Growing up, I was the stereotypical girly-girl: pink walls in my bedroom, a collection of Barbies and a closet of skirts and dresses. For some reason, however, as I got older, I rejected everything about it, even going so far as refusing to admit that pink was (and still is) one of my favorite colors. I associated make-up with acknowledging my imperfections. I associated dresses with fitting into a stereotype. I wound up refusing to wear makeup, confining myself to jeans and sweatpants, and telling people my favorite color was red rather than pink. After I began reading and looking into feminism, I rejected it even more, regretting the fact a friend had implied that I was preppy and believing that, to be a good feminist, I had to defy the gender role of women.
It wasn’t until I hit my senior year of high school that I realized I could be a good feminist and embrace everything I love, from pink to floral skirts and dresses, all because of “Legally Blonde.” Elle Woods was everything I admired: intelligent, strong-willed and absolutely in love with the color pink. While at first, I’ll admit that I was turned off by the fact that she went after Harvard Law all for a boy, the fact that she kept on and succeeded to prove Warner wrong was why I ultimately fell in love with the movie and why Elle became my feminist role model.
“Legally Blonde” is the best “women supporting other women” movie that I’ve ever seen. Elle’s sorority and counselor fully supported her and helped her work toward it. She shattered the “dumb blonde” stereotype, first by calling out the salesperson at the dress shop for trying to sell her last season’s dress at full price, then by making a 179 on her LSAT and making it into Harvard Law. While, at first, she changed herself completely to fit what was a stereotypical “Harvard” look, she decided to embrace herself and wear her bright colors and managed to get a coveted internship. When Warner laughed at her ambition, she went forward to prove him wrong.
Nowadays, I accept the fact that, while I don’t need my makeup to be comfortable in my own skin, I’m certainly more confident while wearing it and that I love wearing dresses and pink. I also accept that I can be a totally good feminist while doing so.
