Why Elle Woods Is The Ultimate Feminine Role Model

Thanks to the upcoming release of the “Legally Blonde” prequel and the recent casting announcement of the series’ young protagonist, Elle Woods is back in the spotlight. 

With her poise, determination, plethora of quotable moments, and love of all things pink and girly, Elle’s lessons on strength and womanhood stand the test of time. The wholesome traits that endeared audiences to the bubbly blonde in the early aughts haven’t diminished, even with the rise of radical feminism, and her example is more important today than ever.

Here are some key characteristics that make Elle Woods the ultimate feminine role model.

She Embraces Her Femininity

Elle doesn’t water down her girliness, not even for Harvard Law School. She’s completely comfortable with both her brains and her beauty. From wearing various shades of pink to getting her nails done regularly, Elle’s womanhood is an innate part of her and something she takes care to foster, not hide. Even her attitude, with empathy, kindness and encouragement as its hallmarks, exhibits feminine values in a cutthroat environment where students could easily resort to masculine behaviors to get ahead.

Even with her attempts to fit into Harvard Law School — from wearing glasses on her first day of classes to donning suits to mirror the other law students’ outfits — her femininity remains intact through bright makeup, fun hairstyles and accessories. While Vivian and the other law students took a serious approach to their wardrobe, Elle’s outfits always had girly touches. At the film's climax, Elle makes an appearance in court as Brooke Windham’s new lawyer in a bold pink ensemble, reiterating to her classmates and professor that femininity is a strength, not a weakness.

She’s Hardworking

When Warner breaks up with Elle, she sets out to prove to him that she has intelligence and showcase the brainpower that he missed while dating her. She becomes a girl on a mission who knows what she wants and lets nothing in her path stop her from achieving her goals. Though many doubted her, she powered through studying for the LSAT and passed, getting admitted to Harvard.

Once Elle goes to law school, she quickly realizes she underestimated her course load and the difficulty of the subjects. She is even kicked out of her first class for being unprepared. Instead of blaming the professor or shrinking back and quitting, she renews her efforts and takes her studies seriously. She rejects a victim mentality and takes responsibility for her success, speaking up in classes, committing concepts to memory and taking an active role in her education. This gains the attention of her professors and classmates, leading her to an internship and eventually to representing Windham in court.

She’s Self Assured

Throughout her journey to Harvard and first semester in law school, Elle remains true to herself. She has the same optimistic and bubbly personality as a law student as she had as a sorority girl at Delta Nu. In the aftermath of her breakup with Warner, she doesn’t completely change the person she is but instead tries to make him see the qualities he didn’t notice in her when they dated. In an environment that is oftentimes ruthless, Elle exhibits kindness, openness and grace.

This doesn’t mean that she is automatically welcomed with open arms by her peers. Instead, she is rejected by the majority who deem her silly or air-headed. Still, Elle doesn’t demand tolerance or forced inclusion like some people do today. She’s true to herself in all situations, no matter who accepts or rejects her. She’s better off being herself with a few friends than acting like someone else to have a community. Eventually, she attracts friends and admirers for her never-quit attitude and unrelenting positivity.

She’s Virtuous

In today’s world, where morals are viewed as restrictive and women get a free pass to behave any way they’d like under the guise of modern-day feminism, Elle’s moral compass is a refreshing part of her femininity. When a fellow student suggests Elle would call her a dyke behind her back, Elle responds firmly, “I don’t use that word.” When Professor Aaron Callahan hits on her, she is disgusted. When he then asks her how far she’d go for her budding law career, she walks away, refusing his advances and risking her future to stand up for what is right. In the end, she experiences even greater success because she stuck to her morals. It’s an important lesson for all women that you don’t have to compromise your convictions to get ahead.

Besides standing her ground in adversity, Elle showcases virtue by being kind to those around her. She brings muffins to the study group that rejects her. Though Vivian is engaged to Elle’s ex-boyfriend and constantly makes fun of her, Elle gives her due credit when she deserves it. Elle’s reasonable and sunny disposition eventually wins over Vivian and the rest of her classmates, who elect her speaker for their graduating class. Elle’s sweetness is beautiful because it is sincere.

She’s Smart

As I mentioned earlier, Elle had intelligence that Warner failed to see when he was dating her. She was smart before law school and her already-existing know-how was crucial during some key moments in the film. While people thought her caring about pop culture and beauty routines were unimportant and superficial, ultimately, she was able to win the murder trial thanks to her knowledge of perms. What was trivial information to some was significant to Elle, proving she was just the right woman for the job.

Elle is generally sharp as well. For example, early in the movie, Elle uses her fashion expertise and intuition to avoid being tricked by a saleswoman into buying a year-old style at full price. She isn’t the dumb blonde people make her out to be but rather, she’s in tune with what’s going on around her, and is aware and alert. She shows that women can be multi-faceted and it serves them well, no matter how trivial their interests may seem.

She Speaks Her Mind With Class

Though Elle is kind to her classmates, she also speaks her mind, balancing her retorts with dignity. Instead of ignoring the classmate who makes fun of her for being a sorority girl, Elle responds with, “If you’d come to a rush party, I would’ve at least been nice to you.” When Warner latches onto Elle after her court victory and wants her back, she rightfully calls him a bonehead and leaves him behind. Far from being a Miss Mary Sunshine when faced with insults or deceit, Elle showcases honesty paired with decency. She never sacrifices her self-respect by sinking to her rivals’ level.

I believe it’s a disservice to women to pretend that the only two options in the face of negativity are silence or rude responses. Kind, goodhearted women are often silent in the face of bullying, afraid to stand up for themselves for fear of being seen as aggressive, pushy or mean. Elle shows that women don’t need to become doormats to keep their reputations. They can push back or make a counterpoint while keeping it respectful and classy.

She’s Delightfully Delusional

One of Elle’s best qualities is that she doesn’t accept limitations. Before law school, everyone in her life saw her as the next Victoria’s Secret model or trophy wife, nothing more. When she applied for Harvard and even when she got in, people thought she was delusional. Warner even told her she wasn’t smart enough to qualify for one of Callahan’s internship spots. Elle had no law experience, no comparable coursework to Harvard’s classes and no prior signs that she would make it in a law career. Undeterred, Elle forged ahead.

Delusion and its effects have been hot topics on social media for the past couple of years. What’s so refreshing about Elle’s brand of delusion though is that she is also in tune with reality and accepts it once it’s clear that no amount of positive thinking will influence a situation. When Warner tells her she’ll never qualify for an internship, Elle realizes he will never love her or respect her the way she envisioned he might. She eventually comes to terms with this fact, which propels her forward to achieve goals of her own accord (and eventually date and marry Emmett, who always believed in her).

Regardless of the skepticism around the current remake culture and whether Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, will do the blonde heroine justice, Elle Woods being back in vogue is a good thing for women everywhere.