The Beauty Myth in Movies

Last week, my mother has gotten really into the legally blonde movies. She asked me to watch with her for a while so I obliged. I was tired and lying down on the couch with the movie droning on in the background. I was about to sneak a quick nap in, but the movie seemed to jump out at me. The beauty myth jumped out of the screen and slapped me in the face.

Elle Woods, the main character of the movie is a ditzy blonde stereotype trying to be a lawyer. Granted this movie is all about overcoming stereotypes about being attractive. Men and women persecute her alike for being ‘too pretty to be a lawyer’, and she eventually overcomes this barrier (the whole plot of the movie).

This is all fine and dandy, but there were some sexist undertones in the movie. For example, at the end of the film, she breaks up her boyfriend and shows that she’s independent, but then she ruins it by saying, “I've been waiting for a long time for you to say that. But if I'm going to be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30, I need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead.” She literally states that she needs a man in her life if she’s going to achieve her goals.

            This is bad enough in itself but throughout the entire movie all the characters are fixated on beauty. If they’re jealous, they’re jealous because they’re not as pretty as her. Elle says things like, “Curls weren’t a good look for her. She didn’t have your bone structure.” And  “Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated. “

            People are called  ‘shallow’ for judging her for being too pretty, but she’s justified when she insults people for being less attractive then her. Another thing I noticed is that nobody in the movie is remotely offended by this system and my mom wasn’t aware of these undertones in the movie until I told her about them. She says things like “I object!” when a man whistles at her, and she does it as a joke. There’s no inclination towards change.

            This movie and others like it show that it isn’t just the advertising that supports the beauty myth, but movies too.