Susan J. Douglas, author of Enlightened Sexism, offers a well-written analysis that engages readers into the world of feminism and media, drawing their attention to an understandably, yet disturbing ¨unfinished business¨. In her introduction titled ¨Fantasies of Power¨ Douglas travels back and forth the last two decades, pointing at countless media examples that reveal a disturbing phenomenon. Douglas notices that today’s media (everything from reality shows, commercials, magazines to clothing, cosmetics and plastic surgery) inappropriately focuses or highlights some aspects of the female community that are exaggerated or false.
Douglas is convinced that the media portrayal of powerful, intelligent and strong women leaders who often play the roles of doctors, judges, and crime detectives does not really mirror reality. Although it is true that women can become a CEO or run for president, Douglas presents statistics that tell us otherwise. Apparently, the majority of women today are still working as secretaries, teachers, and registered nurses. Not only are they employed for lower level jobs, but also, women are still getting paid less than their male counterparts. Given the evidence at hand, Douglas argues that TV shows featuring Buffy or Grey’s Anatomy are extremely deceiving because they make a false impression of the public that women are on the top of the world, are all-so-powerful and that their victory for equal rights has been far won. Douglas is extremely concerned about this vision because it is false and thereby hinders the growth of women, zapping the momentum that was once created.
Moving along, Douglas is also frustrated by the overflow of images depicting women as airheads, sexual objects with big breasts, or white and rich bratty girls that only care about their next party being the best. The crux of her argument revolves around enlightened sexism. According to Douglas, enlightened sexism has evolved into a whole new level by acquiring more subtlety in its rhetoric: ¨it takes the gains of the women’s movement as a given and then uses them as permission to resurrect retrograde images of girls and women as sex objects, bimbos and hootchie mamas still defined by their appearance and their biological destiny.¨ She is worried that in the present girl generation, young women are being convinced ¨"that true power comes from shopping, having the right logos, and being 'hot.'¨ For this reason, Douglas urges readers to look beyond the onslaught of images.
Similarly, Adrienne Rich, author of ¨Claiming an Education¨, reveals a collection of feminist ideas in which criticizes what she calls the ¨ethical model¨ of the self denying wife and mother¨ and agrees that women are too often being eroticized in the media nowadays. Hence she urge women to take control, much like the way Douglas asks readers to complete the ¨unfinished business¨. Adrienne encourages the audience to speak for themselves, to carve their own paths, to respect their own body, and most importantly, to honor their own minds.
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