When it comes to a rivalry between two women, there is, oftentimes, more than a slight hint of sexual tension. It was true for Nomi Malone and Cristal Connors in Showgirls, and it’s certainly true for Elphaba and Galinda in Wicked. That much was recently reiterated by Gregory Maguire when he confirmed that the kissing scene in the original 1995 book was “intentional.” And that, to boot, “it was modest and restrained and refined in such a way that one could imagine that one of those two young women had felt more than the other and had not wanted to say it.” For some reason, between the “two young women,” it’s easier to imagine Elphaba being more into it than Galinda, who comes across as the type that might be willing to go both ways if it 1) suited her political purposes and 2) she needed to get something “in return” for engaging in a particular sexual dalliance—whether with a man or woman. The only important part is that she gets what she wants.
What’s more, as early as the prologue of Wicked, Maguire writes (via the dialogue of the Scarecrow), “She’s a woman who prefers the company of other women.” This is just one piece of speculation among many (including the rumor that Elphaba is a “hermaphrodite”). But upon meeting Galinda, it would seem that she certainly doesn’t prefer the company of this particular woman at all. Such is the nature of how “confusing sometimes” it is “to be a girl (girl, girl, girl),” as Charli XCX puts it one of Brat’s signature tracks, “Girl, So Confusing.” The tenth song on XCX’s sixth album, “Girl, So Confusing” is specific not only to XCX’s dynamic with Lorde, but also the relationship that women in general have with each other. Particularly when it comes to the modern pressure to “be friends” with women in the name of “feminism”—even when you don’t really like that person, and wouldn’t feel obliged to try being friends with them if they were a man.
Elphaba feels no such pressure with Galinda. And, at first, Galinda doesn’t feel it with Elphaba either. However, that changes when she realizes that Elphaba holds the key to gaining acceptance into Madame Morrible’s highly exclusive sorcery class. So exclusive that she only deems Elphaba worthy of being in it. Not only does Madame Morrible inflict this slight upon Galinda, but also assigns Elphaba to be Galinda’s roommate in what was supposed to be her single room (it has a tinge of Wednesday Addams invading Enid Sinclair’s room in the Jenna Ortega version of Wednesday). This, of course, makes their dynamic ripe for “Girl, So Confusing” tendencies. For, at first, there’s plenty of overt contempt emanating from each student, as “What Is This Feeling?” exemplifies. Especially with the lyrics, “What is this feeling/So sudden and new?/I felt the moment I laid eyes on you/My pulse is rushing/My head is reeling/My face is flushing/What is this feeling?/Fervid as a flame/Does it have a name?/Yes!/Loathing/Unadulterated loathing/For your face/Your voice/Your clothing.” Galinda, so accustomed to being able to get along with anyone and everyone, being so very popular and all, is further enraged by Elphaba because she is the type of person who is so “disagreeable” that it’s impossible for just anyone—even Galinda—to strike up a friendship with her.
Before “Girl, So Confusing,” Charli XCX and Lorde shared a similar kind of “frenemy” rivalry, with Charli being more billable in the Galinda role since she’s a “good-time/party girl.” However, considering that Lorde is the more “bookish,” “intellectual” type, it proved to be a greater challenge for Charli to automatically “vibe” with her. Which is something she addresses in the verse, “You’re all about writing poems/But I’m about throwing parties/Think you should come to my party/And put your hands up.” That last line also has a double meaning in that to put one’s “hands up” is also an act of surrender. In a sense, that’s what both Elphaba and Galinda do with one another, during the now well-known scene at the Ozdust Ballroom where they finally come to a mutual understanding of one another, taking in the good and the bad, and finally accepting all parts of the other girl. But prior to this moment, Galinda’s motives in wanting to seem friendly toward Elphaba stemmed from her own self-serving need to be viewed as “beneficent” and, yes, as Charli would say, a “good feminist.” For, as XCX told The Guardian when Brat first came out, “If you support women, and you like other women, then you’re a good feminist. The reverse of that is, if you don’t like all other women who exist and breathe on this Earth then you’re a bad feminist. If you’re not a girl’s girl then you’re a bad woman.”
Needless to say, that’s the trope that Galinda is pandering to when she at first appears to feign being cordial toward Elphaba. But their differences wear her patience too thin, and it becomes impossible for her to keep up the veneer of “goodwill” and “good cheer” when “I loathe it all!/Every little trait, however small/Makes my very flesh begin to crawl/With simple utter loathing.” A sentiment XCX channels with the “Girl, So Confusing” lyrics, “Yeah, I don’t know if you like me/Sometimes I think you might hate me/Maybe you just wanna be me.” And that’s truer for Galinda wanting to be Elphaba (a.k.a. possessing the same level of power) than the other way around. Except that, of course, Elphaba does want to feel as though she fits in, as though she belongs in the same unmitigated way as Galinda. But not at the cost of sacrificing her true self. This is where Elphaba and Galinda differ most fundamentally. And one could argue that, in this matter, Lorde is the Elphaba of the pair, considering XCX’s unavoidable penchant for “selling out” amid her mainstream success (this includes sanctioning the likes of H&M and Skims by becoming their campaign spokesperson).
And so, as Elphaba and Galinda circle each other, sizing one another up, so to speak, it’s easy to not only sense the underlying sexual tension, but also to hear the sound of Charli singing, “Can’t tell if you wanna see me falling over and failing/And you can’t tell what you’re feeling/I think I know how you feel.” Just one of many lyrics in the song that not only speaks to the fraught dynamic between Elphaba and Galinda, but also to what Charli additionally told The Guardian about female friendships/acquaintanceships: “Relationships between women are super-complex and multi-layered. You can like someone and dislike them at the same time; you can have the best time of your life on a night out with someone but not be that close to them at all.”
In Elphaba and Galinda’s case, it turns out to be liking and disliking at the same time—ultimately giving way to all-out friendship. Even if that friendship is characterized by a major backstabbing. But, as Charli elucidates, such is the “confusing” nature of being a girl who takes a chance on being friends with another girl she’s not so secretly jealous of. Thus, even though Charli XCX loathes a musical, “Girl, So Confusing” has spoken to the very heart of one of the biggest musicals of the century (and, more specifically, the highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical).
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