by Marilena Papalamprou

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is possibly Marilyn Monroe’s most famous film. This 1953 comedic musical delight, directed by Howard Hawks, elevated Monroe into a superstar, with her “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” number writing cinematic history. Its plot is fairly well known - two showgirls and best friends from Little Rock, played by Monroe and Jane Russel, embark on a cruise-turned-into-an-adventure, where they meet rich men, jealous wives, and private detectives, all while contemplating the meaning of love. Monroe’s character, named Lorelei Lee, is of the opinion that the best way into a girl’s heart is money, while her best friend, Dorothy Shaw (Russel), seeks fun and passion. The two women are determined by their differences: Lorelei wants financial security, while Dorothy desires romance. Lorelei seems naive, while Dorothy is feisty. Lorelei is blonde, Dorothy a brunette. The film’s conscious goal, as is obvious from the title, is to place the two women as competitors; to calculate, in a sense, which one, depending on her respective attitude, has a higher chance of finding a husband. It thus measures the women’s worth in terms of their marital status, while also hinting at the antagonistic spirit female friendships are supposed to be governed by, according to a patricentric ideology. Yet, the film subconsciously takes a surprising feminist turn.

Like many others, I first chose to watch Gentlemen Prefer Blondes because of its cult-like appeal. I wanted to see what this iconic Hollywood film was all about. The snapshots I’d seen triggered my curiosity: wonderfully tailored suits, 1950s glamour, and some killer quotes, were more than enough to excite me. Of course, the many adaptations of the “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” act (see, for example, Margot Robbie’s recent take on Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) made me curious about the original. What I definitely did not expect was to come across a film that is, in essence, about female empowerment. Lorelei and Dorothy perfectly compliment each other. Their strength lies in their awareness of their differences. They know what each one is capable of and what not, and they act accordingly, with the sole aim of protecting their relationship and each other. Even though the film is described as a romance, it is their friendship that shines in the spotlight. Men are, throughout the movie, insignificant compared to the love the two women have for each other. Many instances become a proof of this: Dorothy is furious when a man she is talking to mocks Lorelei, and proceeds in highlighting all of her friend’s virtues, whilst Lorelei looks after Dorothy’s future, trying to moderate her aloofness. A central event of the plot is their cooperative attempt to take back the photograph a detective has taken of Lorelei, which threatened both her reputation and her engagement. This served as a demonstration of their wit. They cleverly manipulate every man around them, while expertly maintaining their façade of two beautiful women in search of romance. Their fierce capability illustrates male idiocy. While men clearly regard them as pretty objects to be adored and assume an air of superiority, they are ironically twisted around the two women’s fingers throughout the whole film.

On the surface, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes can be viewed as a film about a moneygrubbing woman and her man-crazy friend, who after a series of crazy incidents, find happiness in marriage. But that would be a superficial understanding, lacking any sense of critique. The film oozes with irony, which makes it both extremely funny and feminist. It is first and foremost a film about love between women and about the importance of genuine friendship. The antithesis of what the viewers expect to see (two women striving for marriage) and what they actually do (two independent girlfriends taking life in their own hands) is striking. But how did such a progressive ideology appeared in a popular 1950s film? The sexism of old Hollywood was phenomenal, so one cannot but wonder at the film’s success. I believe it became a hit firstly because its unconformity was subtly served through satire, but most crucially due to the protagonists’ excessive femininity. Lorelei and Dorothy are two extremely beautiful femme fatales, who do not directly oppose patriarchal structures. They have learned to get their own way by celebrating conventional femininity, using their sex appeal to maneuver through a male dominated world. Their intelligence stems from their extreme ability to adapt, and when one of them lacks, their perfectly harmonious and complementary characters emerge. When Dorothy is emotional, Lorelei is practical. When Lorelei gets too carried away by promises, Dorothy makes her see reason.

In an age when being a woman was incredibly restrictive, this film demonstrates how women can use femininity on their own terms. It also makes clear that women were forced to compromise with male expectations in order to survive, but their inner world was rich and shared only with other women. The two friends are perfectly honest with each other, but they put on a performance for the eyes of society. This should in no way be viewed as antifeminist. We should not for an instant forget that it was the 1950s, when women were basically considered plain housewife material. It would be impossible for a popular Hollywood film to be openly provocative. But Gentlemen Prefer Blondes manages (perhaps not completely intentionally) to be elevated into an iconic film for female empowerment. It reveals that feminine charm and the act of seduction are based on cleverness. As Marilyn Monroe’s character concludes at the finale when her fiancé’s father shockingly admits she does not sound stupid: “I can be smart when it’s important. But most men don’t like it”. Women’s only option was compromise; but that did not mean their personality and wit was not employed. And it definitely did not mean rivalry with their fellow women. This may seem as a cheesy conclusion, but what Dorothy really advocated for when she without hesitation chose Lorelei over her romantic interest, was “sisters before misters.”