Where the Girls Are, by Susan J. Douglas is one of the first entertaining books I have read about “growing up female”. Books about feminism or the place of women in contemporary society too often leave the reader with a good but dry appreciation of the Women’s Lib’s chronology or history. Growing up female with the mass media, which also happens to be Douglas’ subtitle for the book (the title itself is an excellent pun on the movie ‘Where the Boys Are”) has the following advantage: it is a deep and witty review of all the songs, TV shows and major movies that pertained one way or the other to the female image up to 1992. For those of us who grew up in France but somehow managed to get a glance of what was done, TV wise, in the States, it is interesting enough because we may not have resented how sexist some of these shows, such as Charlie’s Angels, The Bionic Woman, etc were. Not all shows bore a male chauvinistic trend, and I am happy to report that some of my favorite childhood and teenage shows got positive marks: Bewitched, L. A. Law and Hill Street Blues. Even Peyton Place, one of the earliest TV series, very loosely based on the book of the same name, exposed feminist ideas. I was not surprised that both Dallas and Dynasty got fiercely attacked by the author. Indeed, these two 1980s shows were rooting hard for the Reaganistic conservative values that kept women subdued as mere trophies to the winning shark-male. My only regret when I reached the end of the book is that its analysis of the media stops in 1992. I would love for the author to write an addendum about the TV shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s: with the advent of political correctness and quotas for protected minorities, there are more females on TV, in politics, and TV shows such as Law and Order, ER, etc do give strong lead parts to women. However, as much as the songs of the 1970s and 80s (from Joan Baez to Madonna) expressed opinionated feminist and feminine points of view (yes, even Madonna!), the current trends that bring us Barbie-like Britney Spears, or trashy rappers’ groupies, seem to go along with the revival of the current Presidency’s conservative views. Is that to say that the female image and the place of women in society are threatened?
For a 30 something in the early 2000s, Elizabeth Gilbert could be the perfect illustration of the contemporary female image. She gathers the classical standards of beauty (in the eye of the male beholder: blond, blue eyes, slim and tall) with the achievements of a successful and career-oriented modern woman. She is a recognized author and journalist, an early achiever rather than a late bloomer. However, at 30 she has a mid-life crisis: a marriage that breaks on the realization that she did not want children after all followed by an unhappy love affair become wake-up calls that will lead her to Italy, India and Indonesia. This initiatic voyage is related in her new book, Eat, Pray, Love. Her wit helps the reader get over the fact that for all her complaints and genuine depression, she still is luckier than the average woman, especially in countries such as India and Indonesia. She mentions two particular examples of female hardships, and as much as the time she spends in India is a time of “praying” in an ashram, her constant narcissism can get on the reader’s nerves. I laughed as much as I became angry at her for falling into the ambushes of today’s society. The fact that she confesses not having been able to live without a male relationship from the age of 15 is in itself revelatory: how can you truly be a free woman, if you always need a man’s approval, or a man’s “appreciative” eyes to exist?
For true laughter, I will recommend Nora Ephron’s latest book, I feel bad about my neck. This last one allies the feminine and the feminist points of view with experience, wisdom and humor. Nora Ephron is better-known for having directed such chick flick as Sleepless in Seattle. Her book is a small treasure of essays on the art of aging…in and with style!
Sarah Diligenti-Pickup © December 2006
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