Enlightened Sexism

   "You're fun, you're hot, you're sexy. Who cares if you have crappy grades?" says Max to his younger girlfriend Rose, who is trying to get into Duke. Yes, this is a line on a cancelled, (but great, in my opinion), show Privileged, but teenage guys say these discouraging words everyday. Everyday girls have an internal battle between hotness and intellectuality.
   We say sexism is over? Well, welcome to the new age of it- "Enlightened Sexism." Time Magazine reports this new form (link) of sexism, which is subtle but powerful, and represented mainly in media. Some TV shows feature strong, smart women in roles of leadership and power, which inspires young women to be like them. But when we watch something like Jersey Shore or Bridalplasty, the message can be confusing. Do we work hard in school, or do we run around picking up guys at bars and letting them "smush" on the first date? I have to admit that I watch Jersey Shore like it's my business. But I also take it with an extremely large grain of salt. I look at it objectively, knowing that everyone on that show is shallow and brainless, and not a role model for me or anyone else for that matter. But some girls who are younger, and not so sure of themselves as many are not as they enter high school, really can't decipher who they should be looking up to- the female surgeon or Snooki?

   In Enlightened Sexism (link) by Susan Douglas, she theorizes that society now feels that we have overcome sexism, so we should celebrate by being sexist! Everyday we ignore little flashes of sexism or derogatory comments because we figure that it is one person holding onto their sexist ways, and that everyone else has grown above it. We as women accept sexism by watching it, listening to it, believing it, and eventually, succumbing to the stereotypes, and proving the sexists right.