Radical Feminist Theory In Mean Girls

The film, Mean Girls, is about a teenage girl named Cady Heron. She was educated in Africa by her scientist parents. When her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, Cady finally gets to experience public school and gets an understanding on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity, that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques. She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students called "The Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith, earned this nickname. I will discuss how Radical Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, and Anti-Racist Theory, are used to criticize the movie.

First, Radical Feminist Theory aims to understand the nature

We tend to change our perceptions of ourselves to conform to the social norms. Even the “prettiest” girls experience self-esteem issues. In Mean Girls, Cady befriends a group of materialistic, judgmental girls who are called “The Plastics.” “The Plastics” are meant to drive for perfection. They are obsessed with their self-image, especially, the group’s leader, Regina George who always says, “I have to lose three pounds” (Mean Girls). Their body image gives the girls power, the skinnier and hotter they are, the more they can judge others who are not like them. Radical Feminist Theory criticizes the notion of beauty image. There is no one type of beauty, but this movie shows that one body size, one skin color, and one type of fashion, is beautiful. For example, all of “The Plastics” are skinny, lighter skin/white, and have long, straight hair. When Cady goes to Regina’s house with “The Plastics”, she finds out that even the prettiest girls find things wrong with their bodies. The girls are obviously beautiful, but while standing in front of a mirror, they criticize their bodies. Regina thinks her pores are huge, Gretchen thinks she has a weird hairline, and Karen thinks her nail beds suck. Sheltered Cady says, “I thought there was only fat and skinny, but apparently there are a lot of things that can be wrong with your body” (Mean Girls). Teenagers, usually, focus on the tiniest things to try to make themselves