Lucy Garcia

Serena Russo

Sex Gender Love

Nov. 30, 2021

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Ladies Perform Gender

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is an iconic movie musical from 1953 which stars Jane Russel

and the iconic blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe. This, surprisingly feminist, movie is about

two best friends/showgirls on a boat to Paris before Lorelei (Monroe) gets married to her rich,

nerdy Fiancé Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan). Gus’s father, Esmond Sr., believes that Lorelei is a

bad choice of wife for his son and hires a Private Investigator to watch the girls’ behavior from

afar. Lorelei Lee, who has a particular penchant for diamonds, believes that rich men are a

stable way for a woman to succeed both personally and economically. Dorothy Shaw (Russel),

on the other hand, is more oriented on what’s on the outside of a man- focusing on good looks

and muscle before anything else. These two regularly comment on each other’s differing

interpretations of love and expectations in a marriage, both believing their own perspective is

correct. However, they differ in more than just opinion. They both represent a different type of

female sexuality in relation to the very men they are attracted to by maintaining (or subverting)

particular gender roles and tropes. In this essay I will analyze the performativity of gender from

both Lorelei and Dorothy and what they represent as female archetypes throughout the film.

While on their cruise ship, the two women are at odds. Dorothy, who is sent along with

Lorelei, is meant to act as a chaperone- but after finding out the entire men’s gymnastics team

is onboard, she turns her focus towards the handsome muscular men. Lorelei, after promising
not to break any trust with her fiancé, fixates on finding Dorothy a wealthy partner. Both

women are unaware that a private investigator is following their every move, in hopes to find

incriminating behavior from Lorelei to send to her future father-in-law (which would be

evidence that the marriage is only based around money). In a chance meeting, Dorothy meets

the greying millionaire diamond miner Piggy Beekman (Charles Coburn), and attempts to hide

him from Lorelei- knowing her penchant for all things diamond encrusted. Lorelei quickly

introduces herself to Piggy and they engage in increasingly flirtatious (albeit harmless) behavior

with one another.

After watching from afar the PI, Ernie Malone (Elliot Reid) falls for Dorothy and begins

pursuing her, all the while still monitoring Lorelei’s behavior with Piggy. Dorothy begins to fall in

love with Ernie but finds him photographing inside Lorelei’s bedroom. She discovers he was

photographing a private conversation with Piggy and realizes Ernie’s true identity. The women

come up with a successful scheme to steal the photographs back and in his gratitude Piggy

promises Lorelei the beloved diamond tiara currently owned by his demanding wife. All of this

fails, because Ernie had enough information he needed to send to his boss, Lorelei’s soon to be

father-in-law. Meanwhile, the tiara is reported as stolen and Piggy’s wife places the blame on

Lorelei, who maintains it was given to her as a gift from Piggy. After their show, the police come

to arrest Lorelei, but Dorothy goes in her place under disguise. Lorelei wins back her fiancé

through her feminine charm and the wedding is back on. Dorothy, in court as Lorelei,

begrudgingly proclaims her love of Ernie and (with the help of him) uncovers the truth to the

missing tiara story. One last final obstacle occurs when Gus Esmond’s father still refutes their

desire to marry. Lorelei explains that a man being rich is the same thing as a woman being
pretty and makes a strong case for herself loving his son while also wanting a fabulous lifestyle.

All ends well as the two couples are married on the ship back to the united states. Gentlemen

Prefer Blondes skyrocketed Marilyn Monroe’s career and changed her status from ingenue to

blond bombshell. Additionally, the costumes, use of color, and music proved popular because

many songs, dances, and dressed prove to be iconic roughly 68 years since its release.

Lorelei Lee plays a very particular role relating to feminine charm and the stereotypes

surrounding a “female seductress”. She plays a gold digger, whose childlike interest and

understanding of the world around her makes the men in her life want to take care of her. This

is entirely to her advantage because an extension of her desire for money also comes a desire

to be cared for and appreciated. Seemingly stupid, she uses this quality as a way to get what

she wants. Lorelei innocently calls her Fiancé daddy only in relation to what gifts he is giving

her, and he gives her anything she wants. But how does the character that seemingly coined

the term “dumb blonde” also play a highly intelligent incredibly successful woman?

Additionally, how is it possible that she is still shown to be more intelligent than multiple men

around her, yet does not maintain a threatening presence? Part of this is summarized by her

sexuality- her breathless baby voice and beauty is so distracting to the men around her that

they don’t notice (nor care) that she is fixated on money. That being said, she still is not a selfish

character. From the beginning, Lorelei outlines her beliefs very clearly. Stating to her fiancé:

“Dorothy's not bad, honest. She's just dumb. Always falling for a man just because he's

good-looking. l keep telling her, it's as easy to fall for a rich man as a poor man. lf they're tall,

dark and handsome, she forgets vital statistics. That's why l'm her friend. She needs me to

educate her.”
 Lorelei truly believes that this is how the world works around her, and in order for a

woman to be secure, she needs to have a man with money to spend. In her famous song

towards the end of the movie, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”, she sings “Men grow cold as

girls grow old and we all lose our charm in the end. But square-cut or pear-shaped these rocks

don’t lose their shape, diamonds are a girls best friend.” This exemplifies the way Lorelei’s

world works, that before they grow too old to be considered pretty or useful, they need to find

a rich man to love them and provide a good life for themselves. Diamonds last longer than any

love, relationship, or even beauty itself.

The men in particular that she is after tend to be old or weak- and by asking for money

and physical items she gives them a way to provide for her in the only way they can. To achieve

this, she continues to play the role of a helpless, stupid, sexy girl. That is not to say her

personality is completely constructed or that she doesn’t have any stupid moments, she is

shown to be a very genuine and loving woman- especially towards her best friend. But as a

showgirl, and a woman very aware of her own beauty and effect upon most men around her,

she demonstrates a clear performativity and almost weaponization of her sexuality. When the

police are at her door, Dorothy suggests that she just pay the tiara back, Lorelei explains that

she doesn’t have money but could get money from her ex fiancé. She asks Dorothy how much

money a tiara is. Upon hearing the news that a tiara is worth 15,000 dollars at the least, she

replies that it would take her about forty-five minutes to an hour to get the money from her

former fiancé.

She uses her kiss, touch, and the excitement of being alone with her as a way to get

what she wants. She pressures the head waiter to get a wealthy suitor seated at her table just
by politely implying that bad things would happen to him- saying this also while gently pouting

but sticking her chest up towards him. Her walk, the way she talks, and how she behaves with

her male suitors specifically imply a purposeful choice to seduce and receive what she wants

from those around her. However, as we see with her interactions with men she is not

interested in, and or doesn’t like, she is not impolite but interested in a more genuine way.

They become more of a person and less of an object. She identifies this very plainly when

confronted by her future father-in-law about her aforementioned “gold digging” qualities:

“Don't you know that a rich man is like a pretty girl? You don't marry her just because

she's pretty. But, my goodness, doesn't it help? Would you want your daughter to marry a poor

man? You'd want her to have the most wonderful things in the world. Why is it wrong for me to

want those things?”

Lorelei Lee as a character looks the double standard of lusting after gorgeous women

right in the eye. Why can’t she be attracted to money? Why is that bad if she loves her fiancé as

well? In the way that she has beauty to offer, men can offer money- often because they are

equal in influence. She never had money to begin with, but still manages to get what she wants

with what she has. Lorelei abuses her power in the same way that men do but is villainized for

it by her father-in-law. She calls out this double standard to him eloquently, which makes him

believe she is smart and approves on the marriage after she pulls him aside and speaks with

him alone. She uses her influence and charm yet again- by playing a girlish, helpless person in

need of care and money.

Dorothy Shaw’s role in the film is less obvious. One could assume it’s to play the smart,

no-nonsense brunette to counter Lorelei, but in reality, it is far more complicated. To begin
with, Dorothy believes in marrying for love but is predominantly focused on looks- much in the

way that men do towards women. She also engages in behavior particularly noticeable in

typical male behaviors towards women in film: hanging around them as they work, being

fixated on their body parts rather than substance, and finding them replaceable. Part of this

may be to make her seem more relatable than Lorelei but also to emphasize another version of

the ideal women: a man without a penis. She smokes, she is crass, she’s purposefully funny, she

speaks strongly. She also dresses skimpy but in darker colors than Lorelei and is far less

interested in money (in fact, she prefers them to be poor).

But although she is intended to come across as more down to earth and a woman who

prefers manly men she also sings a song about how physically weak she is, singing:

“I'm apathetic and non-athletic, can't keep up in a marathon. I need some shoulder to

lean upon and a couple of arms to hold me. Ain't there anyone here for love?”

A directly conflicting message, she is still behaving as an ideal woman by expressing a

desire for a man to love while also maintaining although she is a tough woman- she is weak and

needs help. However, none of this is to say that Dorothy’s character is less of a groundbreaking

role than Lorelei. In fact, Dorothy is still highly intelligent, successful, and get what she wants-

just in a different way to Lorelei. She is still feminine- very much so- and her use of femininity is

appearing to be physically weak or being cunning and buxom. This can be seen when she goes

to court dressed as Lorelei. She successfully stalls time for Lorelei and convinces a room full of

people that she Is a different person. Additionally, she uses Lorelei’s sexual tactics to her

advantage, by showing off her legs and speaking to the judge in the way that Lorelei speaks to

men when she wants something. Dorothy is very much a femme fatale type, without being
fatalistic in any sense. She cares about love more than money and is truly a loving and kind

individual- but appears to a different demographic. She seems to cover categories that Lorelei

does not, being her almost exact feminine opposite. She is feminine but in a different,

seemingly more adult, way. Dorothy presents an air that is more capable and independent- she

is different in Lorelei in the way that she believes in love more than financial stability; which is

not treated as incorrect throughout the film either.

Additionally, she is not treated at any point as less attractive than Lorelei, and there is

truly a strong bond between the two women. They are friends who support each other and

care about each other’s well-being. They are equally attractive, funny, and beautiful- but play as

two sides of the same coin. They have a companionship that is maintained no matter what kind

of trouble the other is in, and they don’t have a jealousy ridden competitive dialogue thrown

back and forth between each other. They do insult each other gently in the way that friends

and sisters do at times, but it’s never mean spirited or uncalled for. They are not cruel to each

other either. Lorelei and Dorothy are friends to the end and have each other’s best interests at

heart.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a genius film and is indisputably feminist. Although older,

the movie purposefully uses harmful stereotypes to its advantage and creates realistic female

characters who are self-sufficient and mock the very patriarchal system they are forced to be a

part of. Part of the message of the movie (although ironic) is that men aren’t good for anything

other than looking hot and having money. By having two attractive women get what they want

by utilizing the male fixation on them, the film creates a new kind of feminist movie. They are

smart, sexual, intelligent women who can both get the guy and get the money without
sacrificing anything at all. An ending so positive feels rare even now. Oftentimes sexy women

are portrayed as either stupid or inherently evil or egotistical. These women are not only matter

of fact and kind, but also smart and capable. They choose which men they want, not the other

way around, and nobody brings up their age or how they won’t have anything to offer when the

beauty fades.

These characters have substance in addition to physical beauty. Lorelei and Dorothy are

aware of their fortune and actively work with it. They both use their femininity to gain what

they want and defend their actions, in addition to defending each other’s choices. Neither

accuse each other of lying, and there is a constant level of support between both of them- to

the point that they actively defend each other to their respective partners. These women

choose each other (and themselves) every time when the going gets tough. They are the tough

that get going too, they don’t complain, they don’t whine, nor do they ask for a man’s help at

any point- even though it’s offered- they don’t even need it to begin with.

Works Cited
Hawkes, H.H. (1953) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. USA. 20th Century Fox