In a sharp-witted polemic against the media's stereotyping of females and feminism, University of Michigan communications professor Douglas (Where the Girls Are
) parses music, movies, magazines, television dramas, reality TV, and news coverage to demonstrate how the “girl power” of the early '90s developed into “enlightened sexism”: “a response, deliberate or not, to the perceived threat of a new gender regime.” Given women's progress, enlightened sexism assumes, now “it's okay, even amusing, to resurrect sexist stereotypes of girls and women.” According to Douglas, this media trend includes stereotypes of black women as lazy and threatening in characters like Big Momma or Omarosa on The Apprentice
, and the insidious sexualization of young girls. Douglas supports her analysis with data, such as on women's continuing inequitable pay and professional opportunities, black women's struggles for equality, and the negative consequences of the rising use of plastic surgery. And while the media have focused on girls bullying other girls, a much bigger problem, says Douglas, is sexual harassment of young girls by boys. Readers may not agree with Douglas's politics, but her position that women's interests are being harmed by the media is well argued and well documented. 16 pages of b&w photos. (Mar.)
