how high school musical demonizes femininity - a Sharpay Evans deep dive
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- instagram: elle.literacy
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faq:
-accent: lived in america when younger, ireland most of my life
-edit: final cut pro x
-study: English Lit & Film Studies, graduated in 2022
hi all! just wanna address a couple things a lot of people have brought up :)
1. by addressing Sharpay's _hyper_-femininity, I'm not saying the other characters aren't feminine, but that all the *visual* stereotypes of hyper, Barbie-like femininity are apparent in Sharpay. This is in relation to her appearance, not personality. Femininity is a spectrum!
2. I'm not justifying her toxicity or saying that she's perfect. The point of this video is to say that by associating strong feminine traits with the antagonist/villain, these hyper-feminine traits are seen as bad when femininity should not be demonised. People are highlighting her manipulation, but Taylor and Chad manipulated Troy and Gabriella with their webcam fiasco, but that's quickly brushed aside and they're still good people. Again, not excusing the manipulation, but trying to highlight how she's treated differently.
3. I lived in america when i was younger but grew up in ireland which is why my accent is like that.
Juliet O'hara
My grandmother is from Belfast. I didn’t even hear an accent! Lol well done video though and as a blonde, arts-oriented, hyperfeminine person the demonisation of characters like this have had real life consequences. And I believe led to the subsequent “not like other girls” (NLOG) phenomenon.
I'm from ireland and i was thinking you had some connection to here with the way you said some of the words like writers etc !! hahaha an mhaith mo chara :)
ciara go raibh míle!
Honestly, thank you for the video and the clarification both. It was an great take on it to balance out the messages many of us grew up with!
Honestly Legally Blonde was so ahead of its time it showed that you can be a girly girl and still be smart and do everything you dreamed of without having to change yourself
Lowkey legally blonde was amazing and a movie where they didn’t make a girly girl stupid and mean
Legally Blonde still stands as one of the, if not, BEST films of our generation
I was about to make this comment! "Legally Blonde" is the saving grace of 2000s movies, and it's still one of my all-time favorite movies.
Agreed!
Though it started stereotypical.
HSM was nothing without sharpay. She was the most interesting character of them all
Yeah, because you can`t make a movie without an antagonist driving the plot forward...
@@z.k.7330 chill
@@psycherevivedby stay in your lane
she was slightly crazy but yeah totally interesting
@@psycherevivedby Yeah stay in your lane
I just want a high school mover where the main protagonist is a girl that wears pink and is a cheerleader and villain is a girl that think that she’s quirky because she reads books and doesn’t wear pink.
TV show wise, it's sort of Daria haha. I mean she is the protagonist and I think everyone young associates with Daria but then looking back you realize how it was cringey because she was struggling through her own insecurities and a lot of her negative relationships may have been influenced because of the way she was always defensive towards others.
@@MP-kw8nd Oh yes, Daria was definitely a big unfluence on me when I had my "emo-phase", and now when I look at her, she was just plain mean to people who didn't do anything wrong. I always liked Brittany, she's a cheerleader who's not very smart, but she's not mean and she knows what she wants - that's kind of refreshing to see.
@@juliahyde6112 same, it was honestly refreshing for her to admit in several episodes that she was aware that she uses her sarcasm as insecurity and closes herself off to others. That said I think to some extent it probably is helpful to others who are dealing with social struggles and not feeling accepted anywhere. At least I thought it was a bit honest because a lot of comments daria would get weren't far off from something you'd get in real life. The show also deals with the ideas that everybody is to self absorbed to deal with being empathetic to others, daria included.
I like brittany too, but she never seemed mean. Just accidentally rude in a way that i'm sure could crush someone with low self-esteem. The only mean characters were the fashion club. But watching it as an adult vs someone in the school-age phase who is still highly struggling with this situation probably creates a different interpretation. - Dunno if you watched it before. But Mad Fat Diary was good at establishing a narrative under the unconventionally attractive protagonist perspective only to make an episode where one of the "pretty/popular" side characters who came off as a villain had depth. Basically just trying to take home the idea that just because someone is pretty doesn't mean that they're fake or dislike you, most people are just focused on their own life struggles.
@@MP-kw8nd Yes, that's what I said! Brittany's not smart, but she's also not mean, just... Blunt, I guess.
I feel like Daria was trying to show that every person has their own issues to work with (Daria, her parents and sister, Jane, etc.), but children like me didn't realize this and just idolized Daria because she was the main character and someone that a lot of viewers related to, or tried to relate to too hard. I remember I literally screamed when she kissed Tom, because I didn't think she'd do something like that to her best friend and it was probably the moment when I stopped liking her so much and finally saw that she should be understood, but not idolized.
I did not know about Mad Fat Diary, but I'm gonna check it out! It sounds interesting.
@@juliahyde6112 Hope you enjoy it. Sorry, last min thought. trigger warning if you have any issues with eating disorders and self harm or death. It is a fairly comedic show and happy at times but it deals with a lot of the protag's weight/ self esteem struggles.
she both a villian and a victim. Sharpay did some really mean and nasty things to the characters but she was also wronged several times. I honestly think some of her catty and pettiness is a defense mechanism against those that bully her
perhaps yes
Yeah, what she did to Ryan in the second movie was mean, considering she ditched him first. And she did want to date Troy in the second movie, she did have to be put in her place there. But I did wish she got into juilliard's in the third.
@@antithoughtpolice7497one thing I didn't get is the Sharpay’s _sudden_ interest in Troy in HSM 2 when it was clear that Zeke was more her type. Ryan definitely had something going on with Chad. why can't Sharpay and Zeke have that
@@thedevilsadvocate858 I know right? Ughhh, she was so cute when she ran though the balloons to him!
Agreed
JUSTICE FOR SHARPAY EVANS
write this on my tombstone
She got justice already in her spinoff movie , we need justice for ryan
yesss
@@elleliteracy yes ma'am
@@domicrush3069
Didn’t he go to Juliard? I’m sure he got his.
gabriella showed up out of nowhere and got everything that sharpay ever wanted without even really trying, not to mention she also left in the middle of each movie. justice for sharpay.
sharpay ever wanted? you mean what she had right? it was like watching a toddler scream cause their toy got taken away or they weren't given the toy they wanted
yea Gabriella was annoying to me like girl just stay or just leave stop with the back and forth ahahaha
@@mags506 she literally WORKED several years to get what she DESERVED. Gabriella has a nice voice, but she will never be a performer like sharpay. That's why she didn't deserved these roles
@@mags506 i don’t know if this counts as it’s in fabulous adventure but she mentions that her and ryan have been doing plays since kindergarten. By themselves, sharpay has been doing this since she was a legit child and has earned her respect for the lead roles, which was all she wanted by the way. And she loses it to gabriella who’s a total newbie which would never happen
@@mags506 sharpay worked for those roles. She was just as talented as Gabriella. By your analogy, it would be a kid who did chores for weeks to gain money to buy a toy they wanted, and then the younger sister decided she wanted it too despite not doing any chores and mom making the older sister share cuz “she DESERVES it too” and “you can SHARE”.
Sure, they put it in a negative light of her trying to force out the competition, but they literally show nobody in school until Troy and Gabriella was good enough in auditions.
It was definitely frustrating to grow up only seeing the "overly normal, plain girl" be praised for being herself, especially since I was a "hyper feminine" girl - loved pink, loved glitter, loved all the things that Sharpay had and the way she dressed and the way she carried herself. I grew up associating that level of femininity as a sign of cheapness and even sluttiness and was afraid to embrace that side of myself. So grateful that as I've gotten older I've learned to not care.
Same same same!!
omg same-
Such a relatable comment.
I agree! Ever since I was a child I’ve been ridiculed for my “overly girly” personality. I loved pink and glitter as a child and was pointed out for that. Girls need to grow up knowing that is ok to be girly just as much as not being it. It’s your choice and you’re free to be who you are no matter what your style is!
Completely agree with you
I love that as a kids, so many of us hated Sharpay, but as an adults we love her
Oh my god I loved Sharpay when I was a kid. My friends were thought that was weird and I would be like, "she has the best songs, and the best clothes, and the most star power. Of course I like her!"
I always LOVED her too! Lol
@@legendgirl101 Same haha
I still hate her, just because she's feminine doesn't make her perfect
If an adult really loves those kinds of characters and does not see the obvious problem in them, that`s a red flag.
Being rich, attractive, talented and determined is GREAT! But treating other people like sht isn`t and honestly, if you do the latter, I couldn`t care less about your money or your talent.
this movie really reiterated the “I’m not like other girls” trope
Gabriella was the "pick me" character of Disney
@@mandyfrommars8789 So true, I never liked her as a kid tbh 🤦🏼♀️
@@femalesupremacistoverlord6800 Same. Or, it's not that i didnt like her- its more of I just thought she was kinda boring and overrated-
What's wrong with being different?
@@ArcaniaSkyPirateDen9516 Nothing wrong with being different, but the “not like the other girls” types are the ones who put down others for not being different, which isn’t good
I really need to see more girly girls who are also smart
Yes. And kick butt, sarcastic, willing to get her hands dirty, are adventurous, social conscious...I hope I get that chance
@@jessicavictoriacarrillo7254 blaire waldorf 💞
Barbieee
Elle woods!
Cher from Clueless. She was ambitious and wanted to follow in her father's footsteps as a lawyer.
Just a quick note, the headbands that Monique Coleman wore were not a wardrobe choice. Disney would not hire hair stylists that knew how to style Black girls and women, so she had to take it upon herself to do her own hair very frequently. And to hide the problems with wigs/weaves they did give her, she would use headbands. It became a staple part of her character, but it was caused by Disney's anti-Blackness. She spoke about this in an interview in 2020.
Wow thanks for sharing, where can I find this interview?
Holy shit, that's terrible
That's no good. I refuse to let this continue. No more, our girls will be respected as for who they are, believe me!
Yep.
In my high school, the preppy baby phat girls were the kindest, most unproblematic, light-hearted, good-hearted people. People made fun of them all the time and everyone thought they were better than them and they never got upset over it. I was a weird emo kid and I will never forget how well they treated me. They would always hype me up for my differences.
That's the sweetest story though
I hope those girls was having a good time
By emo do you mean that you listen to the music, dress like a stereotypical 2000s emo, or are you just using emo as a substitute for angsty or something else?
@@kittykittybangbang9367 does it honestly matter?
It’s so misogynistic that we are supposed to hate the “other woman” and not Troy for being stupid and not committed to Gabrielle or his friends. 🤦♀️
the second half of HSM 2 and the last quarter of HSM 3 is all about Troy running back to his friends and Gabriella cox all the other times Sharpay was trying to distract him, especially in HSM 2. so i don't see your point of not being committed to them. He was saying 'no' to Sharpay and trying to be with Gabriella so many times.
@@uzairsaqib4556 when I first watched HSM I thought the same about Troy. But as a grown adult looking back, Saying No to someone is not the same as removing yourself from someone. The character Troy is just too stupid to be firm and clear with Sharpay- which a common trope in male character. Ofc this is just film series but why does this guy need not one but two characters acrs about commitment? Especially HSM2, he spent half the film engaging with Sharpay (whether that’s her specifically or benefiting from her connections). My point is Sharpay isn’t this vixen that stole away Troy from Gabrielle and his team- Troy is just stupid.
So it's okay to hate on men for talking/being nice to other women.
@@missy_elephant1999 I don't really see how he could be clearer. Sharpay is just pushy. Btw who wouldn't want to meet a college rep if your acquaintance introduced them to you. Doesn't mean you want to be with the acquaintance
@@zekeross6542 fair enough I see your point. I don’t have a pitchfork ready for Troy and I’m not backing Sharpay. I would beg to differ that Troy was clear to Sharpay for the first half of the film. Yes in the end he was clear but the fact that the storyline was that Sharpay was the wedge in Troy and Gabrielle clearly shows Troy blindly followed Sharpay. Getting connections is one thing, but not understanding someone’s intentions, is just idiotic. As the audience we hate on Sharpay for that but really... we should re-evaluate our “love” for Troy. Sharpy, Troy and Gabrielle are my least favs Anyways (justice for Taylor, Kelsey and Zeke) . But respect to you.
The movies say that Sharpay ambition is just a bit too womanly, too feminine and she punished for that.
She is no different from Troy or Gabriella who devote their everything to their respective interest. Why should they be the leads in the musicals, they don't ultimately care.
Sharpay deserved better.
I actually found Gabriella to be far more feminine than Sharpay. There’s more to femininity than liking the color pink. Gabriella was soft-spoken, shy, understated, vulnerable and had a sweet, girlish smile. Sharpay’s ambition and domineering nature are masculine traits.
@@amandaa7708 OMG EXACTLY! I've been thinking that but i didn't know how to word it, thank you! She was always the sweet inocent girl, and as a kid i pretty much disliked her for finding her boring, *too perfect*. Sharpay is driven and doesn't mind not conforming.
I don't think Gabi being feminine is something wrong, but i do believe it is weong to portray only one type of feminine as being good. Especially since one is put on a pedastal as a perfect girl, while the other is considered a bad person.
@@amandaa7708 by feminine I mean that her ambition is directed towards what would be considered a feminine or female coded career rather than a male one.
@@ilincabogza
Yea. There’s definitely a point to be made about demonizing ambition and extravagance in women, but I wouldn’t say the problem is demonizing “femininity” when the character the series glorified is the epitome of femininity.
But i think there's a bit more to why she was evil. yes, she wanted the part, but she also felt like she was entitled to it, and was very disrespectful towards troy and gabriella's relationship. I think at the third movie however, I felt for her more.
As a hyper-feminine woman myself, I distinctly remember a moment when I was in kindergarten and my classmates were pretending to be characters from High School Musical. Everybody looked at me like I was insane when I said I wanted to be Sharpay!
lol when I was in third(ish) grade everyone wanted to be sharpay and ryan. but at that age it was less role play more practicing their dance numbers
Omg u were ahead of your time fr
Omg Girl!! I am a hyper-feminine woman too!!!
YES! I wasn't blonde, but I was a hyper feminine woman, whose parents had some money...and let me tell you HS was NOT like the movies...I was a loner, and treated like GARBAGE. I had very few friends...I wore heels, and dresses, and was made fun of for this CONSTANTLY.... by girls, boys, and even female teachers. Don't be afraid to shine ladies, the sun doesn't give a f if it blinds people.
Same! Even my friends treated me with disrespect.
i remember as a child she was my favourite character and everyone else was like “omg no sharpay is so mean and dumb”
Me too, I never hated her. I can’t believe others did, she deserved so much better.
same
tbh sharpay is iconic
I liked her the most and fabulous was my favourite song from the movies but I never told anyone cos she was so hated lol
I drew fanart of her for a Disney contest and I won and got to see HSM on ice
Gabrielle and Troy should have never been allowed to perform in the musical. They were late because they didn’t care enough that should be punished and not seen as positive. Also Troy ruined her chances of getting into her dream college and why? Because he wanted to hang out W his girlfriends. Absolutely selfish.
Also Troy is the Definition of the man who gets the role in musicals just because he is a man. A+ for realism Disney
Weren't they late (in the first movie) because Sharpay and Ryan sabotaged the time slot and changed it to be exactly at the same time as the Decathalon and the basketball game? I disagree that Troy and Gabriela didn't care enough, but that the script was biased to be toward them which is the reason they got the part, and the fact there was a full audience that may have influenced the outcome for Ms. Darbus
Edit: the definite unrealistic part is the two of them asking to have a chance to audition after Ms. Darbus turned off the light and started to leave. But as the drama teacher, she did have the right to change her mind; not that this will actually work in real life. And (in the third movie) that two cast members can just randomly show up during their senior musical performance, well when their understudies have gone on
@@spaceface320 you mean the recall. But Troy and Gabriella were late for the first audition, because they couldn't make up their mind
sharpay was filthy rich, she could get into any college she wanted without the scholarship.
@@spaceface320 I mean I'm kind of on Sharpay's side. As a theater kid you expect people ( especially those who are auditioning for the LEADS) to give their 110% and be completely committed and willing to sacrifice for those parts. I've spent so many holidays at school for rehearsals, cause that's what was expected. If Troy and Gabriella weren't willing to be there at that time they wouldn't be willong to sacrifice for the musical.
i’ve ALWAYS loved characters like sharpay, even thought we were “supposed” to hate them. characters like barbie, sharpay, elle woods and even daphne from scooby doo have always strived for success and have been unforgivably themselves. since i was a young girl, i have always wanted to be like them. hyper-feminity is something i find appealing and have done since a young age, and i can only thank my ambition to break stereotypes and prove people wrong for that.
Yeah and I was always so mad when those "I'm not like other girls" girls hated Daphne and said Velma is better because she doesn't wear make-up 🙄
You should check out Princess and the Frog, Charlotte is amazing
@@wa6488 princess and the frog is my favourite disney movie, i love charlotte!
I can't really blame her brother for abandoning her, because let's face it: she REALLY didn't treat him well. She treated him more like a side-kick (emphasis on KICK) than an actual brother.
She's both a villain and the victim actually
yeah i would leave her to she treated him like a dog than a brother
I absolutely agree that Sharpay is wrongfully demonized during the whole series, and it really is a shame because we can see her grow at the end of each movie but is still stuck being toxic to the people around her despite it. Sharpay's a victim in the sense that a lot of her characterization is based on tired tropes made for us to hate, but she's definitely mean and demeans the people around her and pursues Troy to a really uncomfortable extent. I think that the main problem with Sharpay's character was that she was written to never take Troy's discomfort seriously and aside from that, all of her qualities (negative and positive) are actually really similar to Miranda from the Devil Wears Prada. Anyway, yep, justice for Sharpay! She's iconic, hardworking, and takes her Ls in stride
yes!! i don't think she's a perfect character by any means but i do think she's villainised waaaay more than she should be
I mean, someone had to be the bad guy in order for the film to be interesting. The characters in HSM have absolutely no depth, they have 0 development and there's no meaning behind their actions, other than to just help the film reach its goal, that is heavily guided by stereotypes, just as the video explains.
So your comparison of Sharpay to Miranda in The devil wears prada is kind of irrelevant since Miranda has actually some depth since she is the top editor of the magazine, which means she worked hard to get there, determined to do anything it takes for it. Let's be real, it is super hard to be a woman in authority today, let alone 15 years ago. I mean her actions are justified with depth and they have meaning which helps the story develop and not the other way around like in HSM. Also she gets her character development. She doesn't stay a cold-hearted employer but instead she makes friends with the protagonist and helps her boost her career. She respects her choices.
But yeah let's not forget that HSM is very poorly-made and made for kids while The devil wears prada is a very decent, entertaining movie made for adults.
@@fountano2101 of all the characters Sharpay has the most development
@@sierraalice8072 nah that’s Ryan. Sharpay’s “development” was tossed out the window and reset to zero every movie since she would always come back to trying to get with Troy. The only thing Sharpay was a victim of is bad writing.
@@elleliteracy she is a character who needed to lose
dispite her hard work she had to lose becuase of HOW she got to where she was and the things she did to get to that point
i love sharpay cause i like characters who grow slowly cause that is more realistic
but yes dispite her hard work, if she won just from being nice for a few moments that would actually lessen her as a character
When I told my classmates I aspired to be Sharpay they acted like I committed a crime🙄
omgggg same!!! except it was with my older sisters. when i was younger, i wanted to be sharpay and my older sisters would be haters🤮(oh and i was around 7 when that film came out and my sisters were 14-16)
Okay way off topic but love your user and pfp!
Well Candace, you ARE Sharpay, since both of you are Ashley Tisdale.
@mad chainsaw • 666 years ago it ain't that serious love. Have a good day💛
i can't even talk about sharpay when i was young because all of my classmates will think that there's something wrong with me even though logically sharpay is the most interesting character, i hate how she was so painted black by people back in the days, when she was also fighting for what she wants unlike troy and gab who isn't even doing anything
It’s actually hard for me to watch high school musical, now that I’m older because I’m so aware of how mistreated Sharpay Evans was.
she wasn't. she was a bully.
@@swiftie2161 She was an incredible performer and vocalist who cared about her brother and did some mean shit but got smacked down even harder and demonized because of her confidence and femininity, who had a drive and a passion for the things she was good at that she worked at for years. Only to get replaced by a complete newbie who doesn't even bother to show up to the fucking rehearsals in time.
@@am5ters504 Disagree she went about it the wrong way she acted like a spoiled brat I don’t think I have anything to do with the way she dressed I loved her fashion and her style but her attitude was ugly
@@am5ters504 sharpay is the reason they didnt show up for the rehearsals in time because she sabataged them. she did not care about her brother and used him to get what she wanted then dropped him for troy at the earliest convenience, then threw a strop when he stood up for himself. gabriella was a much better dancer and singer its not her fault that sharpay just didnt have what it took. shes allowed to audition for a school play and it isnt her fault she got it over sharpay who bullied everyone.
jensetter💖
This is why I love Legally Blonde, not only does it make a main character who is girly, but also shows how people act towards over feminine girls towards in movies. And I honestly love how in Legally Blonde 1 and 2, they don’t make the more plain girls the antagonist either, they just make them misunderstood, and that’s why I love Legally Blonde, (it also has probably one of my favorite musical songs “There right there”
I saw a meme that said "Sharpay is hooking Troy up with VIPS who would make his dream come true and let him get A Level education and a guaranteed financially stable future yet he leaves her for Gabriella who likes to swim and cry"
He didn't even need to be WITH Sharpay. She just gave him these connections...that somehow become irrelevant in the last film.
Eh this logic is a bit gross. She's not owed a relationship with Troy just because she gives him a lot of stuff.
@@aday4evr she isn't entitled to him bc she has given him stuff, he should at least give miss Sharpay a chance of being friends bc of how much she's doing. She also isnt a demon so with the right push, she would have been liked by the other characters if Troy treated her a little right. She deserves love too🥺
@@statvsquejo1951 sorry I disagree. You don't owe anyone friendship just because they're nice to you. That's just flat out nice guy logic. It sucks for sharpay but she should switch her attention to someone who does want to be her friend.
@@aday4evr aah I see ur point, I didnt think of that.. I've realised i was looking at it from the wrong perspective😅
I think the thing that makes me so sad is that for YEARS I tried to get as far away from femininity as possible and to seem like one of the guys, because I saw characters like Sharpay on television and I didn't want people to act with me like they do with her and that's just heartbreaking. Sharpay is just a kid, yeah, maybe she can be a bitch sometimes, but frankly, out of the whole cast, she was the most interesting character and the one with the most depth.
yeah the demonisation of hyper-femininity definitely led to the "i'm not like other girls" mindset, but i'm glad we've finally reached a point where we can embrace femininity!
Balance is key. Sometimes studious girls who dont pay attention to their clothes, feel like dressing up on some days. Like that scene in The Big Bang Theory when Amy is given a tiara and she goes all squealy and excited about it, and another scene where she is excited to dress up as a disney princess.
What's sad is that I used to hate characters who were feminine and liked fashion even when that specific character wasn't villanized. Like Stella from Winx club. She's powerful and sweet, despite being a bit spoiled, but I hated her as a child only because she was feminine and liked fashion, and that's what I had been taugh to hate by other media.
Looking back, Stella is one of the best characters in that show and 5 year old me was an idiot for disliking her. I love Stella, even though I'm personally pretty much "a tomboy".
@@elleliteracy You just put into words what I have been feeling all my life. I agree
I experienced that as well.. I grew up feeling like I had to fit in with the guys and there was a constant fear that any ounce of femininity/girliness would alienate me etc... I am 27 now and find it uncomfortable to wear a dress/feminine things/I've never gone to a nail salon or enjoyed ''girly'' things that I wanted to deep down... I have been working on that one small step at a time... I just hope one day I will feel confident in a dress and painted nails like I want to deep down under the habitual fear :(
I love this. Like I’m so tired of the whole “innocent, shy girl” trope and how they get the Troy Boltons and the confident femme fatale never gets any true happiness smh.
You’re so close! The innocent shy girl trope is peak femininity! Feminine personality traits are being idolized here. The message is that the over confident, assertive girl that puts herself and her needs first is the villain (All the things we are taught woman shouldn’t be) and the demure feminine coquette is the one to emulate. Femininity is not what is being demonized here. We like Sharpay so much in adulthood because we see that her personality, which was marketed towards us as mean and overbearing, doesn’t deserve to be demonized.
@@Botticelliraddie I would have to agree that assertive confident females are demonized because I guess society wants females to embody the peak feminine role, which is that of a female who is unlike Sharpay, so kinda like a Gabriella. Which is exactly what I despise about society because I think that females that know their worth and are more vocal about their aspirations are kind of seen as overly confident or ambitious when really, that should be encouraged. I just want to see more representation of women like Sharpay, the fiercely ambitious femme, because I think that is a trait that is very admirable and quite frankly, I think the innocent shy girl trope is completely overdone in Hollywood.
i thought the true happiness sharpay got was that she was independant and didn't need a relationship to achieve her goals-which at the end of HSM 3 was being accepted into college and then we see her fully succeed even more in her spinoff movie where she becomes a broadway star
@@fuckinstagram3377 yeah well wasn’t that kind of a last minute effort by the people who made HSM after realizing how much they have mistreated Sharpay’s character? Also, I was talking about femme fatales in a more general sense, I wasn’t talking about sharpay exclusively
@@alecssassy no i don't think so. the creators probably saw the success of HSM and the likability of Sharpay from the first installment and knew making a spinoff based solely on her would make bank
Victim? No. Villain? No. Icon? Absolutely ❤️🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️
@BigBoy123 she was an iconic bully
@BigBoy123 yeah she may be feminine but is as toxic as Troy or Gabriella
@BigBoy123 okay but did chad and the other basketball team members along with the science club members fake a video to get the two of them to stop hanging out together and quit the musical. Not to mention everybody being really sexist to sharpay
my god people were literally gasping when i was a kid and liked sharpay more when everyone liked the "sweet and innocent" gabriela. justice for sharpay. like im not even feminine/mean i just liked her and she deserved better
Sharpay had the better songs tho
You having azula as ur pfp makes me love you even more x
I liked her better tooooo. I thought was the only one
Why do you like someone who is toxic and couldn't take no for an answer? Sending the message that women women embody despicable behaviour it's to be overlooked?
@@jonathanxavier2026 did you even watch the video 🙃
From a young age, girls are taught over and over by different movies, books, and vids to have a hatred towards something girly. It’s so refreshing to see people understand that being girly and smart is obviously something real and should be praised. I love this video
Sharpay was my favorite character since day 1. We love a confident, feminine queen. Ashley Tisdale is an icon
If you look at most Disney movies or tween shows, the “bully” is almost always blonde, which is bad for kids to see time and time again. And in more mature media, blondes are often portrayed as hyper sexual, always the other woman, “home wrecker,” gold digging type.
They’re also mostly Mary Sues and little miss perfects, don’t forget that
as a girl who isn’t blonde it was a confusing time because not only was being blonde framed as the #1 beauty ideal, i hated how dark my hair was as a kid, it was also demonized like crazy. it creates this weird association in girls heads that the most feminine woman, the girl that embraced her girliness was vain and cruel and vapid and unintelligent. this is incredibly harmful and i think what created the massive wave of “im not like other girls!” phases we see most girls go through today. i can’t even imagine how girls with naturally blonde hair internalized such a hateful message. having the looks that everyone chased after but also demonized you for having, it sounds like such an awful environment to grow up in.
Well if I’m being honest, most blonde girls I had in high school were bullies lol. Not natural blondes, the dyed ones.
I always asked myself the reason behind this, it's like the media has something against blond women, we're all the same, our hair or skin color doesn't say anything.
I was bullied so much in school for being a natural blonde and everyone kept making bimbo jokes at me to the point I never dared say anything in school and became the quiet girl. I really hate how they have to portray so many bad characters or “bimbo” characters as blonde.
Interesting fact though not related : The hairstylists weren't doing a good job with Taylor's hair ( the weave weft was showing) so she suggested they incorporated headbands as a part of her character's look to basically hide it.
omg!!! that’s why we need more diversity behind the scenes too!!!
the point is that the writers made her a BULLY BECAUSE she was feminine. Being a bully is not excusable, but another thing is how you decide to write and at the same time describe a possible bully/villain. They equalized being "femine" and "being a bully"
Maturing is realizing the main issue with these movies is that they pitted the girls against each other. It's fine to be a shy, soft brunette who's interested in academics and its also fine to be a bold, hyper feminine blonde. Girls don't need to fit in one certain box, the problem stems from when we think only one way is right (which then can lead to "pick me" behavior, something I definitely exhibited when I was younger due to these movies)
It's also fine to be a cute, preppy Black girl. This movie needs a rewrite.
I feel like Bratz definitely showed feminity in more masculine areas like Jade being highly intelligent while also pursuing her love for fashion but it falls into so many racial stereotypes.
Yes, it was to embrace those stereotypes, and to own them. Bratz s literally ahead of its time also. Every race, stereotype of being a girly girl, and freedom to express are what they choose to embrace. I remember, in another video, there was a top comment which demonizes femininity. Saying how Bratz has always been shallow for having basic personality traits, such as being into fashion. However, I know it is the exact opposite. The reason they focus on fashion, hair and makeup so much. Is the reason they always say, 'Express yourself!' it is in fact to own their feminine stereotypes. As if to say, 'Yea, I love fashion, BECAUSE it IS important. Because I DO take It and MYSELF seriously 🔥🔥🔥'. When you loove fashion, makeup and hair, it is because you love and embrace all which are true to you. I believe on this earth, this is what really matters, ironically, over maths and logic. Hence why I always love the Bratz, before it even became a trend again. I am so glad this day has come!!!
Bratz, Barbie and monster high all did that
@@Jessica.Shawnte don't forget Ever After High
Remember in HSM 3, where sharpay supposed to perform with troy but troy left in the middle of performance just to go find gabriella? Looking back at it, doesnt it feel like sharpay is the victim one here?
yes!
YES! I always felt so bad for her there.
its funny because I used to dislike sharpay but as I got older, I started to see myself in her. She's an ambitious wild person, why is that a bad thing? Shes so herself, and does what makes her feel good. I'm glad you did this synopsis.
is isnt? lol she was the only character who got her own spinoff movie which everyone seems to have forgotten in this comment section
Yes but also she has her fair share of problems let’s not completely write those off yA know ?
Why people saying she's justifying Sharpay's toxicity? She's talking about how they made the villain of the story a girly girl because apparently being girly is seen as a bad thing, which sucks because there are a lot of girly girls in the world that DO respect personal boundaries and respect the people around them. Being girly is just annoying to some people so they probably made her like that to make the audience hate her more. Sharpay did put effort into her practices and performances and she deserved to be respected for that instead of ridiculed by the rest of the school. And no offense but her voice is better than Gabriella's, she should've gotten all the leads
Being girly is not seen as bad, being arrogant, manipulative and mean is. How many Garbiellas have you seen "win" in school? I`ve personally seen zero, they get pushed to the periphery and/or bullied by a VERY similar "Sharpay" character. It is a very specific kind of a person I`ve always bumped into in life, and the experience was rarely pleasant, which had nothing to do with looks and all to do with personality. Toxic masculinity exists, the same way toxic femininity exists.
@@TheBackupUp The movie depiction is incredibly close to one type of a person that is very often encountered in life. So you haven`t seen extra girly female groups, bossing everyone around and being mean!? How many times have you seen a rock fan or an emo, who had her traits in school? Rarely. Those kind of girls are usually very feminine and it has become a stereotype, like it or not. In the movie they just made it obvious for everyone that person is a negative character and for plot purposes only, they made her "lose", which rarely happens in life.
There is no femininity demonization. Femininity in itself is not a bad trait, but here it is a part of a pattern. This is a very common TYPE, a whole package of a person which everyone knows and which usually carries negative energy. That`s all.
The gripe should be with the writers for making sharpay the way she was. However this creator is excusing her actions and taking them out of context of the story line as a whole
@@bleeka325 She's literally not, you must be deaf.
"She needs a little fabulous is that _so wrong?_ "
this is why sharpay's fabulous adventure is superior to the high school musical franchise and i will not hear otherwise. i never really liked hsm apart from the music and sharpay and ryan, but sharpay's film on the other hand is amazing in my opinion.
Exactly same!! As a kid hsm pretty much annoyed me because the characters imo were boring. I didn't necessarly like Sharpay either, but when i saw her movie i became obsessed. I don't know, ive watched hsm every time it was in tv, but comparatively, i watched her movie far more times and never got bored. Amazing!
plus Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure gave us hits like I'm Gonna Shine, My Boi and Me and The Rest of My Life 💯
She was a better person in her solo movie. By that time, she had grown up a little and stop being fixated on Troy. If Sharpay were a guy, her behavior towards Troy would be seen as threatening and creepy.
@@misspriss2482 I mean you have a point.
Is my favourite movie
I loved watching Sharpay go from a "mean girl" to "bestie😟💖" at the end, only to go back to being a "mean girl" in the next movie😭
“Cunning and intelligent, behind a mask of naïveté and allure” that hit
I never really cared for High School Musical, but I could watch Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure on repeat
i haven't seen that film in yeeeears i need to rewatch
saaame I loved her so much, still do, that movie is amazing
That movie made me go “OKAY MISS THING GO TO BROADWAY”💖
The only thing good about high school musical were the songs ngl
Same! I never got why everyone liked High School Musical so much when Disney Channel had so many better movies. I wasn't even a fan of Sharpay in HSM. But I somehow loved Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. I found the plot much more interesting
I didn't really like Sharpay as a kid, because she was so pushy with Troy, but I always felt soooo bad for her at the end of HSM2. I mean, that was horrible and then Troy and Ryan got her hopes up, just to stab her in the back. And what did she do? She stood beside the stage and clapped. Even as a kid who really believed in the "girly girls are bad"- stereotype, I admired Sharpay for how much of a good loser she was and how she handled every unfair defeat with grace.
Looking back, I think that this stereotype had a big effect on me. I never wanted to admit that I liked looking pretty or even tried to figure out my taste in clothing, because "Pfft, no, I don't care what I look like, I'm not like those girls!"
And I always liked performing in school plays or singing in front of an audience and stuff. But I would rather die than admit that I wanted to be in the spotlight. When the teacher was looking for someone to do a solo part, I never volunteered, even though no one else wanted to do it and everything inside me was screaming: Please pick me, I want to do it so badly!! I was just so scared that my classmates would think that I want attention. So I shot myself in the foot by saying nothing, acting like I didn't care and desperately hoping someone would ask me.
I never thought about it like that, but it could very well be that the message of high school musical is in part to blame for that. Troy and Gabriella never tried or really cared to get the leading roles. The only one who openly cared was Sharpay and she was constantly punished for it and never got what she wanted.
What a great lesson I learned! Thanks, HSM!
(Still can't help but love it, though)
Honestly same! I never wanted to be a girly girl but now I know my styles ( I might be a tomboy with softgirl ) and know that it’s okay and that it was so toxic to think that way
I have always been the same way. I always want to be on stage but I hate the thought of asking to be there - I have to be asked to do it or otherwise I feel like people will think I am just wanting attention
Okay but Troy had no idea that Sharpay was unaware of the song change. It was Ryan who backstabbed her. Troy was totally ready to sing with her.
@@rosiemcgosie7376 Yeah, that's fair. Still sucks for Sharpay though.
I don't think she does take every failure gracefully. Evidence for this is when Sharpay posted pictures of Gabrielle as a maths kid so that she wouldn't join the drama club and instead would join the maths team. All the time her egotistical personality which could be confused with confidence shines through she always thinks she is better than everyone else and thinks she deserves everything and her parents gave her that so not only is she vindictive egotistical and mean in general she's also spoilt and thinks that if she wants it she should have it that's why she always is so pushy with Troy and tries splitting Gabrielle and Troy up so that she can go out with him.
I know as a kid, we hated Sharpay because she was rude to people and other things, but now as an adult I actually admire her, and feel sorry for her.
What's admirable about her? She literally threw herself at a guy she knew was taken. She used Troy's future in an attempt to homewreck on Troy and Gabriella's relationship. She schemed in every movie, she's rude, mean, selfish, and spoiled. I don't know why you feel sorry for her
@Ks Sharpay always had ulterior motives. She didn't just want to sing with him. She tried to bribe him into being with her with a scholarship, opportunities, shoes, etc. Why do you think she even got him a job at her parent's country club? Why do you think she was so mad when Gabriella and his friends also got jobs? She was trying to get him alone. Did you notice every time she was around him, she was flirting with him? She knew he had a gf and still flirted with him. And then she banned everyone from participating in the talent show when Troy refused to sing with her. Sharpay was very manipulative.
@Ks Did you completely disregard everything I said? Sharpay did a lot of things. She was clearly jealous when she saw Gabriella as the new lifeguard and she was mad when she saw all of Troy and Gabriella's friends and then demands Fulton to fire them all except Troy. And she bullies Kelsi into giving her the song that she wrote for Gabriella. She also ditched Ryan for Troy. Then she banned everyone from participating in the talent show. Everything she did came back to bite her when Troy refused to sing with her and Ryan refused to sing with her. Her motive was to steal him and I don't why people think Sharpay was a victim.
@Ks Also ask yourself why was she buying Troy gifts? They weren't even close. They weren't really friends and he has a whole girlfriend. Why would she buy him gifts if she didn't have an ulterior motive behind it? And ask yourself why would she even want to sing with Troy? In the first movie, Sharpay was mad af when Troy and Gabriella got callbacks and tried to prevent them from auditioning. She did not want them to be in that play so why all of a sudden would she want to sing with him if she didn't have anything to gain?
And what’s especially annoying is when any female girly presenting characters are shown to have a typically masculine interest, they are demonized for it and people assume that she is only doing it for male attention.
@Curly-n-Girly nope, especially not teenage girls or woc! It’s so frustrating.
Am I the only one who thinks that Gabriella is also girly. Like she’s not super into pink or anything but she doesn’t reject typically “girly” things either, she mostly wears cute dresses in the 2nd and 3rd movies and she’s definitely not a tomboy or someone who “looks down” on girly girls.
I would argue she’s more girly since she’s not loud and domineering. If anything I’d say Gabriella haters sometimes demonize femininity by calling her “whiny” for being emotionally vulnerable and “boring” for not being loud about her talents. I too admittedly find her boring as a character in terms of entertainment value, but if the characters were real, I think I could vibe with her.
@@amandaa7708 exactly this! I completely agree and I think it’s interesting that in the attempt to bring up one woman, we feel the need to put down another. Whenever there’s a Sharpay and Gabrielle debate, people always find a way to bring down Gabrielle in the name of “demonizing pink is misogynistic”, whilst also bringing down another woman for exemplifying traits that they don’t find “worthy” like as you said, being “whiny” and “boring”. The two should be able to coexist without people, especially other women, rushing to analyze which of them is “better”.
@@amandaa7708 Also Gabrielle was kinder than Sharpay. Sharpay liked to push people around
Yeah, the diference is that Gabriela was a socially acepted kind of feminine
From my experience, whatever was demonized in the movie (as a whole) stays in the movie. I have never seen a Gabriella "win" in school - she usually gets pushed back to the social periphery, while the Sharpays are looked up to - both from girls and boys.
I have always had a Sharpay in most of my classes. The problem was not the blond hair, her being confident or very girly - the problem was her being arrogant, two-faced, manipulative and usually a bully.
That very type of a person exists, and yes, in my cases it was always a girl, sadly. People are so caught up in destroying stereotypes that they start glamorizing bad traits. Do we need beautiful, blonde, confident female role models - yes, but privileged and arrogant bullies? Nobody fckn needs that.
JUSTICE FOR SHARPAY!!! And let's be honest, the only reason Troy and Gabriella got the parts in the school plays and the spotlights in all productions is because they were trying to go for this "let's break the steriotypes" moral lesson, by having a nerd and a jock getting the roles, but like... Sharpay and Ryan are theater kids, they have been studying and practicing singing, dancing and acting they entire lives. Just between us, we know they got the lead roles. Also, I totally get Sharpay because I too would be mad if I had been robed of my deserved place because of this straight clownery agenda
Oh, but in defense of my boy Ryan on the second movie, Sharpay kinda deserved the betrayal cause she spent the entire movie putting him aside in favor of Troy, so he was understandbly pissed. But then again, he helped out Troy, so... damn it, Ryan
Agreed, she had the betrayal coming to her but that also allowed her to grow even more
@kilaishere avakin Yes, yes she is what's your point?
I got mad at that betrayal part. Made Ryan seem he had no heart and only cared for Troy and Gabriella that literally didn't deserve the role. I much rathered Sharpay to make up for her actions at the end of the movie and play the role as she is supposed to (without Troy) . SHE NEVER GOT THE MAIN ROLE BECAUSE OF THE NERD AND JOCK! So pissed.
ok thank you for saying this bc it was literally the premise of HSM1 **DONT** Stick to the Status Quo. Cliques dont matter - the jocks can sing and cook - the nerds can dance. We’re trying to rewrite the whole movie😂
I dress like Sharpy, I wear pink all the time, skirts, accessories that are laced and glittery. I often am seen as rude or narcissistic, even tho I’m pretty shy and extremely insecure. I hate the stereotype of ‘girly=rude’ it makes me not want to dress that makes me feel confident. I used to have blonde hair when I bleached it and I loved it, but when I had blonde hair all people would say was that I was dumb and rude. I was actually bullied by a girl like Gabriella. My bully was smart, quiet in front of others, and seen as innocent, I was painted as the bully, after all how could the smart girl be the bully? I cannot see Sharpy as the villain
She's the villain in a very particular way, but in terms of reality there is no villain in high school musical. There are just teenagers doing things they would do.
It’s an old, common thing in these types of movies for girls that the pink, feminine character is the villain/mean girl. The main girl will wear other colours like; blue, green, yellow or other non-pink options. If the main girl wears pink it’s pastel and understated to the villain’s hot pink. Villainy in these movies is coded as being a very feminine, powerful, ambitious leader who is a woman. I started picking up on this as a kid. This kind of portrayal is why NLOGs are a thing.
On the NLOG thing im not sure. Im sure people have all kinds of stories, but for me the acceptance of the NLOG title, came from constantly being told that, by boys, teachers and honestly my family. For years ive seen it as something was wrong with me and I wasnt a ''good enough girl'', until i got fed up and decided to just embrace it. I think these movies for teenage girls were made to just reinforce the opinions of grown up men in young girls.
what are nlogs?
@@uncreativename6210 not like other girls
Don't know. It's true, being a woman means to be looked at from another view. But pink and a lot of makeup don't mean "very feminine".
@@kelly4483 ah thanks
Sharpay was originally supposed to be black but when Ashley Tisdale auditioned, they changed the character to be Caucasian instead.
wow i didn't know that!!
that would've been a very different movie...
@@LKTori Yeah really. I don't know what'd be worse, taking a role from a black woman and actor, or villainizing one of the few black characters in the show. Ashley Tisdale played the hell out of that role, I mean *the range* of that woman, but I truly don't know what'd be for the best.
@@juliaostlund9360 they imagined her to be a certain way but an actress played her so well they decided to change her to fit the actress more. it happens loads of items, from just a poc tan girl to a black woman. korean to black, white to hispanic, its not a bad thing
That gives it another dimension and makes all sense. If she was black no one would be trying to save her and in fact point at the role being just another instance of the demonization of black women
When I was in middle school, I actually watched HSM mainly for Sharpay and downright HATED Gabriella. I felt awful for her. Sharpay worked for everything she had her entire life, and people acted like everything was just handed to her. It wasn't. Sharpay had genuine talent and was seriously dedicated to acting. She was a seriously talented woman and this new -insert explicit word here- shows up and literally takes everything from her. No wonder she wanted to see Gabriella fail. I would, too.
Replying to 2 year old comment but. Tbf. Sharpay isn't shown as working for everything her entire life, in fact it's mentioned several times throughout the movies that her parents are often the reasons she and ryan did well in the early movies (I'm sure it's mentioned they fund the school theatre, and obviously thye literally own the resort in HSM2). And while she is dedicated, a lot of the time her theatre ability is shown as more insincere and done for attention beyond anything else. While she's a great singer, her actual talent is debatable when compared with someone like Ryan.
Not saying Sharpay isn't an awesome character and she deserves all the love she's getting these days for being entertaining as heck, but to portray some rich kid that has hand outs from daddy and does nearly everything for attention as a downtrodden, hard working woman is a little ehhh, especially when compared vs a child of an immigrant family who didn't even want to be involved and got dragged into stuff by others.
The villainising of femininity is the issue, not "sharpay is actually perfect hard working boss babe who is amazing and talented, and achieved everything on her own merit until those nasty lil immigrants came and stole her jeeerbs from her". I think it's more genuine to assess the sad reasons behind WHY she seeks attention in things like theatre and seems insincere in her ability to interact with others, especially with how absent her parents seem to be.
I think everyone should have a fair chance at getting a role in the schools musical. How much a person has worked does not guarantee a lead role, if that were the case then that wouldn’t be fair. Gabriella had every right to audition, just like any other new kid in school who wants to make new friends and explore new interests. It’s not her fault she was more likable and had a natural talent in theatre.
The only thing I think you can truly fault Sharpay for is her sense of entitlement when it came to Troy. Even though it was clear that he was happy with Gabriella she did everything in her power to win him over. In the second movie she got him hired at her parent's country club so she could keep an eye on him and showered him with scholarship/college offers and gifts. And in HSM3 she attempted to convince Troy that he is the only thing holding back Gabriella when it came time for her to go to college early.
I have always liked Sharpay more than anyone else, and I didn't realise why until I grew up.
She is focused, dedicated, hardworking and ambitious, qualities that get you through the world.
But she was never once recognised for any of that.
How are we supposed to relate to people who just got handed everything? Not only the part in the musical, but opportunities, jobs, love, OPPORTUNITIES!!!
"But they were middle class modest humble people" please, he was the star of the school and she was his girlfriend.
Yes, Sharpay had money, but those didn't buy her the things that were HANDED to Troy and Gabriella.
Also not to mention that Sharpay, knowing that musical theatre was what she wanted to do, made sure to use the school's program to practice and improve during her transition phase. And the others not only degraded her at first, but then invaded her space and managed to rob her of the spot light she had worked so hard for.
I love Sharpay Evans and she deserved none of the s hit they threw her.
Wow this is long
what was handed to them? jobs? boohoo sharpay didn't get a job because she didn't need a job nor did she want one. the fact all of her peers worked through their ENTIRE summer break for money while she was by the pool with her group of minions. the only brightside was they were working together and even that she took from them. she literally changed the songs for herself she was selfish.
@@mags506 "Sharpay didn't get a job because she didn't need a job" ... she was the one who gave them the jobs? (Yes technically she only ment for Troy to get it but still)
That's the whole point.
That was her property. Of course she was spending her summer chilling at home.
And about changing the songs:
she was a kid. And the one thing she wanted was for Troy to sing ONE song with her.
Yes, she was selfish, nobody is denying it. But she got Troy a job, connection with people who could give him a career, AND invited him to dine with her parents and other rich costumers. All for ONE opportunity to sing together.
I mean...?
Honestly, I doubt Troy & Gabriella weren’t actually upper middle class. We’re introduced to them at a winter resort over the holidays. They’re zoned to the same public school as Sharpay. I know Troy’s dad is a teacher, but maybe he gets paid super well given the high income students who go to the school. Sharpay is definitely better off, but it’s not like Gabriella and Troy were seriously struggling. High School Musical wasn’t really attempting to make a class commentary, or else everything wouldn’t have been so easy for T & G.
@@pearldiver6949 I... totally forgot the dad-teacher/coach thing. Oh well.
The thing is I very often see Sharpay hater mostly bring up money issues when arguing about her and T&G (see previous "she didn't want nor need a job" comment for example), about how "shE hAs mOnEY AnD thEY dON't", so I wanted to immediately address and clear out that point, underlining that REGARDLESS of her money, Sharpay never used it to win auditions or scholarships, so their point doesn't hold much.
@Supreme King I know? (Why should I not respond?) I never said he HAD to sing with her, but seeing as he considered himself her friend, a d, again, after doing him all those favours, the least Troy could do was THE ONE thing Sharpay asked of him: to sing ONE SONG with her.
And that's exactly what he was prepared to do at the end of movie 2.
After agreeing throughout the whole film, he said "I'm a man of my word, we are friends, so yes, let's sing together this once."
The only reason he didn't was because Ryan and the others changed the songs and had Gabriella sing instead.
But Troy was ready to willingly sing with Sharpay anyway.
I’m a blonde white girl, and seeing people who look like me always be portrayed as the ‘dumb, mean girl’ took a toll on me as a kid. I would make fun of other girls for liking feminine things (yup, internalized misogyny), I hated the fact that I enjoyed wearing dresses and i liked the color pink. Now that I’m older I proudly say my favourite colour is pink, and I want everything with glitter, but back then I was very misogynystic and hateful, all because I didn’t want to end up like Sharpay (or any other ‘dumb blonde’ on tv).
Same here. It was to the point I was uncomfortable wearing dresses or even scared but now I realised that I love skirts and dresses and I'm trying to feel comfortable in them again. Also, I'm using pink glitter wherever I can!
Blond white girls are also perpetrators of white privilege and racism.
@@transfemme5749 Pretty much lmao. It’s ok to be feminine but blonde whites girls aren’t oppressed in any way
@@transfemme5749 Yeah but that doesn't make it okay to antagonize them for being born that way, and the first comment was her sharing the negative impact of stereotypes that she had internalized from the media. She wasn't saying as if her struggles have more weight compared to POCs struggles, nor did she day she was oppressed. Or is it mandatory for her and people like her to acknowledge her privilege before sharing their story? Seems redundant considering that her comment is on topic. Harmful stereotypes have their effects on everyone, what was the point of you making this comment? You can't just blame blonde white girls for simply *existing*. You can't take out your frustrations of white privilege and racism towards someone who has done nothing but exist, completely unprovoked.
@@Sofiaode18 Jeez, are you seriously getting so outraged over being called out forwhite privilege?
Poc and trans folk like me are sick and tired of people like yourself who come on here with your 'all lives matter' crap. You are part of the problem.
I always felt bad for liking Sharpay as a my favorite character. Everyone was all gaga for Gabriela, meanwhile I just wanted to be as fabulous as Sharpay while someone fetches me my Jimmy Choo flip flops 🥰
Now, could she have humbled herself? Absolutely. I felt like that’s where her “punishments” came from. She wasn’t humble, attitude sucked when she couldn’t get her way, and was very manipulative at times. But eventually she learns her lesson.
Honestly, I always wanted to be as girly as Sharpay. I thought she was amazing and I looked up to her because she never really cared what others thought. It was only later when my sister said how she was the villain that I realized how messed up the movies were. Here you had a feminine girl with confidence and ambition, and yet these good traits are “bad” in the movie.
Okay but people need to stop justifying the fact that she was mean and refused to take no for an answer from Troy, whom she clearly made uncomfortable. That's a dangerous trait, and we have to stop romanticizing it.
^this!!!
Don’t worry, that movie was from 00’s, nowadays, along with the social media drama, we know it is incorrect and shall not be portrayed as good in audiovisual content... Oh, wait, I forgot about Miraculous Ladybug... NVM. WE HAVE LEARNED NOTHING.
No one justifies this.
I agree! As much as she was offering him scholarships and a job, she was still leaning into him even thought he was happily in a relationship...like no 💀
exactly, people overlook all the awful things she did just because she wore pink. ridiculous.
I didn’t love nor disliked her as a child, even when watching HSM as a kid i could recognize how the other students treated her at times was unjustifiable
It’s funny tho, when thinking about it (altho not really relevant) her two main Disney roles were as Sharpay and Maddie. In the Suite Life, Ashley plays a smart blonde and during the episodes when they were doing the hsm play, an ongoing joke was all the characters not believing Maddie when she would say “you know, a lot of ppl say I look like sharpay” obviously Ashley played both roles. And she was ignored both as Sharpay and Maddie trying to play Sharpay
As a child, I disliked her when she would do manipulative and mean things (and when she was pursuing Troy because I shipped Gabriella x Troy) but I liked her the rest of the time. I wasn’t able to recognize that the other characters treated her really unfairly sometimes because I grew up without boundaries or any healthy relationships really but I always thought she was really cool when she accepted her losses with grace.
My favorite character was the piano girl
Ok ik this is unrelated but: Ashley was also the voice of Candice from Phineas and Ferb lol
Its funny that I often find myself loving ultra feminine girls - not in a romantic way, but maybe as if I was secretly missing something and subconsciously wanting to have this feminine x factor myself.
@Curly-n-Girly ❤🙋
If your feminine and bold your always the villain, I’ve learned that through my life.
Sharpay is literally THE most ICONIC character in film period
Sharpay used to remind me of Paris Hilton... I grew up despising Paris. Now that I’m older I’ve grown to loooove Paris’ drive and ambition. She’s an amazing woman who uses her notoriety to help animals, and better herself from her past trauma.
I agree that Sharpay's femininity is used to demonize her in misogynistic ways, and I am SO relieved when I see movies that subvert these ideas (Promising Young Woman and it's bubble-gum/pastel aesthetic for eg), but the way that Sharpay presents herself is also a result of her wealth and whiteness (which I think this movie does a relatively good job of challenging), which is the same case for Regina and the plastics in Mean Girls. Oc, these movies don't do a great job of talking about wealth in a meaningful way, but these characters come from notably rich and powerful families. Sharpay manipulates people and assumes that she's going to be in the spotlight because she feels entitled to these things. Also, her ability to focus solely on fine arts is tied to her class. The reality is that a person like Sharpay would not be denied acceptance to Juilliard or a place in the school musical because she is blonde and girly, but I agree that her femininity should not be used to vilify her.
I’m so glad Sharpay is finally getting the love and appreciation that she’s always deserved.
But she still is mean
I LOVED sharpay as a kid. She was eccentric and fun and covered in pink and this girl Gabriella just walks up and steals her spot after she showed up and showed out at ALL of her performances. I was not having it.
not to mention how Gabriella always left and came back like GIRL stop✋
And you almost always see the blonde female character as the villain because apparently according to society blonde female characters can only be shallow, self absorbed, dumb, and pretty (Or sexy). As a blonde girl that has always made me feel terrible about myself. So much so that I ended up pretending to hate make up and clothes eventhough there was apart of me that really loved that stuff. I stopped answering questions during class because of the fear of accidentally getting the questions wrong and people just assuming I got it wrong because I'm just a dumb blonde girl. I'm glad that there are people that are now addressing the problem with demonizing femininity and the horrible stereotypes of blonde girls.
2021 is the year we break down our internalised misogynies and smash the dumb blonde stereotypye!
@@elleliteracy yes and to end society dictating people how they should live their lives.
YES!! I recently ranted about the trend in Disney princesses becoming "stronger" by literally becoming more masculine and how it's still misogyny if your heroine can't be feminine while being strong
Girl I’m blonde very talkative and bubbly and I feel like people often patronise me and expect me to be stupid because I like girly things. My bosses my teachers and my coworkers all do it and it’s so annoying but I’m a straight A/A* student and I’m usually around the top of my classes so when people find that out they always seem shocked like it’s so shocking for a blonde girl to be clever
its why legally blonde is the best movie ever made
“if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gon’ love somebody else?”
- RuPaul
My dad always says, the best type of love is self love. He has a friend who is what people say is “obsessed with herself” simply because she has lots of photo’s of herself, including huge albums filled with images just of her (and she carries it around everywhere. she always makes you go through it when you visit her, even if you’ve seen it countless times before) but my dad said “It’s good to have self love like this.” And that’s why they’re such good friends. She’s a really chill person, and I honestly find her iconic.
Idk, there’s more to femininity than shopping and wearing pink so I think labelling it in such a simplistic and shallow manner is rather offensive to women. She never gave me a “feminine” vibe rather just some rich child that needed to understand the difficulties and unfairness of life and that was her character development throughout the movies. At least in my opinion, as a history teacher in the ancient field their is more to a woman’s femininity than her looks and wanting to be popular/sexy etc. cleopatra was feminine yet most concluded she wasn’t attractive but rather feminine through her intellect and speech. Sharpay is feminine but she was very disconnected to the real world
Read the pinned comment. Also attractiveness is subjective and most of the people who said that Cleopatra wasn't attractive were her political enemies, same with Anne Boleyn.
Honestly moved me to tears.. as someone who actually really identifies with sharpay I'm very happy we're starting to realize that we don't need to demonize femininity!!!!!!!
But Vanessa is also feminine. The thing about high school musical is that, in order to hava villain, they need someone that can operate in a power system, and those who are rich are more powerful than the poor ones. That's why she is demonized, because she is not only more powerful than her classmate, but also uses her power to keep an "class system" and the status quo that benefits her. Besides from that, I think they did fair to her in the end. It was obvious that she would never become a friend of Vanessa or Troy, that would be unrealistc. Putting her in an "All About Eve" type of storyline on the third film gave her the redemption she needed, since we rooted for her.
yea i think this is definitely the smartest comment i've seen in this section lol
God, read the pinned comment. She never says that Vanessa and Taylor aren't feminine.
I’m just sitting here wanting everything Sharpay has. The clothes, the locker, the vanity, the dog, everything. I love it💖✨
I thought one of the reasons she was portrayed as a villain in the first film was because she wanted to keep restricting people to their stereotypes? Also, the arrogance or diva aspects of her, though I don't remember if they were actually in her character, or if she was just called them.
But I agree that if she's the only hyper feminine character then it can play into a stereotype of that girliness be part of what makes her seem negative or shallow.
I guess the point also needed to be made that being hyper-feminine is just as legit and equal to be science-y, or sporty. Maybe with a character who is just as feminine, but seen as more sweet and positive.
Sharpay is a pretty cool badass though.
I'm still watching the video but I had to pause to come here and comment about the way the more "likeable" characters rarely wear pink. That influences little girls just as much as the rest of the characters' traits.
When I was little, almost all the movies I watched demonized the girly girls and the color pink so much I started to feel ashamed of being like that and of said color (my favorite one at the time). I literally forced myself into being more "normal" and plain (aka less girly) because everywhere I looked towards, those things were being related to the villains and of course, as a little being, I didn't want to be looked at like the "nice" characters looked at the antagonists.
It took me so long to understand that there was nothing wrong with being like that and liking pink that I just couldn't shift back to what I used to be. I just didn't find in myself the will to not be plain anymore because I got less looked at when I was like that and not getting attention = being a nice character in my teenage head. It really sucks.
That's why Legally Blonde is such a great movie. Elle is a fashionable girly girl and at the same time she's so smart she got into Harvard and graduated as the best student of the class, because liking fashion and pink doesn't equal dumb or evil.
(By the way, this is just my opinion but Gabriella was really boring and so was Troy. Sharpay and Ryan were life of the party and my favorites. Without them, I doubt they'd have gotten the second movie. There IS a way of making characters non-extravagant and interesting at the same time, just like there IS a way of making characters nice and girly at the same time).
Edit: Just finished the video and I completely agree with you. Sharpay's been very wrongly villanized both by the characters and some of the audience. The shitty part is that many kids can't see this because of the way she's portraited as a horrible person when she's nothing but an extremely dedicated person to her passion. It's only when grown up that it becomes clear to most people who she truly is).
I totally agree with you! Completely! Since I was a little girl I always had this kind of sensation about pink and now I realize that probably one of the reasons why I kept hating pink during my teens was because I've always seen it as a "too girly", "too vanity" color for swallow girls. But I was wrong, we cannot define people by the colors they want to dress! And all this thing about the "blond-so-stupid-or-mean" girl must end, is really ANNOYING! Sharpay has always been an icon for me, I admired her passion and determination in what she loves, on the other hand I considered Troy and Gabriella a little immature and snob. Especially in the scene during S&R first audition in HSM1
omg me too, as a kid i used to love pink but as i started to watch more movies i noticed people always villainize the more feminine characters, i didn't think much of it first but i was subconcsiously starting to hate pink. I refused to wear anything that resembles femininity because that was what everyone else was doing and when i wanted to be more feminine and tell my friends they'd literally avoid me saying i'll turn into "a Sharpay"
I don't think Sharpay is portrayed as the bad guy because of her feminity/confidence/will to succeed at all, when improving herself wasn't enough she tryed to lower others, and that's why she was the modern villain. With this said, I loved the character and the actress portraying her, one of my absolute fav in HSM
I get what you mean and I see where you are coming from, Sharpay had a lot of moments where she stooped low when she should have just backed away, but at the same time I get where she is coming from as a character - she's been a theater kid her entire life and took part in every production her school had, there doesn't seem like there is much room for improvement there since she had more than just the talent for it, she also worked towards her goal. And then two novices come along, are late for the audition, don't show any interest in the show and yet still get the lead roles. I understand why Sharpay was furious and she had every right to be.
@@Erika-xm2mi still that doesnt really have to do with her being feminine, plus gabriella herself was pretty feminine.
@@bub9199 Watch the video. Gabriella is more of the acceptable feminine. Like with the white and all, she clearly is coded as the pure, innocent type of feminine. Wheras Sharpay is clearly coded as a girly girl and is the only girly girl at the front of the franchise.
i think the point SHOULD have been that writers like to make their malicious characters hyper feminine and associate villains' bad actions with said hyper femininity, but with that being said, this video does manipulate things and go out of its way to justify sharpay's toxic behavior. people disliked her bc she was a bad person, not bc she was girly. the problem isn't people disliking her as this video claims, but that writers will purposefully make their unlikable characters hyper feminine or their hyper feminine characters unlikable.
She was definitely a victim painted as a villain & thank you for creating such a great depiction of that
She's really not
@@thelovelyone2828 Actually, *she is*
Love this! I’d love to see more analyses like these on your channel! ☺️
Slight correction her brother didn’t abandon her, SHE abandoned him for Troy and he went out and found people who wanted to be around him. She didn’t get them jobs she didn’t even know they would be there, she got Troy a job and he petitioned for his friends and they didn’t know she gave Troy the job until later, she didn’t even want them to be there. I don’t think she’s a villain but I don’t think she’s a victim either especially when you’re chasing somebody else’s man and trying to buy their affection
I mean I was so mad when people start blaming Ryan in order to take Sharpay's side. Please, she's not an angel. She has more depth than just a girl villain, but she's not an angel.
Right I like her and I respect her but she is not innocent 😂. I like how flawed she is and does not get away with everything Scott free.
THIS
Exactly and she basically told the boss to make them miserable so they could quit and she’d have Troy to herself like lol she wasn’t doing any favors unless they benefitted her
This is the English essay I wish I could write😂
omg i wrote a college essay on hsm if i can do it you can too!!
@@elleliteracy awww ur too kind ❤️
@@elleliteracy How was it?
excellent video that analyses and examines an often overlooked aspect of the franchise. good job dude
Good interpretations. Disagree with some of your points about the portrayal of blondes in cinema. I agree with you that writers use the dumb blonde stereotype often, and it’s definitely present in HSM, but let’s be honest, it’s no longer a persisting trope and hasn’t held white women back from taking up space in the academy. White blonde, ginger, and brunette women alike are highly praised and romanticized in film and society. I’m not gonna start boo hooing for the blonde girls.
Yeah, no. Sharpay was not punished for being feminine or ambitious. She was punished for how she goes about achieving her goals. There's a right way and a wrong way to go about getting what you want. She did it the wrong way. Sharpay deliberately sabotaged the competition so that she could win. As a matter of fact, the other characters set Troy up to look bad so that they could keep Gabriella and Troy apart and they were called out on it. They apologized and tried to make amends. Sharpay never does. In the second movie, Sharpay tries to get Gabriella in trouble and steal Troy away from her to win the talent show. She even ditches her own brother. Again, nothing wrong about her having goals. It's how she set out to get them. In the third movie, she has grown somewhat and has finally stopped being fixated on Troy. She still tries to get Gabriella out of the way, but is tricked by her assistant. The movie allows Sharpay to triumph anyway though. In her solo movie, she is just as ambitious but by now she has become a better person and is rewarded by getting the lead in the Broadway show. Oftentimes your goals don't make you the villain. Your methods do. It has nothing to do with femininity.
This!!
Were her method particularly awful? Sure she's done some shady things, but she that doesn't totally outweigh the good things.
That's not quite the point though. The point is her femininity was basically a tool to help establish how awful she apparently was. She could have been poor, unpopular, etc., and could have done the same bad things and people might have been more sympathic. But they used her popularity, love of fashion, and riches to make her seem shallower and worse than she really was.
I mean I could see why people would hate on Sharpe but what bothers me is everyone hating on Gabriella what is wrong with people I guess it really bugs me when they hate on her butt I don’t know that’s how I feel I’m sorry I am not team Sharpay I’m team Gabriella
To be honest, I like how Sharpay didn’t get her “happy ending” because honestly all those movies did was make kids like me think we had the same chance as someone like Sharpay because we thought they were all just on the same par but in the real world Sharpay and Ryan would’ve been put in solely because of their finances.
All American teen TVs and or movies especially sequels talk about how much the protagonist wants to go to this certain elite school for college, but over in countries like Australia, we don’t have that. You go to whichever university accepts you and even if you have a preference that doesn’t mean much because if you’re not getting a 99 score, you ain’t getting anywhere near the enrolment centre.
Sharpay not getting into Julivard, and accepting it with pride and being proud of Ryan still was what made Sharpay unique. Girls like Sharpay always get what they want in films & tv so the change was a nice shock for me.
I love Sharpay because she makes me so confident. I've always been a big girly girl ever since I was born, I've always loved pink, skirts, diamonds, dresses, heels, glitter, and anything that is considered "girly" for society. Most girls are my school aren't as girly as I am and will sometimes mock me in anyway because of it. Literally one girl decided my nickname would be "pink". The same girl was shocked that my bookbag, pencil case, nails, handsantizers, and scissors were all pink. She then continued to make fun of me for it, hence my stupid nickname. Also a lot of people don't think I'm smart, no one labels me as a smart kid, or calls me smart when I am very smart and higher education. I always get good grades, most tests I passed, and I get answers right so much and they know but they don't care because I'm girly. My definitely most favorite day at school was some kind of national cancer day, so we and to to wear pink and I took it too "far". I wore a pink shirt, pink pants, pink shoes, pink nails, pink hair tie, pink socks, and even pink underwear. And it made so happy. People stared but no one was able to say anything because we were supposed to were pink. I then decided to stop giving a fuck about what people think and decided that I will were whatever I want. Months later, I became so comfortable with wearing whatever I wanted to. I broke the dress code multiple times because I always wore very short shorts everyday once it got warmer. But do I care? No, because thats what I want to wear. And I will always be confident and comfortable with whatever I want to wear. 🌸
the way you really enunciate your T's is very adorable
as a kid i always loved pink 'girly' things etc but disney and that type of movies always made them seem like some type of evil eventually i started to feel like liking girly things and pink are bad but now im looking at it...why did they make us thing this way
Me too i hated pink for a while as a kid cause i didnt wanna be seen like that stereptypical female one that they make out to be so bad. Our world is so awful to women.
well now you know how guys feel when yall make masulinity look like a bad thing. ¨tOxIC mASculINity¨
Have you ever seen a Disney Princess movie? Weren't people saying their movies too girly before? That's why some people hated Snow White and Cinderella,etc
🤷♂️
@@bm-mx5tk not because of the color pink but because of serious issues like what's happening in West Africa and the middle East. Also people bully people for not wanting to be "girly" and that's WAY more common,this is why girly stuff is viewed this way now. If you want to see fem characters who are written well read Honey So Sweet or Skip Beat! I found this comment section to be terribly one sided. People aren't taking account how old the movie is and what was going on in popculture at the time.
@@jeffreypoh6181 as much as I agree that the "ALl MeN aRe TRaaAaAsH" mentality sucks and it's dangerous, I must politely say that this isn't about you. This is a video about Sharpay, and the portrayal of femininity. Don't get involved in matters that do not concern you like that, man.
idk why i used to think she was the villain, i used to dislike her but watching the film again, she's just a girl with sass and has fashion sense
Yess this was exactly me!! Little me fell right into the trap🤣😭
you mean other than the fact she threw her literal twin brother under the bus? manipulated troy with a "nice guy" mindset? treated everyone like they were peasants and below them because she was wealthy and they had to work through their summer break? yea, ok.
@Clareeex1649 It boggles my mind how people can just gloss over these things. I never felt that she was demonized purely because of her femininity (though that was definitely a part of it), but because she acted manipulative, dishonest, entitled and with disregard for other people's wants and needs. Same goes for her costume which was mostly a critique of an excessive display of wealth and luxury. I mean she definitely deserved better writing. But man, she's not like some misunderstood poor soul just trying to live her life peacefully.
I remember seeing a lot of myself in Sharpay's character growing up; the stereotypical girly demeanor and hobbies, focus on aesthetics and the lifelong dedication to pursuit of their goals. The fact a perfectly normal and acceptable form of behavior and mindset was portrayed to be undesirable and futile in such a famous franchise is saddening for young girls. Femininity does not equal shallowness, or failure.
True that the movies showed sharpay as having a dream/goal. But the message hsm is trying to send is that manipulation and scheming is not the way to achieve those dreams/goals.
I thought this was really insightful!! Thank you so much!!
Sharpay: Gets the wildcats jobs and schooling opportunities despite them consistently being cruel to her.
Wildcats: OMG Sharpay is so terrible!
lets not be biased here cause Sharpay got them all jobs just to get closer to Troy, that was her plan all along also in the movie she tells the boss to make their job harder and harder so they could quit, all of these favors she did wasnt because she was an angel, she was clearly doing it so it could benefit her...although i do agree that the wildcats were incredibly rude sometimes specially when they would make fun of her in the first movie cause she was a theater kid, like if thats smth bad when it clearly isnt and shes just passionate about performing just like they were passionate about basketball
@@angelizespino6776
Did she even want them all to get jobs? I thought she threw a fit when she found out Gabriella was the lifeguard.
@@amandaa7708 no, actually she told the boss to hire just troy bolton and do whatever it takes and then she got mad cause to get troy bolton he had to give jobs to the wildcats too cause sharpay's mom said it and then she told the boss that she wanted them all out except troy and i quote her own words "make them wanna quit"
it’s like you’ve never seen the movies, she only wanted Troy to receive a job and was upset everyone else was hired.
I'm not sure I agree that she's the victim, I think the film is actually trying to get across is that Sharpay is self-absorbed, controlling, and kinda mean honestly. I think it's her intentions that make her a villain, not necessarily her ambition.
Plus i don't get why people are mad when Troy gave her the cold shoulder, i mean she chose to do stuff for him but that doesn't automatically make him owe her anything when he didn't even ask for it and was shown to be uncomfortable with that stress.
@@anonymoususer9197 I think she helped him get the job if he helkped her with a duet which he didnt do i agree that she didnt desevre to be his girlfiriend for that but him not upholfing hois end of the deal is bad
@@LexifromZargon that is true if they had a deal go through with it but I've seen a lot of the fandom act like he owes her his soul now. But you're 1000000% right.
THIS HAS VALIDATED MY CHILDHOOD OPINIONS IN EVERYWAY
Thank you for this video ! It was super interesting I learned so much !
She just never cared about what others thought of her. She wasn’t worried about that mess. She had a goal set in her head and knew what she wanted her future to be and went for it. I looked up to her for that. Never thought she was the villain.
i think the movie just needed an antagonist to be interesting and she fulfilled it. if she were truly a villian, the movie series would have made her fail and become like a mcdonald's worker forever achieving absolutely nothing. but instead not only was she consistently a co-star in the entire franchise quietly still succeeding, there was even a spinoff movie made about her character in which her determination caught her broadway stardom but everyone in this comment section and the girl analyzing her seems to be forgetting
I guess people don't like when someone doesn't have any humility.
I knew a girl like that. She's talented, and she works hard on her craft, absolutely true. But she makes sure to push that into everyone's line of sight to get all the praise and attention. Even among peers. Complains about how her peers are not very good, then somehow ends up complaining that she doesn't have any friends.
Talent is good. Confidence in your art and self-promotion are good. But you need one foot on the ground and make sure that you treat people around you with respect. I think this was the main problem with Sharpay. (I only saw the first movie sry)
Facts🔥🔥🔥 Sharpay is a great character when we also talk about her flaws. She does the same thing in HSM2. I never remember the third lol
I’m so happy this has finally been discussed 💅🏽🥺!!💓
Sharpay was my favorite character in High School Musical!! Thanks for making this video