Is Snooki a Sign that Feminism's Job is Done?
Outraged Moms, Trashy Daughters, screams the headline from Maclean’s magazine. The article then goes on to pose the question: How did those steeped in the women’s lib movement produce girls who think being a sex object is powerful?
I wonder that too. I read about Rainbow Parties and see the girls walking down the street in their best hooker garb. The girls gone wild mentality has made trashiness an approved form of dress but also a respected way of engaging with the opposite sex. We went from dividing up good girls and bad girls to bad girls being good. As if owning one’s own sexuality was the most important goal of the feminist movement.
But I see this as an outsider, my daughter is only four. Right now I can tell her that high heels aren’t appropriate and outlaw bikinis. I can make her feel special and empower her to take on the world, or at least the pre-school. I have made my peace with feminism and my own choices.
But what’s next? I don’t know. I can see that there aren’t very good role models for young women out there. For instance, Miley Cyrus is definitely showing us that you are never too young or too rich to be trashy. The hyper-sexualized girls of Jersey Shore and The Bachelor show us that under it all women want a man, and a man wants a slutty-looking girl.
What is the balance between owning your sexuality and creating one’s image for the approval for men? How will my daughter negotiate the pressures on young women when she reaches the age to buy her own lingerie?
Many people who read the Maclean's article thought the writer was wrong and simplified the topic to sell magazines. What do you think? Are young women using their sexuality at the expense of equality?
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