Enlightened Sexism
Books | Social Science / Women's Studies
Susan J. Douglas
From the author of Where the Girls Are, a sharp and irreverent critique of how women are portrayed in today's popular cultureWomen today are inundated with conflicting messages from the mass media: they must either be strong leaders in complete command or sex kittens obsessed with finding and pleasing a man. In Enlightened Sexism, Susan J. Douglas, one of America's most entertaining and insightful cultural critics, takes readers on a spirited journey through the television programs, popular songs, movies, and news coverage of recent years, telling a story that is nothing less than the cultural biography of a new generation of American women.Revisiting cultural touchstones from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Survivor to Desperate Housewives, Douglas uses wit and wisdom to expose these images of women as mere fantasies of female power, assuring women and girls that the battle for equality has been won, so there's nothing wrong with resurrecting sexist stereotypes—all in good fun, of course. She shows that these portrayals not only distract us from the real-world challenges facing women today but also drive a wedge between baby-boom women and their "millennial" daughters.In seeking to bridge this generation gap, Douglas makes the case for casting aside these retrograde messages, showing us how to decode the mixed messages that restrict the ambitions of women of all ages. And what makes Enlightened Sexism such a pleasure to read is Douglas's unique voice, as she blends humor with insight and offers an empathetic and sisterly guide to the images so many women love and hate with equal measure.
AD
Buy now:
More Details:
Author
Susan J. Douglas
Pages
368
Publisher
Henry Holt and Company
Published Date
2010-03-02
ISBN
080508326X 9780805083262
Community ReviewsSee all
"This is a fun read- the writer has a jokey style that makes it easier to handle reading about the slow creeping approach of postfeminist sexism. It was a little therapeutic given the fact that the disastrous results from our latest election came partially from sexism. It would be fun for the author to do a sequel of this and look at the current state of women in media-- we still have lots of Real Housewife shows, but they have toned down the MTV trashy girl thing a bit. The most popular shows tend to be male-dominated though some networks like those on The CW have been producing more female-led shows that pass the Bechdel test.<br/><br/>One caveat- Ms. Douglas totally misses the mark on Mean Girls and Queen Bees/Wannabees. She acts as if female-to-female bullying isn't an important issue (at one point she states that 'only' 33% of girls have been victims of online rumors which is *1 in 3 girls*). I'm glad that Ms. Douglas and her daughters have never been the victims of bullying, but it is a serious issue and one that shouldn't be ignored. I thought that Queen Bees/Wannabees and Mean Girls was actually very feminist because it exposed the sexist myth that girls can't be bullies because they are too passive and sweet and because all bullying needs to look like male-to-male. Girls for far too long were expected to suffer silently because the person harassing them was their 'friend' or 'nice' and obviously could never do bad things to them. I do think that the trope of the female bully always being the sexiest girl in the school is a little overplayed- the most attractive girls in school can also be the nicest while a girl in the band or literary magazine can delight in making fun of others. It's preferred by male writers since that's the only kind of female power that makes sense to them. But it is still an issue. And when Ms. Douglas complains that the film paints a bad portrait of 'female solidarity', she completely misses the character of Janis whose friendship with Cady grounds her and reminds her of what is important."
L B
Leah Burns