What ‘Miss Congeniality’ Taught Me About Femininity
There’s a pervasive attitude that women must adopt masculine traits to succeed in the world. While it’s positive for women to be confident and intelligent, the idea of “girl power” has been twisted to mean that being feminine is wrong. Upon re-watching “Miss Congeniality,” I saw this topic was covered gracefully and humorously 20 years ago. It made me laugh while also mirroring my own journey.
Gracie Hart (played by Sandra Bullock) is anything but graceful. She grew up reading Nancy Drew and fighting bullies, but has come to believe that feminine qualities are negative. When fighting a bully as a child, she calls him a girl – only in retaliation for him calling her one. Instead of embracing who she is, she does everything she can to avoid being feminine and lashes out in anger at any suggestion she do otherwise.