This very same idea is shown to the audience when Corny sings that the show has “nice white kids who like to lead the way, and once a month we have our Negro Day”. In this way, the audience sees them in a negative light compared to the nice, clean-cut white girls who reveal very little skin. The initial version played on a regular episode of the show, and the white girls singing it wore modest dresses with high necklines and skirts that went below the knees, while when it was sung on Negro Day, the black girls wore tight, low cut, cleavage-revealing, slit-up-the-thigh dresses which portrayed them in a much more sexual light. There was a great contrast between the two versions of the song “New Girl in Town”. It seemed interesting, then, that there are some on the show who dress in a way that appears to be much more immodest than anything she would ever allow for. One of the council members takes a leave of absence for “just nine months” and Velma states that she will not allow hip thrusting or anything of the like. Despite her own promiscuous nature, Velma is unwilling to allow any such behavior on the show. Turnblad, causing he and his wife to get in a fight and almost succeeding in removing Tracy from the Corny Collins Show. This later proves true when she attempts to seduce Mr. Early on in the film, she reveals her true character, singing “I screwed the judges,” proving that she will go to any length in order to get what she wants. She expects her daughter to be the best dancer and win the Miss Hairspray title in order that she might vicariously relive her own glory days. Michelle Pfeiffer’s character is meant to be both conniving and alluring even more so than before. The character of Velma Von Tussle, while certainly important in the first film, takes on an even more powerful and ominous role.
Even the idea of hairspray, though, becomes a part of an innuendo when there is an advertisement on the Corny Collins Show and Corny says, “hey baby, you look like you could use a stiff one,” adding a level of sexuality that was not present before concerning hairspray-the product or the film. Of course, appearances are everything as evidenced by the ratted, hairspray-stiffened hair of many of the characters. There are certainly many aspects of this film which concern gender, except, unlike in the earlier version, this film contains a more highly sexualized view of femininity.
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