For my final essay, I plan to expand my previous essay that discussed the struggles of Penelope in Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Bitch Planet and Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.  While people do not normally view the Legally Blonde films from a feminist perspective, if you dig below the superficial surface, you can notice the prominence of sexism.  I will use my original argument with Bitch Planet as my main source, while incorporating Legally Blonde and my other sources to further my point.  My original argument is that the outdated idea of women’s roles is still present obstacles in society.  These stereotypical roles of women including the housewives, being submissive to men, etc. have become smaller, but they are still alive.  Using outside sources, I plan to prove how prevalent this idea is worldwide.  One work that will defend my argument is Audre Lorde’s, “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”.  In this article, Lorde addresses the issue of feminism between women themselves.  She points out that the issue of racism allows women to oppress each other, diminishing the progress that feminism has made.  She also explores the same concept of discrimination between women, while encouraging them to come together and support each other.  Lorde’s speech, “The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House”, sends a message that we are all aiming for the same goals; therefore, one woman should not tear another woman down.  These works will help magnify the point Kelly Sue DeConnick also made, which is the importance of equality of all women, even different races.  Together, these sources all assist in defending my argument that sexism and discrimination are everywhere, and we can all work together to stop it. 

One of the largest issues in the fight for feminism is getting every individual woman to support the idea.  Feminism refers to the equality of all women--not all white women or all black women, but all women.  As women, when we are trying to achieve this goal, we need to be supportive of each other, including every woman.  Progression will not be existent if we decide we only want to focus feminism with white women.  Written by Audre Lorde, “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism” addresses this huge issue in feminism.  Lorde points out that the immediate response to racism is anger, and anger will stand in the way of progression.  This reaction of anger comes from a place of feeling exclusion, defensiveness, and betrayal.   

Lorde says, “Mainstream communication does not want women, particularly white women, responding to racism. It wants racism to be accepted as an immutable given in the fabric of your existence, like evening-time or the common cold” (Lorde).  She is stating that society in all forms wants women, specifically white women, to turn their heads to racism.  The world wants women to pretend the issue is not there, and focus on something else.  This is unrealistic, because while trying to make progress in the equality of women to men, women do not even view other women as equal.  Women need to accept the fact that this world is made up of multiple different races, and that should not stop them from seeing one another as equal.  

Women will oppress one another due to her race, and tear down any hope of progression in the feminist world.  Lorde argues that each individual woman must fight for the next one, aside from race.  If women cannot be there to defend other women, is the fight for feminism even necessary?  Women need to be strong and show that this equality is not a want, but a need, and we will demand it.  In this argument Lorde states, “It is not the anger of other women that will destroy us but our refusals to stand still, to listen to its rhythms, to learn within it, to move beyond the manner of presentation to the substance, to tap that anger as an important source of empowerment” (Lorde).  Lorde is expressing the importance of accepting different races, in order for to create progress in the equality for women as a whole.  If all women cannot come together and support one another, aside from race, there will be no one to stand up for the female community.  We must all defend one another and treat one another with the same amount of respect.  No woman should tear another woman down, no matter what color skin she has.  Female empowerment is for all females, not just white ones; this is how change will occur.

Similar to the last passage, Audre Lorde wrote “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” to expand this idea while incorporating interdependency.  She says, “Interdependency between women is the way to a freedom which allows the I to be, not in order to be used, but in order to be creative. This is a difference between the passive be and the active being” (Lorde 1). Lorde adds this term, interdependency, into her argument to put a label on the necessity.  She is expressing that interdependency will ultimately create a freedom for each individual.  Women must learn to be okay with being mutually dependent on other women.  This small aspect will lead us to the solution.  Lorde addresses the fact that some women are raised to ignore people’s differences, which can help and hurt this issue.  We want women to ignore another woman’s differences in order to relate with her and promote empowerment.  This is important, but so is ultimately embracing our uniqueness.  For example, Lorde says, “But community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist” (Lorde 2).  We should be able to accept and relate to each other, while still identifying with our differences.  

This idea of accepting each other’s differences goes far beyond being a woman, this is important when it comes to being human.  We are all different, not just in perspectives of races, and these differences should be cherished, not erased from our lives.  Lorde wraps this idea up into one powerful sentence in her passage, “The failure of academic feminists to recognize difference as a crucial strength is a failure to reach beyond the first patriarchal lesson. In our world, divide and conquer must become define and empower” (Lorde 2).  I believe this line is one of the more powerful ones of this passage.  Lorde is blatantly stating that in order to creative progress in the world of feminism, we must do as she says.  Women must accept all of our differences, and use them to their advantage.   

Lorde’s two passages focus on the importance of women working together to make a difference.  These were important sources for me because this is a crucial step to the goal of equality for women.  Until women have each other’s backs and are ready to fight for one another, there is no reason to argue with the opposite sex.  Men have an even harder job accepting the idea of all women being equal to their own sex.  In my two primary sources, Bitch Planet and Legally Blonde, we can see the extremity of sexism, in completely unique ways. Legally Blonde is a popular comedy film for mainly women, of all ages.  The underlying sexism shown in the film has given a deeper importance to the comical acting involved.  Elle Woods, the main character being played by Reese Witherspoon, represents a woman standing up against the struggles of sexism.  More specifically, Elle Woods is destroying the stereotype of a blonde, sorority girl not being smart enough to get into law school.  This film does a perfect job of using sarcasm and comedy to make this intense message entertaining for the audience.  Growing up, I have watched this film multiple times, and I always just loved it.  As an adult now, I can pick out important parts that show feminist power and how to overcome the trials of sexism.  Bitch Planet also demonstrates the effects of sexism, but completes this task in an opposite way.  This comic critiques the unrealistic images that men create for women.  Focusing mostly on physical aspects, the main character in this comic, Penelope, is deeply degraded by men.

My first primary source, Legally Blonde, is the definition of a chick flick comedy.  Released in 2001, this film was a surprising production, due to the lack of emphasis on feminism in the early 2000s.  This movie is a light, girly, and inspiring film on the surface, but if you look for the deeper meaning, you will find multiple underlying feminist themes.  Right from the start, we witness a powerful scene of Elle Woods defending herself.  While Elle is shopping for her “engagement” outfit, the saleswoman makes an effort to trick her into buying a sale item for full price.  It is made clear that she aims for Elle due to her being blonde.  Elle immediately shuts the saleswoman down, using her knowledge of fashion and fabrics.  Elle simply smiles at her and says, “If you’re trying to sell it to me for full price, you picked the wrong girl”.  This first example is just one of many times that Elle uses a sassy tone to stand up for herself and for her stereotypes.  Multiple scenes later, Elle decides that in order to be with her true love, Warner, she must attend Harvard University.  She does not let any opinion get in her way of achieving this goal, and even if her acceptance is unrealistic, the point is showing the amount of dedication and strength she put into this.  For example, her counselor asks her, “What are your back-ups?”, and Elle replies, “I don’t need back-ups.  I’m going to Harvard.”  As she settles into the life at Harvard University, she begins to drift away from the idea of chasing after her love; she now is determined to do well in school and as a lawyer, for herself.  She completely ignores Warner’s comment made about her never being smart enough to be offered a special internship from her professor, Callahan.  When he tells her this opinion, she says, “I’ll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be” and stomps away.  She ultimately earns this internship and proves him wrong. 

After Elle becomes a part of this case, she begins to have issues with professor Callahan.  He starts hitting on her and treating her like a joke.  She completely proves him wrong when she takes over the case and takes his job from him.  She dresses up in a pink suit and uses her knowledge of beauty to win the case and prove everyone wrong, emphasizing girl power.  The final scenes are the most powerful.  Warner, her original reason for attending Harvard University, comes running back to her wanting her love, and she completely shuts him down.  This scene shows so much strength and an underlying message to all women to show them that they are better than any immature boy.  Elle graduates top of her class, and is more successful than any person who looked down upon her throughout her life.  Legally Blonde as a whole is sending a message to women to reach for their goals and never give up on them.  There will be people who do not believe you will succeed, and people who will not want you to succeed.  If you have the determination, you can accomplish anything.  This film is an empowerment to all women, and Elle Woods is the perfect feminist icon.  

My second primary source is Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Bitch Planet.  This comic reveals to us the extreme patriarchy of the Fathers, and how women are looked at with such high expectations.  Bitch Planet is where women are sent to be imprisoned when they do not fit into society’s “norms”.   Women are expected to be skinny, look pretty, have nice hair, and act obedient to men.  This place is run by a group of white men called “the Fathers”, who hold the job of “helping” the women sent here.  The Fathers are a representation of an extreme patriarchy.  These men feel superior to all women, just as most men do in the real world.  The Fathers use their sense of entitlement to look down upon women and manipulate them. Within the first scene of this story, we can see how the Fathers begin manipulating Penelope with the following statements: “You’re being given a chance, Penelope.  A ‘thank you’ would be nice.”, “Penelope, your fathers love you.  It pains us to see you like this.”, and lastly, “All we want to do is help you” (DeConnick 178).  These statements are false; Penelope strays away from their norms.  She is violent, aggressive, taller than usual, and African-American.  She does not meet their expectations; therefore, she must be sent away.  

The issue of equality for women extends far beyond the pages of this comic.  Throughout history women have always been subordinate to men.  Until recent centuries, most women were not given the opportunity to work, but instead they were expected to stay at home and care for their family.  Women did not receive the right to vote until 96 years ago.  The issue of sexism is still present in today’s world.  Women do not receive equal pay wages as men, even if they are completing the same job.  These obvious issues are only part of the problem, and they are noticeable throughout Legally Blonde and Bitch Planet.  

The views society, but mostly men, have of women have become increasingly out of reach.  Women are expected to be thin, have perfect skin, dress nice, and look up to men with respect.  These traits are not entirely realistic in today’s age, due to the progress women have made with themselves in society.  Men are stuck in this outdated mindset, which leads to women still feeling inferior.  Bitch Planet critiques unrealistic expectations about women’s bodies.  Women are not to be told to look a certain way, or be someone.  Penelope is different, and that is the only thing considered wrong with her.  The Fathers do not like her attitude, because she does not act submissive to them; they are threatened by this female who holds her own sense of entitlement.  From the flashback scene of Penelope baking in the kitchen with her grandmother, we are able to see her understanding of women from a young age.  Her grandmother says, “You keep working as hard as you do and you’ll be as big and strong as an oak, like your daddy” (DeConnick 179).  Penelope uses the short response, “My mom is strong” (DeConnick 179).  This shows us how she has not thought anything different of women and men yet.  This scene as a whole has a completely different mood than the rest of the story.  She is in the kitchen baking with her grandmother, which is a very matriarchal event.  She seems to be happy and acting like herself, not worried about anyone else’s opinion.  She is innocent and sheltered from the sexism she will later understand and the expectations that will soon be demanded of her.

The obstacles that Penelope experiences are harsher than those we experience in our world, but they are similar in certain ways.  Any women can easily relate to Penelope’s story by putting themselves into her shoes and thinking of a time they felt inferior to men.  Kelly Sue DeConnick makes it even easier to relate through her writing style of comic panels.  The readers are able to fully understand the emotion Penelope is experiencing through the pictures drawn.  Only a few words are needed for each panel in order for us to grasp the plot and the emotions.  DeConnick also made this story easier to follow by adding in flashbacks.  These were obvious to follow, due to the sepia colored pages.  The flashbacks helped the audience gain a deeper understanding of Penelope’s childhood and past, which was helpful when trying to follow her current life.  Lastly, DeConnick’s use of amplification through simplification truly allowed the readers to relate to this.  She drew the fathers to look like very average, middle-aged men.  This idea lets the readers relate these men more universally and relate them with the men in their life who make them feel inferior.  

All men are looked at as above women, and they all have more power than women do.   Women constantly must fight for their rights of equality.  Bitch Planet is an outstanding metaphor for the ridiculous struggles that women experience.  It is not quite as obvious in our society as it is in Bitch Planet, but the author’s point is for us to notice.  As I pull all four of these sources together, the main point is female empowerment.  Every woman must strive for her own equality, supporting other women while doing so.  
