Opening with the song “Perfect Day” by Hoku, Legally Blonde shows Elle Woods in her unapologetically feminine room. She shows her self care of getting ready brushing her blonde hair and putting on what looks to be a Tiffany bracelet and necklace. Along with this, there is a scene of another girl riding her bike around the beautiful and sunny CULA (California University Los Angeles), a fictional university campus, holding a letter sparkly addressed “Elle” across the back. The letter, as the viewer watches, travels through the sorority house with unapologetically feminine-presenting people smiling and signing the card. This lovely display of femininity is also tied to materialism.
I am unapologetically feminine as a lover of pink and both the Legally Blonde movie and musical. Throughout my childhood, I was a big tomboy. I dressed in my brother’s hand-me-downs and despised the pressure put on me to like the color pink (which I did), but I would have never admitted it. This demonization of femininity in society makes girls feel ashamed for liking feminine things. When you are a woman and like feminine things, you are laughed at for being materialistic, stupid, and vapid, as shown by Elle Woods’s law school classmates looking down at her and not taking her seriously.
When Warner breaks up with Elle during the movie, he tells her it is because he needs to be serious with a Jackie, not a Marilyn. This ties back to the view of women as smart or sexy. You are either Jackie Kennedy, an intelligent woman married to a president, or Marilyn Monroe, whose portrayal of dumb blondes was often tied to how people viewed her. While both women were clever and attractive, these stereotypes forced women into boxes, not allowing them the authority to embrace everything about themselves. By going to Harvard Law school, Elle Woods not only gets over Warner, but also embraces every part of herself and use her natural smarts and confidence to succeed at being a lawyer.
The film also shows the loyalty and joy of friendships between women. Firstly, her sorority sisters, who always support her by getting excited about her hopeful engagement, help her get out of the house post-breakup, give her one of their lucky scrunchies to bring her luck, help her make her video essay, help her study for her LSAT, and show up to support her at the trial at the end of the movie. In the musical, her sorority sisters also act as a Greek chorus, being incredibly funny and supportive of Elle. Later on, when she becomes friends with Vivian, Elle does not hold a grudge against her for how Vivian treats her by lying about the costume party and refusing to let her join the study group. While probably finding it odd for Vivian to start talking to her, Elle treats her with warmth and kindness, showing that femininity is loving pink and materialism and being kind and forgiving.