The Rise of Enlightened Sexism - by Susan J. Douglas

By Kelly Outram

Sit down, Rosie the Riveter, as Susan J. Douglas outlines the evolution of feminism in her book, The Rise of Enlightened Sexism. Chock-full of metaphors, Douglas humorously discusses how in the past 20 years, pop culture has juggled glorifying the anatomically incorrect, ditzy female and the domineering work-obsessed woman. In 10 chapters she outlines the rise and fall of women, starting from teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210, all the way to Sarah Palin’s potential presidency.

Douglas fills her pages with sassy one-liners and witty comments worthy of your laughter. Acting as an outside observer, her Cool Grandma observations on today’s culture draw up your personal shame for being a slave to the Man. While the issue of declining feminism can’t exactly be opened and closed in 300 pages, Douglas poses just enough ethical questions, warranting a re-evaluation of how today’s society portrays women. I’m looking at you, Hefner.

The Rise of Enlightened Sexism helps readers realize that female equality hasn’t progressed as far as we’d like to think. By accepting some stereotypes and behaviors as jokes or norms nowadays, the gender takes one step forward and two steps back. Douglas effectively proves this point with shocking statistics. By offering facts, like how the U.S. ranked 69th in the world for women in national legislatures, and how 163 countries offer paid maternity leave and 45 offer paid paternity leave (while the U.S. offers neither), she exposes the flaws in the American woman’s equality.

Releasing all kinds of anger for never noticing these issues, The Rise of Enlightened Sexism opens readers’ eyes to the world around them while providing a good laugh. It’s the perfect book to read between laundry loads, shopping, and batches of baked goods.