Gentlemen Prefer Blonde Film Essay

In the 1953 film adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes there are two main characters complemented by a group of men. Lorelei Lee, played by Marilyn Monroe, is a young entertainer who is obsessed with diamonds and can point them out anywhere. Dorothy Shaw, Lorelei’s friend and also an entertainer, is Lorelei’s confidant and chaperone on their trip to Paris. The main portion of the film is played out on a boat, which is where a majority of the sexual nature is formed. Lorelei and Dorothy aren’t the only passengers and no doubt there are some male counterparts. In fact, the entirety of the male gymnastics team is aboard, a rich diamond miner, and a detective is on board. Lorelei uses her sexuality and the appeal to heteronormative ideals to swindle diamonds and fancy gifts from her male counterparts. Dorothy takes a more traditional route and uses her sexuality for more of a procreation ideal rather than gifts and

Heteronormativity is the belief that everyone is one of two genders, male or female, and that males are sexually attracted to females, and vice versa. For Lorelei, one of her biggest assets is that she only is attracted to men. She does not deviate and become attracted to Dorothy nor does she show any indication of desire for the same sex. In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, there are very little female characters. This lack of female characters, it seems only allows for heteronormative sexual relationships. Lorelei forms these relationships with Mr. Beekman, the rich diamond miner, and Gus Esmond, her potential wealthy spouse. It is likely so that the age of Lorelei and her sexual partners are important too. She is a great deal younger than Mr. Beekman, which could still be viable if it were a procreative relationship. That even the ages of male and female in a heteronormative sexual relationship are unlikely to be a factor of