quoms:

i watched legally blonde for the first time tonight, and while it’s not a great film i do understand the hype now. wowie zowie is it definitely the prototype for a huge chunk of the “lean in”/“i’m with her”/“notorious RBG” liberal feminism of the 2010s. no wonder it’s getting a reboot (written by mindy kaling, no less, whose work i do not engage with but i have the impression she’s a minor avatar for this sort of thing)

the key is understanding that the film has 2 messages: one is “you can be a woman and successful without having to apologise for your femininity,” which is the cool and uncontroversial message everyone generally understands it as having; the other message, which is just as loud and just as important, is “as a woman, you can be extremely powerful and also completely innocent.” you can go through one of the most prestigious educational programs in the world, one that virtually guarantees you entry into a tiny elite class of profound influence, and be totally pure of heart. you can flagrantly violate the ethical codes of the legal profession and be totally pure of heart. you can exhibit the unrestrained ambition to ascend to positions of greater power and wealth - you can learn to exhibit this ambition - and be totally pure of heart. it’s a very potent fantasy that’s bottled up in there