Hairspray Gender Roles

Raul Noguera-McElroy

You Can’t Stop the Expanding Role of Women in the Workplace

Hairspray, a John Waters’ musical, demonstrates progressive messages about the expansion of race-based civil rights in the 1960s . Although this is typically the lens through which Hairspray is viewed, this is not the only significant societal shift portrayed in the film. The stories of Edna Turnblad and Velma Von Tussle illustrate the progressive shift of women from “old” gender roles such as being excluded from the workplace to “new” gender roles where women begin taking managerial positions.

It is fundamental to define “old” and “new” roles of women to make a comparison between them. The “old” role of women in the workplace involved menial jobs, and before World War II, women were expected to remain at home and raise kids. Roughly thirty states enacted laws to prohibit married women from working

any type of job , to reflect public opinion on the role of women.
World War II brought a “new” role for women, which included an expansion in the types of jobs women could work. During World War II, the number of women in the workforce spiked from 27% to 37% . Furthermore, by the 1950s, roughly one quarter of all married women were employed . This was a complete reversal from thirty years ago, when married women were forbidden from working at all.
Edna Turnblad represents the seismic shift in the role of women in the workplace. Edna reveals the shift in gender roles when Tracy asks Edna if she can audition for the Corny Collins Show. This leads to the following conversation:
Edna: “No one is auditioning for anything in this household.”
Tracy: “But why not? Why not?”
Tracy: “I wanna be famous!”
Edna: “Learn to take blood out of car upholstery… That’ll make you famous.”’

Edna is telling Tracy to learn to clean, a standard expectation for women in the 1930s. Edna further illuminates the expectations of women by stating, ”Do you think that I wanted to spend my life folding other people’s laundry?” That statement informs the audience that Edna’s was held back by gender roles. She got stuck “folding laundry,” a typically feminine task.
The exploration of shifting gender roles continues when Tracy asks Edna to be her agent. At first, Edna did not feel empowered to be Tracy’s agent, stating, “We’ll have your father meet with him.” In response, Tracy sings, “Welcome to the 60s,” essentially reminding Edna of the seismic shift in gender roles. At the beginning of the song, Edna can’t be convinced to leave the house, but by the end, Edna is stating, “Flattery will not distract Ms. Turnblad’s agent.” Over the course of the song, she has changed from a person who would not leave the house to a person who now serves as her daughter’s agent.
Velma also represents a similar progressive change. The viewer’s introduction to Velma is when she sings “Miss Baltimore Crabs.” Velma sings about a competition in which she claimed the title of 1930’s Miss Baltimore Crabs. She explains that she did a “Triple somersault” while baking “soufflés,” traditionally feminine actions associated with demeaning sexual innuendos. Her pride in being Miss Baltimore Crabs suggests that this was one of the few things worthwhile that Velma could do in the 1930s (a time period that falls under “old” gender roles).
“Miss Baltimore Crabs” illustrates both Velma’s old role in the workplace and her new power. During the song, Velma exhorts “Boys, let’s Rumba.” Although Rumbas are performed in 4/4 musical time signatures and have slow, rhythmic tempo, “Miss Baltimore Crabs” does not reflect this style. Furthermore, Velma’s “Rumba” contains lifts that are forbidden in ballroom. Velma asserts her power by making the dance is whatever she wants.
Beyond setting the musical requirements as whatever she wants, Velma asserts dominance over men, which was completely unheard of in the 1930s.

Velma asserts her power when she creates a single file line, with herself as the leader. The fact that Velma is the leader role in the line suggests that out of everyone there, Velma has the most power.

Velma also asserts her power over men when she threatens to get a “fresh new host” for the Corny Collins Show during “Velma’s Revenge.” At this moment, Corny sarcastically comments, “How can you fire Corny Collins from the Corny Collins Show” as if he does not believe in Velma’s influence. Velma responds, “They do it all the time on Lassie,” and by doing so, not only asserts her power over Corny, but demeans him by comparing him with a theatrical dog.

A critique of the above arguments would be the response: The people over whom Velma asserts influence are people of color and teenage boys, not adult men. Due to this realization, one could easily argue that Velma has little actual power, as adult men ran nearly every aspect of the world at that

time.
In reply to the above critique: Velma is offered the position of Vice-President of Product Development for Ultra Glow. The job includes benefits like a “company car and a multi-figure salary.” More importantly, this position would give Velma “direct oversight” and power over men. Simply put: Velma demonstrates the changing role of women in the workplace. She goes from a silly title like Miss Baltimore Crabs to an executive position.
Through the character arcs of Edna Turnblad and Velma Von Tussle, one sees how each character demonstrates the rapidly changing role of women in the workplace. Both characters begin the musical stymied by the expectations of women in the 1930s, but both evolve to represent the progressive message of women in the workplace that has come to define the John Waters’ Hairspray. Ultimately, the show demonstrates that women were not only new to the workplace, but were capable and belonged in the workplace.