Working Girl And Trading Places Roxana Analysis

Although Working Girl, Trading Places, and Roxana would not be considered radical feminist works by today’s standard, they do each make strides towards female autonomy in the work place and at home by means of tools that are available to them. While Roxana takes place eighteenth-century and Working Girl and Trading Places take place in the 1980s, the women in these worlds face very similar problems, namely, self-preservation. Women entered the business world with many of the same challenges that men were already facing, but with the added challenge of combating sexism. However, as demonstrated by these works, women were able to make use of their sexuality, in combination with their intelligence and desire for a rise in rank, to gain control …show more content…
They all have inherent business skills, something Roxana attributes to her merchant father and Tess increases upon by attending night school. Tess uses her feminine qualities to her advantage, but refuses to have sex in exchange for a promotion. On the other side, Roxana and Ophelia make direct use of their sexuality as prostitutes, and use smart business strategies, like investing for the purpose of growing their wealth and preparing for retirement. However, once women entered the work force, it created a whole new slew of economic possibilities and …show more content…
This is exceptionally true in Working Girl when Tess uses her knowledge of gossip magazines maintain constant flow of information for a business merger (Nichols). With both Tess and Roxana, the audience is also exposed to the concept of women working for women. While not as radical as a man working for a woman, it is still useful for portraying women as capable of making successful economic decisions. Additionally, they both have female confidants who are able to assist them in their rise to power, for Roxana this happens to be in on the same as her employee. However, one of the most advantageous tools all three women possess is their sexuality and femininity. In the movie Working Girl, Jack Trainer says “You’re the first woman I’ve seen at one of these… things that dresses like a woman, not like a woman thinks a man would if he was a woman” (Nichols). Jack, in attempt to flirt with Tess, unintentionally summarized one of the key issues in the dynamic of women entering the business world – the struggle of women maintaining their femininity, something that is shown as required in all the sources, while entering a “man’s world.” Additionally, the women must still be seen as being capable, intelligent, and independent, but not so independent as to not ever need a