Keely Halka

December 10, 2021

PSC 101-01
Diversity Politics at Chilton in Gilmore Girls

The first three seasons of the television show, Gilmore Girls, illustrate many identity
politics concepts within Rory’s high school career. Three of these concepts include social
identity theory, voting, and public opinion. In season one, Rory transfers from her local high
school to the private school, Chilton, for a more challenging education. Her journey, from
outcasted new student to valedictorian by season three, displays multiple social experiences that
can be viewed through the lens of political diversity.

The concept of Social Identity Theory is clear and relevant throughout Rory’s entire high
school experience. This theory states that people have an “instinct to view members of our own
groups with favor, and outsiders with hostility” (McQueen, The Power of Group Identity). The
theory, created by Henry Tajfel, assumes that a person’s group membership gives a person their
sense of self. In American Politics, this theory explains the attachment a person has to various
aspects of their identity (race, gender, socioeconomic class, etc.) and how that attachment can
create polarization between groups. Group identity will influence how a person participates in
politics and what policies they might support. We can see social identity theory displayed several
ways in season 1 episode 2, of Gilmore Girls titled “The Lorelais First Day at Chilton,”. First,
Headmaster Charleston tells Rory that her success and positioning at her old high school does
not mean she will fit in the same way at Chilton (13:06). This is an obvious establishment of the
“we” vs “ they” mindset social identity theory describes. It is a clear indication that Charleston
thinks much more highly of his school than Stars Hollow High. In the same episode, the viewer
is introduced to a Chilton student named Paris Geller. Immediately, Paris sees Rory as an
outsider and threat to Chilton, and treats her with hostility, stating “You’ll never beat me. This
school is my domain…don’t you ever forget that” (15:15). The comments from both Headmaster
Charleston and Paris display what social identity theory claims to have established: a strong
attachment to their group and a sense of superiority over other groups (McQueen, The Power of
Group Identity).
 Rory displays her own group attachment in season two episode seven titled “Like
Mother, Like Daughter” where a school counselor criticizes her for not making friends at
Chilton. Rory argues that she has her “group” at home in Stars Hollow (where she lives). It can
be assumed, by her lack of interest, that she thinks this is better than if she were to group herself
in with Chilton students. Her description of how she does not fit in anywhere at Chilton
demonstrates the out-group homogeneity effect. This effect is when members of the out-group
are seen as being all the same; she is not interested in making any friends at Chilton because she
thinks they are all the same. Tajfel’s theory states that groups form and deform easily;
throughout her Chilton career, Rory repeatedly becomes accepted as part of the group and then
treated as an outsider for various reasons.

Voting is a significant concept in season two, episode twenty-two titled, “I Can’t Get
Started”. In American Politics, voting is a crucial part of the country’s democracy. The right to
vote gives citizens the ability to choose who they feel best represents them in government at the
federal, state and local level. Americans voters are not rational; the choices they make are often
based on heuristics, party affiliation, issues, and candidates (McQueen, Voting). Heuristics are
cues or symbols that require little information, but mimic rationality, that speak to a voter’s
political identity in some way. In “I Can’t Get Started”, Paris decides to run for student body
president. She administers voting polls and finds that while 90% of students think she is most
qualified to be president, they did not find her likeable and stated that this would adversely affect
if they voted for her (11:30). Personality is certainly a considered heuristic in American politics
as it “provides ready-to-use cues for voters to gauge what they can expect from a given
candidate” (Nai A, Maier J and Vranić J). It is also related to gender: multiple studies have found
that women candidates are held to a higher personality standard than male candidates, even
among women voters (Gupta). Paris’ predicament mirrors that of Hillary Clinton in both the
2008 and 2016 elections. Clinton’s personality was seen as a significant issue compared to
Barack Obama and Donald Trump. In the latter, she experienced a double standard: his flaws
made him more authentic and hers made her more untrustworthy to voters (Jalalzai). Paris asks
Rory to run with her as Vice President, she believes that Rory will get the popular vote because
“people think you’re nice…people don’t fear you” (13:25). Paris uses Rory’s likeable image as a
heuristic to gain more votes…and it works. They successfully win the election. While Paris may
have been at a disadvantage because of her gender, it is significant to note that she did not use
her gender identity (or Rory’s) to secure female voters. This reflects the case of female voters in
U.S. politics as women are not a “cohesive voting block” and do not typically vote based on a
shared gender identity (McQueen, Voting).

Public opinion is the third concept illustrated at Chilton in Gilmore Girls. Public opinion
can be defined as “those opinions held by private person which governments find it prudent to
heed” (McQueen, Public Opinion). Public opinion in American Politics is crucial in deciding
which policies are most important to properly represent its citizens, with the motive of earning
their respective votes. The importance of public opinion is demonstrated in season three episode
two, “Haunted Leg”. During the student body government meeting, the matter of raising skirt
hemlines is brought to Paris’ attention as an important issue to the senior class (16:30). Paris, the
student body president, does not find this issue significant and would rather focus on revamping
the student library to serve student’s needs more appropriately (18:05). In response to the
hemline request, Paris asks, “Hemlines? That’s the major issue on the senior class’s mind?”.
Looking at what impacts public opinion in American Politics may explain why this issue,
seemingly trivial to Paris, may have been significant to her classmates. In Dr. McQueen’s lecture
from November 1st, 2021, the following aspects of diversity are cited as impacting public
opinion: socialization, age, party differences, genetic inheritances, media, ethnic/racial
differences, class differences, and elite heuristics. Chilton is a private school; it’s expensive and
requires high academic achievement to get into. Thus, it can be assumed that the students would
belong to higher social classes and, based on wealth disparities by race and ethnicity in the
United States, it can be assumed they are mostly white (Bhutta, Chang, Dettling & Hsu).
Moreover, since it is a high school, students would be between the ages of fourteen to eighteen
years old, and each class would have students around the same age. When looked at as a group,
Chilton students are similar; this lack of diversity could speak to the perceived salience of the
hemline issue. This can also be analyzed by looking at elite heuristics within the student
government. Elite heuristics are when a person forms an opinion based around the opinion of an
elite government representative that they support; a person will easily take that opinion as their
own (McQueen, Public Opinion). The hemline issue was brought to Paris by student Francie
Jarvis. Francie is the senior class president and the leader of The Puffs, a high profile ‘secret
society’ within the school. The Puffs society is perceived as an illustrious group by most
students. Thus, if Francie speaks about issues that are important to her, they can subsequently
become important to those students. Diversity is significant to public opinion in American
Politics; at Chilton the lack of diversity is detrimental to Paris’ agenda.

The fictional school of Chilton, from Gilmore Girls, illustrates an accurate metaphorical
cross section of diversity concepts within American politics. It exemplifies how representative a
student body government can be to the American political system. Moreover, how those students
(and faculty) at Chilton seem to mimic the way Americans group, vote, and form their political
opinions. It is imperative to understand and recognize these concepts because, to quote Paris
Geller, “it is our institution. Yours, and mine…we must get involved, we must care” (“I Can’t
Get Started”, 9:37).
 Works Cited

Bhutta, Neil, Andrew C. Chang, Lisa J. Dettling, and Joanne W. Hsu (2020). "Disparities in Wealth by Race
and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances," FEDS Notes. Washington: Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 28, 2020, https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-
7172.2797.

Gupta, Alisha Haridasani. “The Likability Trap Is Still a Thing.” The New York Times, The New York Times,
22 Nov. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/us/the-likability-trap-women-
politics.html.

“Haunted Leg.”, Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, season 3, episode 2, Dorothy Parker
Drank Here Productions Hofflund/Polone Warner Bros. Television, 2002. Netflix,
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80014033.

“I Can’t Get Started.”, Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, season 2, episode 22, Dorothy
Parker Drank Here Productions Hofflund/Polone Warner Bros. Television, 2001. Netflix,
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80014172.

“The Lorelais First Day at Chilton.” Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, season 1, episode
2, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions Hofflund/Polone Warner Bros. Television, 2000.
Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/watch/80014131.

Jalalzai, Farida. “A Comparative Assessment of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Race.” Socius, Jan.
2018, doi:10.1177/2378023117732441.)

McQueen, Shannon. “Topic 2. The Power of Group Identity.” Diversity in Politics, September 8, 2021.
West Chester University. PA.

---. “Topic 10. Public Opinion.” Diversity in Politics, November 1st, 2021. West Chester University. PA.

---. “Topic 11. Voting.: Diversity in Politics, November 8th, 2021. West Chester University. PA.

Nai A, Maier J and Vranić J (2021) Personality Goes a Long Way (for Some). An Experimental
Investigation Into Candidate Personality Traits, Voters’ Profile, and Perceived Likeability. Front.
Polit. Sci. 3:636745. doi: 10.3389/fpos.2021.636745