Oversexualized, Overly Patriarchal and Overdone: We Need to Reinvent The ‘Chick Flick’

In the film industry, one of the most established genres of the early 2000s and beyond have been chick flicks, movies catered at women’s interests. The genre has largely been characterized by its portrayal of love and relationships and center on women. But its depiction of women is largely centered around their relationships with men. The women protagonists are pitted against each other, going after the same guy who half the time does not even acknowledge them. While these men remain fought over, the women are sexualized for audience and male appeal. But we are in a new age, and we need to no longer allow this overplayed narrative.

In the early 2000s, the dumb-blonde narrative was sensationalized by the 2001 film Legally Blonde. Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, who in the end defies stereotypes to find success, is introduced as a ditzy sorority girl who will do anything to get back with her ex-boyfriend, including go to law school. While the plot is intriguing and creative, it is not without its problems. Early on, we see Woods using her sex appeal to her advantage when focusing her law school application video on her and her sorority sisters, even at one point showing themselves in bikinis. The reaction from the all-male application committee is to accept her immediately, a direct nod to Woods’ sexualized application video. The representation that as a female, we can move up in society and achieve more success by sexualizing ourselves is toxic and harmful.

Later in the movie, in one of the earliest representations of sexual harassment that I personally remember seeing, Woods’ professor calls her into his office and tries to make a move on her in the name of advancing her career. Despite Woods’ prompt denial, this portrayal perpetuates the stereotype that women “sleep their way to the top” to advance their career. This stereotype is harmful to not only the portrayal of women in media, but also to women in real life workplaces. As media creators, it is incredibly important to consider the potential impact of portrayals we form.

Another iconic and generationally impactful film, Mean Girls, focuses on high school students and the social hierarchy that exists among them. But sex is at the center of it all. Cady Heron, the film’s star played by Lindsay Lohan, arrives in Illinois from Africa a sheltered, naïve girl. She quickly learns that in order to fit in, she has to wear short skirts and push-up bras. The evolution of Heron’s style throughout the movie is the pinnacle of its female characters’ oversexualization. Most notably, on Wednesdays, The Plastics, who are at the top of the social food chain, wear pink. On Heron’s first pink Wednesday she wears a borrowed oversized t-shirt from a guy friend. By the end of the movie, she’s wearing heels, short skirts and tank tops. Not only is this completely unrealistic of most high schools, it is also perpetuating the theme that in order to be liked, you have to be wearing revealing, uncomfortable clothing.

Heron’s sexualization is notable in other scenarios, too. She is trying to win over the same guy as rival Regina George and tries to use sex to get her there. She tries to seduce him into picking her over Regina, another lousy example of the girls going against each other to get the guy. She also dumbs herself down to get there, which is also incredibly problematic. Covering up the fact that she is good at math, she tries to get the guy by asking him to tutor her. These examples are only the peak of the elusive portrayals in this film, but the point is that it puts out the message that women and girls need to sexualize themselves to be seen as worthy to men.

While the oversexualization of women in both of these films is problematic in nature, what is more concerning is that both movies have held such cultural significance for so long. It is important to consider the portrayals being put out in the media for current and future generations to consume. In both cases, strong, smart women are being disparaged through oversexualization. Both Woods and Heron are developed around the men in the films, and the need to appeal to then. In both cases, the female protagonists shift their education to gain the attention of their male interest. In the end, neither gets the guy, but the fact that this is how they are presented is unacceptable.

Movies like these from the early 2000s set the standard for the next two decades by focusing on a skinny white girl going after a guy and being subjected to oversexualization in the meantime. Even though these films are decades old, they are still being watched, shared and celebrated. The way these characters are placed into storylines, as if their whole purpose is to appeal to men, should no longer be allowed by audiences, even if they are decades old. There is so much more to our female chick flick protagonists than putting them in tight clothes and having them go after the guy.

Sexualization in movies also touches on greater issues too, though, of representation in the media. Normal, everyday bodies with cellulite and stretch marks are never portrayed. Rather, it’s always the skinny, white, often blonde females who are cast.

As the film industry progresses through the 2020s, there is still time to change this. The classic chick flick romcom does not have to remain the same and can instead focus on women without a man in the picture. They can also focus on real women, not the A-list celebrity women with trainers, chefs and dieticians. They can showcase women with a diversity of bodies, looks and interests. Women – and people – want to see themselves on screen. They deserve to see themselves on screen. The 2000s chick flick worked back then, but we are in a different society now. We are in a society that demands more out of our media and the people who create it. We owe it to our audiences to show them we can do better.