In Depth Analysis of the

Stereotypes in Mean Girls

By Brian Kelvin Vidallon Pineda
EN 11 R-39

Queen Bees and Wannabes

The movie Mean Girls, created by Tina Fey was based on the book Queen Bees

and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The movie itself gives us the peek into the more

distinct and separate world created for and by females called the Girl World. As a

movie, Mean Girls proved to be very famous not only in its home country, USA, but also

all over the world. The splash of its distinct humor, the set of actors and actresses who
proved to be very effective, the jokes thrown out by each character all based on realistic

stereotypes. Mean Girls is one of my favorite movie and every time I watch it, I could not

help but to observe certain points and implications being portrayed in the movie from

race, class to gender and sexuality.

The story revolves around Cady (Lindsay Lohan), a young American teenager

who was home schooled, mainly because of her parents work in Africa for twelve years

where she grew up as well. When they had to move back to America, the movie then

begins on her first day of High School where she was sent by her parents to get a taste of

the real world and the social life. From someone who was not so open and well fastened,

Cady had stepped into a world full of regulations, rules and ideologies, so much different

from the life she had been reared to. On the first day, she then met Janice a somewhat

gothic girl with his close friend Damian who is a gay, who throughout the movie become

her accomplices and guide into ruining the plastics. The Plastics is social clique

consisting of 3 girls that may or may not be the best thing that has ever happened to her

life.

What is a social clique? A social clique is a group made of all types of people with

different attitudes, lifestyles and perspectives. Cliques exist so that you can hold on to

something while you start venturing beyond your comfort zone. To determine how

successful these people will be, it will be purely based on how these people interact,

communicate and socialize with one another and how they give themselves reputation

and status which will be the key factors in determining how influential they can be. In a

social clique or group, peoples behaviors vary a lot. Some people are helpful, supportive,
others are just NR (No Reaction) while others cause disharmony that may or may not

bring the whole group down.

Beware of the Plastics!

Who are the plastics really? Well they are the popular girls in Junior High. There

was Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried) who is a hot blonde but is dumb, so much for dumb

blondes and who everyone calls a slut. Gretchen Weiner (Lacey Chabert), the rich girl,

whose dad invented the Toaster Strudel was the main gossiper and really really self

indulged. Finally there is the Queen Bee, Regina George who is an every girls envy and

the talk of every mouth. These three girls make up the what was called Plastics because

of their personality, lifestyle and attitude towards other people. Come to think of it,

calling them plastics is a great metaphor because the definition of plastic is a synthetic

material soft enough to be molded into a shape and be hardened into a desired form. For

me, this is precisely what these women are. These women embody the synthetics of a

plastic. They may appear friendly but behind your back they will scrutinize you to death.

Why are they plastics? Simple, they are not real. They are molded from the very person

people brand them.

Rationally, when people want to make friends and go up the social ladder, they are

nice to others and prove that they are worthy. It seems that its the other way around in

high school. Girls are mean to each other in order to bond with friends and become more

popular. This doesnt happen in the movie alone but also in real life situations as well.
Ive experienced a lot of stereotyping before which can also be found in the movie so it

can really happen to anyone.

Let the Stereotyping Begin!

1. School Culture: Cafeteria Cliques

Above is the map of the cafeteria, what kinds of people sit on each table and how they are viewed.

Janis: [looking at the map of the major cliques in high school] You got your freshmen,
ROTC guys, preps, J.V. jocks, Asian nerds, Cool Asians, Varsity jocks Unfriendly black
hotties, Girls who eat their feelings, Girls who don't eat anything, Desperate wannabes,
Burnouts, Sexually active band geeks,
Janis: the greatest people you will ever meet, and the worst. Beware of plastics.

Stereotype? Yes. This is very clean and apparent. Each social clique is defined by the

tables and names which Janice gives them. By putting names, Janice is conveying
prejudiced notions about the people who sit at each table. The fact that if a person is at a

particular table, it will already be a cause for assumption that all people who sit on that

table with that person must share the same qualities. That might be fallacy of division

right there. It is highly probable that social cliques formed may share SOME of the same

characteristics as with each other but it is a stretch to assume that everyone fits that

particular characteristic.

2. People: Plastic little Spastic

Janis: That one there, that's Karen Smith. She is one of the dumbest girls you will ever
meet. Damien sat next to her in English last year.
Damian: She asked me how to spell orange.
Janis: That little one, that's Gretchen Wieners.
Damian: She's totally rich because her dad invented Toaster Streudels.
Janis: Gretchen Wieners knows everybody's business, she knows everything about
everyone.
Damian: That's why her hair is so big, it's full of secrets.
Janis: And evil takes a human form in Regina George. Don't be fooled because she may
seem like your typical selfish, back-stabbing slut faced ho-bag, but in reality, she's so
much more than that.
Damian: She's the queen bee - the star, those other two are just her little workers.

Stereotype? Yes. Let us start with

Karen Smith

(While Raining)

Karen: (Felt her boobs) There's a 30% chance that it's already raining!

Karen: You know who's looking fine tonight? Seth Mosakowski.

Gretchen: Okay, you did not just say that.
Karen: What? He's a good kisser.
Gretchen: He's your cousin.
Karen: Yeah, but he's my first cousin.
Gretchen: Right.
Karen: So, you have your cousins, and then you have your first cousins, and then you
have your second cousins...
Gretchen: No, honey, uh-uh.
Karen: That's not right, is it?
Gretchen: That is so not right.

Karen is portrayed to be a blonde girl with a hot body and a very beautiful face but she is

dumb. Ever heard of the term, Dumb Blonde? Conventional stereotype. People actually

make jokes about dumb blonde. The idea that if a woman is blonde, beautiful and hot, she

relies on her looks more than her intelligence. This notion of dumb blondes goes back to

1775 in Europe wherein a French courtesan named Rosalie Duthe. She was satirized in a

play Les curiosites de la Foire for her habit of pausing for a very long time before

speaking not only appearing to be stupid but literally dumb (As in mute)

Gretchen Weiners

Gretchen: [reading from the Burn Book] Trang Pak is a grotsky, little byotch.
Regina: Still true.
Gretchen: Dawn Schweitzer is a fat virgin.
Regina: Still half-true.

Stereotype? Yes. Gretchen has been defined as your typical gossiper who loves to think

she is loved by people. Gretchen Weiners, as a plastic, makes rumors and eventually

spreading the rumors in the whole school. This kind of stereotyping among girls is

usually portrayed in chick flicks. It is very true that in each and every school, there will

always be juicy rumors spreading so thank God for gossipers.

Regina George
Regina George: She thinks she's gonna have a party and not invite me? Who does she think she is?
Shane Oman: You're right, hon.
Regina George: I like *invented* her, you know what I mean?

Regina: Oh my God, I love your skirt! Where did you get it?
Lea Edwards: It was my mom's in the '80s.
Regina: Vintage, so adorable.
Lea Edwards: Thanks.
Regina: [after girl walks away] That is the ugliest f-ing skirt I've ever seen.

Stereotype? Definitely. Your Queen Bee portrays a superficial teen as she is so consumed

with the unimportant things in life which she thinks is so important such as becoming the

homecoming queen. She was also one of the main people who wrote the Burn Book (A

book full of nasty comments and rumors about everyone in the school). She was also able

to manipulate the head teacher and her mother. Her mother on the other hand is also a

personification of a dumb,rich, white, blonde woman. Yes, another stereotype. Regina

tells her mom what to do so that her mom will not commit something embarrassing and

her Mom being dumb, thinks that Regina is Keeping her young and appreciates all

her rudeness. At the end, she was estranged from her friends because of her attitude.

Cady

Before

Regina: Cady, do you even know who sings this?

Cady: Um... the Spice Girls?
Regina: I love her. She's like a Martian!

After

Janis: What is that smell?

Cady: Oh, Regina gave me some perfume.
Janis: You smell like a baby prostitute.
Cady: Thanks.

Stereotype? Yes. Cady is the main character and starts as a loner. In the latter parts of the

movie she becomes superficial and one of the plastics. She represents innocence only to

be tarnished by the high school life and the people who are influential. She also plays a

stereotypical role of a girl who is so desperate to get her crush doing everything such as

pretending to be dumb which she thinks will turn in favor of her. She proves that

stereotypes are everywhere and are completely inevitable.

3. Social Culture: Africans are black, arent they?

Head Master: We have a new student, shes moving in all the way from Africa
Mrs. Norbury: Welcome! (Looks to the next BLACK GIRL)
Black Girl: Im from Michigan!
Mrs. Norbury: Great!

Cady: I just moved in from Africa

Karen: If you're from Africa, why are you white?
Gretchen: Oh my God, Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white.

Stereotype? Definitely. This is probably the most used stereotyping in the world, racial

issues. This is a perfect epitome of an overgeneralization. This could also pass as a

Fallacy of Composition just because a lot of Africans are dark colored doesnt mean

every African is. It is a very subtle misconception that countries in the African continent

consist of darker colored people. In Africa, in the 975 million people living, 700 million

are darker colored but that doesnt erase the fact that the pool of people is diverse. There

are certain discriminations too that can be traced other than Africans being black such as

Africans are all about poverty, aids and malaria.

Breaking the trend: Stereotyping

Well these are just some of the many stereotypes that can be found in the movie. I

believe that everything presented there was intended in such a way that it can alarm

people and make them more aware that those things can happen to them or if those are

already happening, its never too late. It is pretty accurate how the movie was able to

display the common high school stereotypes because each and every institution has its

own social structure. It also portrays how peoples cattiness for the sake of popularity can

hurt other peoples feelings and ruin friendships. At the end of the day, social circles are
still there. These are basic scenarios that you are most likely to face in school. Girls,in the

process of aggression, engage in retaliation and revenge against one another. This has

been a growing trend especially in high school.

As a person, you will never have the chance to know all people fully. We should

never judge and make hasty conclusions based on preconceived notions. Implicit

personality theories are made to fill in the personality of people who are tied together by

their personality and traits. As the movie shows all stereotyping, those MAY or MAY

NOT apply. Not all popular girls are mean. Not all hot women dress like hookers. Not all

girls want to lose weight, some are just content with what God has endowed them. Not all

girls are mean. For one thing the best thing to avoid this kind of stereotyping is respect.

Putting a label on someone will never make you any superior. WHEN YOU JUDGE

OTHER PEOPLE, YOU ARE JUDGING YOURSELF.