Follow up post for 1/31

     I think Susan Douglas provides a well-crafted analysis of the media’s intersection with time and real events in the progression that led to enlightened sexism.  I particularly enjoyed her study of Janet Reno.  Janet Reno did not conform to the female ideal on any level; this unsettled people.  The fact that she was in power was not the issue; it was that she did not apologize or qualify that power with her femininity.  Many other powerful women did not receive as much negative attention as Reno did because these women used “feminine” dress, mannerisms, and sexuality to balance with their otherwise “masculine” political power.  Though I do agree with this, I find it difficult to see things quite so clearly as Douglas does.  A woman’s sexuality can be powerful.  Its display is not necessarily in submission to patriarchy.  

     At one point Douglas says how Janet Reno avoided “Being deferential to or flirtations with men and still [was] professionally successful” (page 73).  Though I acknowledge Reno’s right and strength in doing so, this quote implies that flirtation is somehow submissive.  I see where Douglas is coming from.  Disturbing images of the intelligent, mature individual giggling in a schoolgirl manner to seem naive come to mind.  However, I think flirtation can be empowering.  It all depends on how it is employed.  Flirtation can be a girlish giggle, or it can be a witty, verbal sparring.  Perhaps I am simply succumbing to ingrained systems of oppression that I do not fully comprehend, but I personally enjoy flirtations banter.  In some ways, remaining silent qualifies submission more than to answer back.  Silence feeds into the “seen but not heard” expectation on women.  To answer back and engage in the flirtation sends messages of equality.  I want to be clear: the kind of flirtation I am referring to is engaged in willingly and is not the answer to coercive advances.  I acknowledge that some individuals’ idea of flirtation really translates into sexual harassment.  I am not implying that women need to respond flirtatiously in situations where they are made to feel uncomfortable or demeaned.  I am attempting to make the point that women who do feel comfortable can corrode the image of the silent, passive girl by engaging in positive flirtation even among colleagues.