There is something about pink purses and perfect manicures that gives off an ultra-feminine vibe. As we step into the world of Elle Woods, main character of the movie Legally Blonde, it becomes apparent that she is a girl. Not just an average girl, but a girly-girl. A key interpretation of a girly-girl is that she is "willfully nave, self-absorbed, and self-pitying- (Isaacs 472). When it comes to a crisis that just barely exceeds the scope of her fragile universe, she is one of those beings that is weak and vulnerable. She needs a man to do the job. Legally Blonde presents an array of female characters that appear to contribute to the universal idea that every woman needs a man in order to feel complete. As the plot progresses, however, the prominent female characters (which consist of Elle Woods, Vivian Kensington, and Brooke Taylor Windham) all learn that they are better off without the men they once depended upon. The National Organization of Women (NOW), an organization founded to gain respect for women, would view this movie as a positive representation of how diligent women can be.
The plot of the movie is driven by the character Elle Woods who follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School. Elle had planned to marry Warner Huntington III, the "cardboard cut-out prince- (Shreve 495) of the movie, until he broke up with her for a woman that would compliment his future political career. Elle figures that she can easily win him back by proving that she will go to great lengths, such as achieving admission status to law school, to be near him.
Elle has an obvious conventional gender role in Legally Blonde. She plays a sorority girl and she fits the stereotype by being rich and getting by on her appearance. Her admission to Harvard Law School was staged to appear that it was accepted based on her looks and money. Instead of composing a written essay, as required for the basis of admission, she creates a video in which she is seen in her fabulous mansion while wearing a bikini.