It was my mother who introduced me to Grease. Reluctantly sitting down in front of what I considered to be an “ancient” film (only a decade older than myself), I quickly realised its appeal… and fell in love with John Travolta.
But what Grease actually left me with, rather than a juvenile appreciation for men in high-waisted trousers, was some lessons on how to nail life that otherwise I might have had to actually learn myself.
If you really want to be critical, you could say Grease, released June 16 1978, is a film steeped in patriarchal values, about a young woman who finds herself cruelly rejected and mocked by the guy with whom she had a summer fling, only to be told by her girlfriends that it’s because she’s frigid and boring. So she changes herself entirely, takes up smoking and drinking and lands the lad, in between various episodes of catcalling, slut-shaming and bullying.
But if you look harder, you’ll see that doesn’t tell the whole story, and I now live much of my life consulting the soundtrack of this movie before acting on anything. Well, not really, but still. In celebration of the iconic musical’s 40th Anniversary, I hereby share Grease’s ultimate life lessons…
1. Toxic masculinity is no fun
This high school musical is riddled with toxic masculinity. Danny has to pretend he’s never met Sandy before when she tries to say hello to him in front of his fellow T-Birds, men treat women like conquests all round but they’re also unable to show affection for one another, as evidenced by when Kenickie and Danny have “a moment” and hug, and the rest of the lads look on disapprovingly, causing the chaps to style it out with masculine coughs and such.
Locker-room chat is rife, as the boys share (mostly false) sex stories in order to feel like one of the lads.
The characters learn that toxic masculinity is just holding them back, and Danny realises he loves Sandy despite her ankle-length skirt and prim hair, donning a Letterman jacket and laughing off the shock of the T-Birds as he tries to trick her into thinking he’s a stand-up guy. By the end, all the men and women are hugging, singing, and (somehow miraculously) flying through the air.
2. Slut shaming is not ok
When Rizzo believes she has accidentally fallen pregnant, she walks back into school to laughter, whispers and turned backs. Not an ideal welcome.
But instead of allowing the slut shaming to penetrate her thick skin, Rizzo sings about how enjoying a healthy sex life is nothing to be ashamed about and how societal double-standards are pitted against women. “There are worse things I could do” is the ultimate clapback to slut shaming. After all, mistakes happen.
Rizzo’s character, by far the most complex in the film, allows women to be complex and vulnerable whilst still being strong enough to take control of their own lives.
3. Education is not to be overlooked
While most of us saw Frenchie’s pink hair as an iconic beauty moment in film to be eternally copied, it was, in fact, a mistake.
Dropping out of her classes to attend beauty school, Frenchie soon learns that the big bad world isn’t as easy as just sitting in class staring at a blackboard (it was the Seventies!) When sitting at a diner one evening, her guardian angel sings to her to “wipe off that angel face and go back to high school”. He is creepy, but he has a point.
While most of us usually fast-forward through this dull-as-dishwater number, the message of the importance of education and realistic dreams and expectations sure does shine through.
4. Contraception lives up to the hype
While Grease certainly taught us that women shouldn’t be lambasted for having sex, we did also learn that the stakes are far higher for the fairer sex, and that teenage boy idiocy is not to be underestimated. Rizzo’s pregnancy scare is the result of a condom bought in the seventh grade, and we shall always respect expiry dates as a result.
At one point, Danny rubs his crotch with cling film, in a gag that can only reference how men used to use cling film if they didn’t have a condom. Shudders.
5. Fashion is powerful
Has anyone else spent most of their life since seeing Grease yearning for a Pink Ladies’ jacket? That is, of course, until they were co-opted by rowdy hen parties…
Grease really shows how uniformity creates a shared identification, which is the same as any fashion subculture, really. Mess with one and you mess with them all.
The musical also displays the power of fashion, how it visually signifies who you are, and how you can use it to completely rebrand yourself. So we might think that when Sandy got a perm and donned shiny leggings and possibly the best off-shoulder top of all time, that she became a sheep, when actually what she did was release her inner power, and advertise it through her sartorial choices. Never underestimate a woman in spandex.
6. No means no
Damned if they do and damned if they don’t, any girls watching Grease are clouded by the Madonna/whore dichotomy, and have learned that they really can’t win when it comes to whether or not to have sex, how much sex to have or who to have sex with. What they will learn, though, is that it’s ok not to do it if you don’t want to.
When Danny wants to heat things up on the beach with Sandy in the film’s opening scene, she turns him down, despite his persistence. When they’re in his car together at the drive-in movie theatre, after he asks her to wear his ring, he comes on way too strong – and she throws the ring back at him before a dramatic storm out, leaving him “stranded at the drive-in, branded a fool”. She stuck to her guns - and he got the message.
7. Female friendship triumphs over all
Although Grease almost certainly doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test, it did put a strong focus on female friendship, which can’t be overlooked.
Sandy is welcomed into the Pink Ladies by Frenchie, and although Rizzo and the others aren’t entirely forthcoming (ok so, they’re ultimate mean girls), they know to respect Frenchie’s wishes.
Everyone in the group is different - with fierce Rizzo, adorable Frenchie and monogamy-challenged Marty – and that’s ok.
