Main Post February 2

Susan Douglas’s chapter 4, “The New Girliness”, explores television series and movies of the 1990s that served to redefine “girliness”. Douglas begins with a brief discussion of the Spice Girls, and lists multiple song titles and lyrics that exemplify girl power. It is interesting to note that the “girly girl” revolution emerged at the same time when “warrior women” (which we discussed in the previous class) were also very popular.

Before going into her discussion of television series and films, Douglas mentions a very influential and popular 1992 book called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, which sought to explain the fundamental differences between men and women. Another book from 1995 called The Rules intended to instruct women on how to find Mr. Right. One of the most striking lines from this book that Douglas chooses to share is “Let him open the door. Be feminine. Don’t tell sarcastic jokes” (105). Maybe this is just specific to Colgate or just my group of girlfriends, but my friends and I are all extremely sarcastic! This line about sarcasm really hit me. Not only am I sarcastic, but so is my mother and my sister (runs in the family). My mom managed to get married…so I guess there’s hope for me (Sidenote: even that was sarcastic. I’m doomed.)

Douglas then delves into long discussion of Fox’s 1997 hit, Ally McBeal. She notes that the program gave women power but would also plunge female viewers “into a sea of female incompetence, insecurity, and stammering” (107). The show covered an array of complex matters, including sexual harassment, and gender discrimination…yet it won the 1998 Golden Globe for best comedy. Although the show touched on such important matters, the matters were trivialized by intertwined comedy.

Douglas also discussed the character Bridget Jones (from Bridget Jones Diary), and notes that women are supposed to laugh at how pathetic Jones is with her constant need for male approval to feel good about herself. However, women were also supposed to identify with Jones and silently admit “Yes, I feel the same way”. Other movies that Douglas discusses include What Women Want, Miss Congeniality, Legally Blonde, and Down with Love. I have personally watched the last three of these films, and I agree with everything Douglas has mentioned about them. Miss Congeniality features an extremely “masculine” woman who is turned into a beautiful pageant girl. In contrast, Legally Blonde features a typical dumb blonde who learns to take herself seriously and gets a Law degree. Both of these films suggest that women cannot be ultra-feminine or anti-feminine; they must find a happy medium.

In Chapter 5, titled “You Go, Girl”, Douglas discusses the “sassy black woman” that we see portrayed in the media. Douglas suggests that African American women who use “black speak…make feminism hip, cool, and funny” (128). Miranda Bailey from Grey’s Anatomy is a prime example, and she commands the attention of her interns and superiors through her infallible use of language. Douglas expresses her desire to be like Dr. Bailey, because she has no problem telling any male superior what is on her mind. African American Women on television, such as Dr. Bailey, serve to say the things many women wish they could say, but feel that it would be overstepping their boundary.

Additionally, Douglas explores the complexities of the BET television network and hip-hop music videos. In music videos, African American women often appear in extremely revealing clothing, while dancing to offensive music. Douglas mentions that Spellman College, an all-women and predominantly African American college, would only allow Nelly to visit their campus if he agreed to speak about the sexism present in his music videos (unfortunately, Nelly refused). Douglas closes this chapter with a discussion of television shows that have an entirely African American cast, but an extremely white audience (such as The Cosby Show). This chapter of Douglas’ book really exemplifies some notable characteristics of white and black female popular culture characters, and she raised very interesting points that I have never considered before.