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Quick Answer: The 1987 romantic drama Dirty Dancing is concerned with exploring the development of Baby’s femininity as she falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle. We quickly learn that much of the film follows a traditional female Oedipal trajectory; Baby is initially innocent and affectionate towards her father, eventually developing sexual desire for Johnny. Baby’s shifting physicality reflects her shifting femininity. She begins to wear makeup and more revealing clothing in order to win Johnny’s affection. Finally, much of the film’s emphasis on femininity comes from its use of the female gaze. Instead of Baby being the primary object of desire, the camera exerts a female gaze that objectifies and fetishizes Johnny’s body. In doing so, Dirty Dancing associates femininity and female desire with self empowerment as opposed to shame or objectification.

Emile Ardolino’s Dirty Dancing (1987) explores the development of femininity through Baby (Jennifer Grey) striving to become stereotypically feminine in order to win Johnny’s (Patrick Swayze) affection. According to Freud’s psychoanalytical theory, the female Electra complex is an obligatory aspect of a girl’s feminine trajectory. He suggests that a girl’s initial love object is her mother before she transfers her love to her father. In the opening scene of Dirty Dancing, the family drives to Kellerman’s for their summer holiday. Baby introduces herself as a youngster in the process of the Oedipal complex through a voice-over. Her immaturity is allegorized through her nickname, which identifies her as a child whilst an absence of femininity is demonstrated through her demeanor. Baby’s sister Lisa is portrayed as more traditionally feminine as she titivates her hair en route to the resort. Conversely, Baby spends the car ride reading. The film’s Oedipal nature is evident early on in the film; Baby’s father is presented as her love object as she physically embraces him and speaks positively of him.

Jennifer Grey as Baby and Jerry Orbach as her father, Jake

“I thought I’d never find a guy as great as my Dad.” (Dirty Dancing, 1987)

Lisa moans to her mother about a pair of shoes she left at home, establishing their relationship and highlighting her preoccupation with appearance. Baby’s Oedipal state is again connoted as she agrees with her father that Lisa is overreacting. She strives to impress him, as opposed to her mother, who she dismisses. Through lack of communication, Baby demonstrates Freud’s hostility stage: “The turning away from the mother is [hostile]; the attachment ends in hate.” (Freud, 2010)

In the final step of her complex, Baby finds her “final choice of an object” (Freud, 2010) in Johnny, the masculine figure to which she transfers her heterosexual love. Judith Lynne Hanna explores sex and dance as interlinking concepts, noting they “share the same instrument: the human body” (Hanna, 1988). Baby’s curious gaze whilst observing couples dancing in the staff quarters works as an allegory for her impending exposure to her sexuality. Later in the scene, Johnny imitates sex as he gyrates against her, urging her to reciprocate his movement. Through dance, he teaches sexual desire whilst Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) teaches graceful movement. She molds Baby, placing her arms on Johnny and arching her back. The following scene sees Baby copying Penny’s feminine movements, such as playing with her hair and dancing in high heels. The mirroring dynamic used demonstrates Baby’s perception of Penny as ideally feminine, which is reflective of Karen Barber’s belief that female dancers “epitomize the cultural stereotype of femininity” (Barbour, 2011). Baby wants to be like Penny because she exerts femininity through dance. She tells her in an earlier scene, “I think you’re a wonderful dancer. I envy you.” As Baby dances with Johnny, she develops mature, sexual feelings for him. The song “Hungry Eyes” connotes her yearning for his masculine figure as objectifying shots of his torso further exaggerate her desire.

Cynthia Rhodes as Penny, Jennifer Grey as Baby and Patrick Swayze as Johnny

As Professor Hilary Radner points out, the woman’s film “underlines appearance as a crucial aspect of feminine identity” (Radner, 2011). The development of Baby’s heterosexuality fuels her preoccupation with own appearance as she alters her hair. This transformation is reminiscent of her sister in the opening scene. Moreover, she applies makeup, overtly depicting her aim to conform to the stereotypically beautiful female. Baby’s fixation with image is particularly notable when she begins dance lessons with Johnny. She progresses from wearing comfortable plimsolls to feminine high heels and gradually exposes more of her body. She initially wears a long sleeved top, which is then tied up to reveal her stomach. The revealing of flesh escalates again in the following scene as she wears a skin-tight leotard. In addition to being physically restrictive, the tan leotard suggests nudity. Baby’s clothing also reveals her slim, toned figure, a physicality that is a vital symbol of femininity according to Marianne Thesander, author of The Feminine Ideal: “In our modern consumer society a slim, well-trained body is beautiful and the object of admiration.” (Thesander, 1997)

Patrick Swayze as Johnny and Jennifer Grey as Baby

Dance is an allegory for sex throughout Dirty Dancing, leading Baby on her journey from virginal girl to sexually active woman. Her lack of dancing experience is parallel to her sexual inexperience. The aforementioned transformation of her wardrobe from reserved to revealing ultimately leads to nudity and the consummation of her first relationship. It is the role of dress in particular that highlights Baby’s desire for Johnny. The overt display of Johnny’s masculinity juxtaposes with Baby’s delicate feminine frame. His sexual appeal is amplified through his muscly body being at the center of the shots, connoting her intense focus on him and her desire for him. The camera exerts a female gaze that objectifies and fetishizes Johnny’s body. According to author and editor E. Ann Kaplan, the female gaze is reflective of the woman’s movement; it “encouraged women to take possession of their sexuality” (Kaplan, 1983). This is further explored in Dirty Dancing as Baby obtains power from having sex with Johnny. He calls her by her real name, Frances, directly emphasizing the fact that she is no longer a “Baby.” That she leads Johnny when they dance further demonstrates her dominance and newly empowered sense of self.

Patrick Swayze as Johnny and Jennifer Grey as Baby

Even though a literal marriage does not take place, it is implied in the film’s final scene. When Johnny returns to Kellerman’s, the hotel staff and guests wait in anticipation to watch him dance with Baby, not unlike guests at a wedding reception. The metaphorical marriage begins when Johnny takes Baby from her father to dance with her. Their friends and family look on and cheer, allegorizing a wedding ritual. Afterwards, Baby’s father provides his blessing in the form of an embrace. Baby and Johnny’s final kiss signifies their union and the completion of Baby’s transition to an ideally feminine woman. This symbolic union reinforces the writing of Kay Frost, who wrote, “[marriage is] assumed to be an essential part of one’s identity as a woman” (Frost, 1977). In the final display of Baby’s femininity, Johnny lifts her above his head. Having failed the lift earlier, the eventual success allegorizes Baby’s progression as both a dancer and a woman. The image of Johnny holding her further defines their gender roles as Johnny’s strength juxtaposes Baby’s fragility, and her pink dress further identifies her as stereotypically feminine.