big fat feminist

Scroll to Info & Navigation

‹ ›

FAVORITE MOVIES | Legally Blonde

“You got into Harvard Law?” “What, like it’s hard?”

Guys, I have all the Elle Woods feelings.

She’d been told her entire life that she wasn’t expected to be anything other than a Playboy bunny or music video arm candy. She’d been told that beauty was more important than brains and that all of her value was in her face. Life had been easy for her because she was, indeed, beautiful; in the iterations of this story I’ve read (the novel, the movie, and the musical), she had a charmed life prior to Warner telling her that she wasn’t “serious” enough.

But here’s the thing: Elle wasn’t hurt because she thought she was too beautiful to ever be broken up with. She was hurt because Warner didn’t believe she was capable.

And thus began one of the greatest feminist stories accidentally told in pop culture.

Because Elle? Elle said fuck that. Elle said, specifically, “I’ll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be,” and worked her ASS off to get into Harvard Law (and even though the board members admitting her were sexist as shit she was considered because she got an INCREDIBLE score on her LSATS and has spent her undergraduate career helping others in the best way she knows how and applying herself to her classes, giving her a 4.0 and a list of impressive — if unorthodox and privileged — extracurricular activities). And when she got there and realized her face wasn’t enough to make her valuable there, she worked her ASS off to do well in her classes, because Elle Woods is nothing if not determined.

And the entire time she did her best to be kind and compassionate to the people around her, even though she was bullied by them for being different (and trust me, the East Coast DEFINITELY treats “bimbos” like Elle that way; it’s gross and sexist and old-money-classist and GROSS). 

She uses the expectations of other people against them, consistently shocks those who underestimate her, and finds her own way mainly through positive female friendships and a sense of ambition and gumption that many other female characters in pop culture (especially at the time and marketed to the demographic this was marketed to) completely lack.

Elle is smart as hell, savvy as fuck, and while the story is definitely not without its problems (I could have done without the “men inspire Elle to be all that she can be!”) it’s a frigging good one about what empowerment means and how you can take control of your own future. Ugh. Loves it.

P.S. Don’t read the novel. It’s a load of sexist, underdeveloped tripe. The movie and especially the musical did a much better job of telling the story.

(via paynerprise)

‹ ›

archace:

de—profundis:

[gifs from Legally Blonde:

1. elle: “i feel comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life.”

2. a man whistles at elle.

3. elle: “i object!”

4. elle smiles for the camera]

mortallyfoolish:

Elle Woods was hollering back before the movement. This is why i love this movie. It’s so progressive. Elle is a femme feminist who comes by it the hard way. She doesn’t change for the bookish people, the elitists, or for the feminists. She just does what she needs to do, and what she wants, even when at first it was chasing a boy. Then the movie drops the romance. IT DROPS THE ROMANCE. chick flicks don’t do that. Emmett asking her out is a footnote at the very end. And this whole time, she is classy, and lady like, and has pride in herself and her work. She’ll go to a costume party as a playboy bunny, but like hell will she sleep with her professor for an internship. Elle is my feminist role model

(via fatbodypolitics)

‹ ›

ifeelbetterer:

absurdical:

hiddlestown:

Actual Dr. Bruce Banner on Colbert Report talking about environmental protection and fracking. 

Can I marry you?

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW, WITH YOUR EVERYTHING AND YOUR FACE

I TAKE BACK ALL THE TIME IN MY LIFE WHEN I WAS NOT ENAMORED OF YOU, FLUFFALO. ALL OF IT. I RESCIND IT AND RETROACTIVELY HAVE LOVED YOU FOREVER.

EXCUSE EVERYONE, this dude is AMAZING. He co-founded Water Defense and does all these excellent freakin’ videos, not to mention he was all over OWS before it got mad shitty. DOES NO ONE USE YOUTUBE? START USING YOUTUBE. JUST GO PLUG HIS NAME IN. IT’S GREAT.

(via ryeisenberg)