The (Mis)Education of “The American Girl” in Europe in Anita Loos’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Set during the “Roaring Twenties,” Anita Loos‟s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes revisits the myth of “The American Girl,” dyed as a “dumb blonde” and plagued with humor, not only to twist the traditional gender paradigm of female victimization at the hands of a male tyrant, but also to vindicate a unique identity for the United States, eventually released from transatlantic influences. The heroine Lorelei travels to Europe on a Grand Tour to “improve her mind,” but she actually reveals the smart use of her “stupidity” to “educate” men to spend money on her, to hunt the wealthiest potential husband, and to discover that there is no better place than home. Unburdened from the necessity of supporting her creature, this journey is the perfect excuse for Loos to mock the presumed cultural superiority of the Old Continent, its social hierarchies and the appreciation of its artistic treasures.


RESUMEN: Durante los “alegres años veinte,” Gentlemen Prefer Blondes de Anita Loos revisita el mito de la chica americana, teñido de “rubia tonta” y rebosante de humor, no sólo para subvertir el tradicional paradigma de género de victimización femenina a manos de un tirano masculino, sino también para reivindicar una identidad propia para los Estados Unidos, libre de atavismos transatlánticos. Su heroína Lorelei realizará el Gran Tour de Europa para “cultivar su cerebro,” pero preferirá mostrarnos el uso inteligente de su “estupidez,” educar a los hombres para gastar dinero en ella, cazar un marido rico y descubrir que no hay mejor lugar que su patria. Sin necesariamente secundar sus estratagemas, este viaje será la excusa perfecta para que Loos ridiculice la presunta superioridad cultural del Viejo Mundo, sus jerarquías sociales y la apreciación de sus tesoros artísticos.