Elle's classmates and teachers, but by then she has the self-worth to tell him to take a hike.

Speaking of Warner, when he shows up in Cambridge he comes with his preppy fiancé Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair, in a mini Cruel Intentions reunion). Vivian and Elle were set up to compete over not only Warner, but grades and career opportunities, like Professor Callahan's internship. The film's first act sees a bit of bad blood and back and forth. As the rivals see one another's legal prowess and come to see the sexism in their field from powerful men like Callahan (and the way less powerful men like Warner either don't see or pretend not to), they grow closer. Eventually, Warner reveals his low character while Elle displays her loyalty by keeping Brooke's alibi a secret, and the two drop Warner and their competition to become friends instead. For young women watching, it's a valuable lesson that other women and girls aren't your competition-they're your allies.

Elle and Legally Blonde aren't perfect-her journey started out in pursuit of her ex-boyfriend, and classmate Enid was probably right that many women in sororities would call her a dyke and mistreat her. It's a shame Elle never finds common ground with the one woman in the film who's an actual avowed feminist. But people grow, and Legally Blonde allowed its heroine the room to do that, even after the credits rolled. Elle Woods has inspired many women to become lawyers, and it's easy to see why. She believes in herself and others, fights for her friend Paulette's dog, and fights back against sexual harassment. But even for those who aren't interested in the law, Elle's way of winning people over by being kind, supportive, and "using her blonde for good" sends an important message that traditionally femme traits and esthetics are powerful in their own right.

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Delia Harrington a freelance writer and photographer focusing on social justice and pop culture through a feminist lens. She loves post-apocalyptic sci-fi, historical fiction, and feminist comic...

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How Legally Blonde Created a Feminist Hero Ahead of Her Time | Den of Geek

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Features Legally Blonde became an instant classic when it hit theaters in 2001, giving us Elle Woods-a feminist hero who didn't have to give up her traditionally feminine traits and pursuits to be seen as smart and strong.

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"Legally Blonde," released 20 years ago in July, holds up well in regards to its feminist themes.

But like many films of that time, it falls short on diverse representation.

The beloved movie's only characters of color are either underdeveloped or straight-up offensive.

"Legally Blonde" is filled with valuable lessons.

The beloved film, starring Reese Witherspoon, taught viewers everything from proper perm maintenance and the ideal "bend and snap" technique to embracing feminism and believing in yourself no matter who tries to put you down. It's also, incidentally, a hilarious and endlessly quotable movie.

But as well as it holds up in many regards, particularly when it comes to its feminist themes, the 2001 film isn't perfect.

We need to talk about how poorly it handles its characters of color.

Insider revisited the few non-white characters who appear in the film and spoke to Greg Serano, who played pool-boy Enrique, about his experience playing one of the only characters of color in the iconic movie.

Elle Woods has been praised as a feminist icon, and I wholeheartedly adore her for that

Within minutes of the film's start, Elle is awkwardly dumped by her boyfriend Warner (Matthew Davis) at a crowded restaurant, just as she thinks he's about to propose.

From that moment, she's determined to secure a spot at Harvard Law School alongside Warner so she can win him back - and so begins her feminist journey.

We see Elle find her self worth outside of the man she expected to marry as she becomes a shrewd litigator and realizes that she actually does deeply care about her new vocation.

While Elle is frequently praised as a feminist icon who fought stereotypes and sexual harassment to prove she is a competent lawyer, Insider's senior entertainment reporter Olivia Singh previously wrote that Elle isn't an obviously likable protagonist.

Elle, who comes from a wealthy family, has a taste for designer labels and fancy cars. But it's hard to look at her and only see her privilege when Elle also brings joy to those around her and is kind to everyone she meets.

She quickly jumps in to defend her new friend, Jennifer Coolidge's Paulette Bonafonté Parcel, in a dog-custody battle with a terrible former partner, and she's fiercely protective of Brooke's alibi in the murder trial (as a fellow thin white woman, Elle is well aware of how bad it would be for fitness icon Brooke's liposuction secret to get out).

"The pretty, wealthy, popular girl is not usually the underdog," screenwriter Karen McCullah told Singh about writing Elle's character. "We flipped it and the humanity of the character because she was so kind to everyone and so optimistic and unfazed."

As impressive as it is that the film's creators made Elle into an unlikely feminist hero, they unfortunately didn't put in as much work (or really any work at all) into its characters of color.

'Legally Blonde's' diversity issues are cringeworthy in retrospect, but Serano, who played Enrique, told Insider it wasn't 'even a realization'

The movie, as fun as it is, has an extremely white cast. Almost all the characters in Elle's social circles in California and at Harvard are white.

One exception is her friend Serena, played by actress Alanna Ubach, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent and best-known for voicing Mamá Imelda in Pixar's "Coco," though Serena largely disappears in the middle of the movie when Elle is fully immersed into the Harvard Law experience.

The most notable characters of color are one-dimensional: the judge (Francesca P. Roberts) presiding over the film's climactic murder trial and pool-boy Enrique Salvatore (Serano), who is one of the witnesses.

The judge, who's barely in the film at all, has few lines that are mostly reactions to Elle's antics. Enrique, on the other hand, is far more memorable - in part because he's a caricature of a gay Latino man.

During the trial, Enrique claims that he's having an affair with Brooke, implying that the socialite might have murdered her older husband to be with her lover. Minutes later, Elle clicks her Prada heels and proves that the pool boy is gay and has made the whole thing up to make Brooke look guilty.

Before Emmett, tipped off by Elle, proves that Enrique is lying by tricking him into outing himself as gay on the stand (also not great!), the pool boy delivers arguably one of the most recognizable lines from the movie: "Don't stomp your little last season Prada shoes at me, honey."

Other writers, such as Huffington Post's Cole Delbyck, have criticized the film in the past for making Enrique a "blatantly problematic representation of a gay man." But there's also an uncomfortably racist element to Enrique's portrayal as the "sassy Latinx" stereotype.

Enrique wears a sparkly green shirt with a Virgin Mary depicted on the back, speaks with an exaggerated accent, and leaves Cher CDs in the pool house, all before his disturbing public outing.

Despite these issues, Serano, told Insider back in June that he fondly remembers his time filming the movie and playing Enrique.

Serano added that he couldn't recall if the lack of diversity in the film was "even a realization" for him while filming "Legally Blonde" over 20 years ago. After all, he had no idea that he was playing one of only several characters of color with speaking roles.

"As an actor, you're only on set for your scenes," Serano told Insider about his experience. "You really don't know who else is in the film or even the script. You don't know who's being cast for the role."

Serano added that back when "Legally Blonde" was made, representation in films simply "wasn't in the spotlight as much as today."

Many other iconic movies from the same era as 'Legally Blonde' had predominantly white casts

Certainly, the lack of diversity isn't a "Legally Blonde"-specific problem. Many movies released in the late '90s and early '00s (like "10 Things I Hate About You" and "Freaky Friday") failed to feature a diverse, or even a not-exclusively-white, cast.

While Hollywood has made a far bigger push for diversity in recent years (both onscreen and behind-the-scenes), many of the defining movies of the past few decades missed that boat. It's especially noticeable with "Legally Blonde" because the 2001 movie gets so many other lessons right and was remarkably far ahead of its time in some ways.

But there's still hope for Elle to become a champion of diversity yet.

"Legally Blonde 2," released two years after the first movie, had a slightly more diverse cast. Oscar winner Regina King played Grace, a Congressional aide in Washington, DC, and Elle's workplace-nemesis-turned-ally, as the Harvard graduate tries to pass a bill in the House of Representatives, outlawing animal testing for makeup products.

A third "Legally Blonde" movie, where Witherspoon is set to reprise her role as Elle, is set for May 2022. Mindy Kaling will join Witherspoon as a producer, with the former telling Deadline that the new film will "definitely have a lot of fan favorites" returning.

When asked about what her vision is for the upcoming "Legally Blonde" movie, Witherspoon told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2019 that the new sequel will be "global," while also highlighting "awesome feminist ideas" like the first movie in the series.

"That's my hope and dream for 'Legally Blonde 3,'" Witherspoon said.

Elle ends the first movie by stressing the importance of having faith in other people and in yourself - and I have faith that Witherspoon knows her "global" vision for the upcoming "Legally Blonde" sequel must include better representation and characters of color.

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Yes, 'Legally Blonde' is a feminist masterpiece. But we need to talk about how badly it handles its characters of color.

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"Legally Blonde," released 20 years ago in July, holds up well in regards to its feminist themes. But like many films of that time, it falls short on diverse representation. The beloved movie's only characters of color are either underdeveloped or straight-up offensive. "Legally Blonde" is filled with valuable lessons.