Evidence presented in the case of Elle Woods bisexuality
I LOVE the Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2 movies, so I was very excited when the Elle TV series was announced. I watched it all and it was awesome! I love how Elle maintains her positivity through every situation and how she's well-intentioned even though sometimes her intentions go awry. And I think the Seattle friends are all great character additions. Now for the presentation of evidence that she may not be straight.
Legally Blonde (2001)
Elle is shown in straight-presenting relationships but we never get confirmation of her sexuality, so from the original source material she's not definitively straight
This exchange; Enid: "Is that before you voted against me and then called me a dyke behind my back?" Elle: "I don't use that word. You must have heard it from Vivian." This is confirmation that Elle doesn't use the word dyke and therefore probably does not identify as a dyke. This does not negate the possibility of her being bi. Elle saying that Vivian would use dyke can be read as her implicating Vivian as homophobic, but also could be a "recognition" that Vivian is a dyke or queer herself and internalized homophobia would cause her to be using dyke in a negative way
Elle and Vivian as a romantic relationship was an alternative ending for the original movie, demonstrating that both characters sexualities were not as straight as intended
Legally Blonde 2 (2003)
Her finding out Bruiser is gay could parallel her own queer realizations, she states that she thought Bruiser trying on her heels was because he wanted to be taller but maybe in hindsight it was an indicator of his sexuality. I think her affinity for femininity could be similar to that. She thought she just liked being fem, but she likes being fem and likes femmes.
Statistically, there have to be lesbians, and bi/pan/queer women in those sororities that they call and mobilize. So who's to say Elle isn't one of them?
Elle TV show on Prime (2026)
This is the show that inspired this post. Before the show aired, when I saw the clip of the interaction between Elle and Liz posted by the Instagram account, where Elle finds out Liz is a lesbian, I was excited that a) we were getting an out lesbian character in a TV show set in the 90s and b) I said "retcon Elle as bi" (my bias is that a bi-realization arc is great for any character)
Watching the show I think there are many indications that Elle could be not as straight as the audience generally assumes
"I've always considered myself sexual-preference blind" ... um hello? This is written in a way that the writers can back out and say the intention was to show Elle as a good natured but slightly clueless ally, because what does sexual-preference blind and attraction to Freddie Mercury mean? She's straight and likes men who don't follow typical standards for masculinity? Or she literally just came out as not really thinking about her sexuality and acting on romantic attraction and impluse without feeling strongly about gender, it just happens that her romantic attractions are currently focused towards men
A large part of Elle's character in the show and the movies is the realization that she can do more than what is expected of her as a pretty, rich, blonde girl etc etc her desires and interests are her own but also largely shaped based on her world around her, in her LA world she is expected to be the straight popular girl, in Seattle she meets Liz and is introduced to lesbianism for maybe the first time, I think this can lend to her realizing there are more possibilites out there for her than what she knew and was familiar with in LA
Elle kisses Miles because he is the only "LA" type boy in Seattle and therefore the only "fitting" crush, Elle is attracted to him when she first gets there because I think she's searching for familiarty and to salvage her 3 point plan
Elle picks up on the tension between Kimberly and Liz, and I like to think she reads The Price of Salt after their time in dentention because she's an ally and wants to be informed on what lesbians are reading
Elle runs to see Liz perform? Elle leaves LA and goes back to Seattle, missing the Golden Globes and walking away from her Cosmo internship - two majorly important things to her, because she misses Liz? And Seattle as a whole and of course Dustin and Miles and that drama, but still. Running through traffic to get to someone is a romantic trope...
In conclusion, to me Elle is a high femme bisexual, probably with a preference for men because we do see most of her romantic interest being focused towards male-identified characters. I think she doesn't feel the need to come out or talk about her sexuality because she recognizes that as a high femme she's going to be doubted for the legitimacy of her sexuality the same as she is judged on her intelligence based on the fact she's blonde. She calls herself a LGBTQ ally because she believes that being queer and being actively an ally are two different things (they are.) So others conflate her declaration of allyship as an implied declaration of being a straight ally.
Of course, this is all fun speculation. I take a Mark Hamill approach to fictional characters, he said if you think Luke Skywalker is gay then he's gay. So if I think Elle Woods is bi then she's bi but I respect other interpretations. And I don't think canonically her being bisexual would be explored in the future of the TV show, since it ends with a Miles-Elle-Dustin love triangle. Unless of course they go the XO, Kitty route.
I do love that we have Liz and Kimberly as canon lesbian/queer characters. I think they are great characters, with complex motivations and interesting development and I look forward to where their storyline is going.
If you've watched Elle TV I'd love to hear any and all thoughts.
And fanfic writers - more Liz/Elle and Liz/Kimberly fics please :) there's only 12 and 6 in each respective tag rn. (yes I've read them all)
