ABSTRACT

The film Clueless directed by Amy Heckerling contributes to the increasing visibility of queer sexualities in teen film. In the 1980s, homosexuality was largely absent from the teen genre, which Robin Wood criticised for implying that there 'are no gay teenagers in America'. Heckerling's work addresses the gender inequity of the teen genre, in which girls are 'subject to a double domination, firstly by adults and secondly by male teenagers'. Appearing in a transitional period for feminism and 'at the intersection of competing narratives of gender', Clueless became linked to a proliferation of popular narratives that explored girls' relationships to feminism and consumer culture. Clueless invokes the culture of homosexual men by incorporating a wide range of implicit references to gay iconography. The film affirms the currency of virginity and makeovers, while drawing on and extending a tradition of comedic blondes as feminist camp.