Justice for Elle

I completely agree with Deborah Tannen’s idea that women are always judged by their appearance and choices. A powerful quote she says is: “Gender markers pick up extra meaning that reflect common associations with the female gender: not quite serious, often sexual” (Tannen 553). 

A prime example of this and the first thing that popped into my head when I read this was in Legally Blonde, when Warner told Elle he needed to break up with her because he needed someone “more serious”. By that he basically meant someone less blonde, less girly, and less attractive. Elle was heartbroken and wanted to follow him to law school. But when she told her friends and family her plan, they said the same things Warner did. That she was “too pretty” for law school or that she wasn’t smart enough. Just because Elle was the stereotypical blond hair, blue-eyed sorority girl, the people around her assumed she was less intelligent and took her a lot less seriously. So how come Warner wasn’t laughed at or discouraged, or any other male characters? This goes to show that women are often wrongly perceived based on how they look or what they wear. If Elle didn’t care about her shiny blowout or perfect pedicure, would she have been taken more seriously in applying for law school? Maybe, maybe not. There could have been another way society deemed her as unfit for law school. Perhaps the fact that she is a woman is enough. Because the two little letters “W” and “O” seperate a life of being accepted and a life of eyes scrutinizing your every move.