Sluts & Slatterns

Penny comments on my last post:

"Are you serious? You haven't noticed that every stereotype of women is already out there?! On the front of magazines, in commercials, in sitcoms, movies, bus-advertisements, music videos, fashion shows... I am completely afraid of what my daughter is ingesting subconsciously.. and obviously, if you haven't noticed, then I am correct to have that fear.

"The battle of the sexes will always be a country of soldiers beating dead horses. What's worse is when we don't see this."

I have to admit that Penny has a good point. She usually does. Penny is not the female stereotype that we see in commercials, in sitcoms, movies, bus-advertisements, music videos, fashion shows. If you read the posts on her blog, I think you will agree that she is bright and perceptive, hard-working and responsible. She gets it.

And so do I. I don't have a daughter, but if I did, I sure wouldn't want her to emulate Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson in the way that each is portrayed on their respective reality shows. But wait, those two aren't portraying caricatures of themselves, they are caricatures through and through, straight to the core. They follow the model of Madonna and others like her. They actually want to be what they are. If I had a daughter, I would rather that she emulate my friend Karen Selick. Or Virginia Postrel or Ann Coulter or any number of other strong, competent, intelligent and interesting women.

And that, I believe is the difference: So many girls want to follow the stereotype. They want to be like Britney and Jessica. How many men want to be like the men portrayed in many of today's sitcoms -- dull, beer-swilling morons paired inexplicably with smart and competent women? I can't even remember what these shows are called, because after I have seen them once to check them out, I am so repulsed I never dial them up again.

It's not a perfect world, Penny, for men or for women. I didn't mean to imply that it might be so.

So how do we change things?