Is Elle Woods autistic? Legally Blonde 2 is one of my all-time favourite films and I’ve been adoring the new prequel series Elle on Prime in Ireland. While I’ve seen the films several times and I saw the musical in London, it’s only now watching Elle that I’m like, oh my god, is she autistic? Might she be autistic? Might that be why, even though we don’t have much in common, I’ve always adored the character so much. What they’ve done is they’ve put her in the 90s, in high school, in the midst of grunge, moving from Bel-Air in California to Seattle. It’s genius. What do you think? Might she be autistic? le grá (with love), Ev3 CHAPTERS 0:00 Is Elle Woods autistic? 0:52 Welcome to Soles to Soul Care for Trauma and AuDHD 2:04 Why Elle Woods might be autistic 5:20 Special interests, justice sensitivity and staying true to herself 7:03 Love, compassion and caring for others 8:53 Healing through community and authenticity 9:33 What would Elle Woods do? 10:15 Grounding practice: From the soles of your feet to your soul 11:23 Final reflections and how to connect LINKS If you enjoyed this, check out: Episode 62: Be your true Self. Your way Episode 78: Too Sensitive? Too Much? Says Who? with Alice Tew & Carly Radford Episode 94: Neuro-affirming Self Acceptance with Dr Emma Bede Choose your own adventures: New adventures in the works include Inner Child Play, Stop Self Loathing, Move Past People Pleasing and Purpose, Meaning and Joy https://solestosoul.ie/adventures/ Book your free telephone consultation and access 100s of body-mind practices at https://solestosoul.ie/free-downloads #ellewoods #legallyblonde2 #elle #austism #isellewoodsautistic FULL TRANSCRIPT Is Elle Woods autistic? Legally Blonde 2 is one of my all-time favourite films and I’ve been adoring the new prequel series Elle on Prime in Ireland. While I’ve seen the films several times and I saw the musical in London, it’s only now watching Elle that I’m like, oh my god, is she autistic? Might she be autistic? Might that be why, even though we don’t have much in common, I’ve always adored the character so much. What they’ve done is they’ve put her in the 90s, in high school, in the midst of grunge, moving from Bel-Air in California to Seattle. It’s genius. What do you think? Might she be autistic? You’re listening to Soles to Soul Care for Trauma and AuDHD with Eve Menezes Cunningham. I’m your host and each Tuesday or whenever you choose to watch or listen, you’ll get a new episode to help you learn how to love and care for all your parts from the soles of your feet to your soul. You can visit solestosoul.ie, that’s s-o-l-e-s, as in the soles of the feet, to t-o and then soul, s-o-u-l.ie, forward slash podcast for older episodes, full transcripts, links, free resources, other ways in which we might work together, including becoming an adventurer for a whole array of online programmes for you to dive deep within yourself. Let me know if you have any questions and I hope you love episode 122. I hope you love this episode. Working with the FEEL. LOVE. HEAL. framework, again, for the FEEL. bit, I’m just noticing what I think. I’m no way qualified to diagnose fictional characters or anyone, but so much of what I’ve learned about my own autism and working with others, all the additional training and reading and listening and everything, the special interest it’s become over the last few years. Some of the features that I feel might be signs that Elle Woods is autistic includes her feeling her big emotions, her really having big emotions and her allowing herself to feel it, to express them, to take to her bed, to eat chocolates and they move through her. They then lead to action. And I’m realising that she’s a fictional character. I’m also realising that she is a woman with a lot of privilege in many different ways, thin privilege, beauty privilege, wealth privilege, white privilege, cis privilege, hetero privilege, intelligence privilege, beauty privilege, all sorts of ways in which her movement through the world is easier than many. And her parents are very supportive of her. They don’t always understand her, but they haven’t apparently shamed her for having big emotions. So, it’s just a delight to see a woman, a young woman, a teenager in this case, on the screen, allowing herself to not suppress, to have a meltdown, to feel and then move on. Because if we all let ourselves feel how we’re feeling, if we all design our lives to work with ourselves, to work with our big feelings, we too can move on rather than getting stuck, getting caught up in masking, getting exhausted. And yeah, I just identified this as one of the many ways in which she might be autistic. Her questioning whether the mosh pit is sanitary, and she gets in in the end, but the sensory differences that she exhibits in many instances with no apology. And again, this is, I think, why I love the character so much. She’s never excusing her difference. She loves pink, she commits to pink, she continues to remain true to herself. And it’s that unapologetic being herself. She has that non-hierarchical approach when it comes to talking to people in positions of power. She talks to the principal as if he’s an equal. She has the great pattern recognition when it comes to identifying the key they need. I’m hoping that I am not giving away spoilers. I think I’m doing this in a way where you’ll identify these when you get to that part if you haven’t already. But what I’m saying will make no sense if you haven’t yet seen it, and it’s not going to ruin anything for you. Other special interests she has include fashion, the law, Judge Judy in Elle, Donna, her friend’s mother and her friend, the first friend she makes in Seattle. Justice in Legally Blonde 2. She quit when she realised that her law firm didn’t share her care for something that was obviously wrong. And once she brought it to their attention, in this case, animal testing for cosmetics. And it has a very silly premise in terms of her wanting to invite her dog’s mother to her wedding. But it’s also, if you think about it, yes, she’s a fictional character. She worked really hard for that law degree at Harvard. She gets the job of her dreams. And then when she realises that there’s a lack of integrity, a lack of ethics, she quits. That’s no small feat. She’s a stickler for the rules. She can’t bring herself to do a pie in the face. She seems to struggle a bit with social cues, but she wouldn’t call it social awkwardness because she has her friends in Bel Air. She has her sorority in the film. She has enough love behind her. But you think about her going into the canteen or to the parties on the back foot and her ways of getting through that. I’m just curious. Like I say, I’m not a psychiatrist. I’m not a psychologist. But there are lots of ways in which she might be. As we move to the LOVE. part of the framework, her love for Bruiser. Bruiser’s a little puppy in Elle. And she had an impassioned plea for him in Legally Blonde 2. And she is hoping to keep a hypothetical rat safe in Elle at a certain point. I won’t say any more to not give anything away. But she recognises that humans are the most evolved species in the room they’re in at the time. And she points out that as that more powerful species, the responsibility to care for the more vulnerable species. And it’s just gorgeous. I mentioned her supportive parents, her sorority, helping her. And they don’t always understand her just sensitivity and her special interests. But she’s able to be herself. And she does seem to, I mean, anyone would have rejection sensitivity with some of the situations she’s in. But she’s tough. And I think her recognition of herself as part of nature, no better or worse than a rat or a dog. And all of us connected, all of us having responsibility to care for each other. That’s how I’m shoehorning this into the LOVE. section of the FEEL. LOVE. HEAL. framework for this episode. But really, it’s about her acceptance of herself, her love for herself and for others. But that support that she’s had means she’s able to offer that love and support to so many others. And she is just an amazing friend and person to have in the other fictional characters’ lives. The HEAL. part, the turning what hurts your heart into action, she does this, we all need to co-regulate. We all heal in community. And she’s very isolated at first. But she finds her footing in Seattle, like she did at Harvard Law School, by being herself, by being caring, by organising for Donna, for fun. And by recognising the importance of community and doing what’s right and even a bit of a haphazard community that she creates. It’s a gorgeous seeming group. And I’m hoping that as you listen, as you watch, you’ll think about your own life, your own fish out of water situations. And maybe if you love Legally Blonde and all things Legally Blonde as much as I do, you’ll ask yourself, what would Elle Woods do? And let her inspire you to be more of who you are and recognise going with the glimmers, pink fashion, it makes her so happy, it makes her empowered and powerful. What is it for you? How can you be more true to yourself? What do you think? Is Elle Woods autistic? Before you go,
