by Ariella Kurshan
New branding, still the same junk
Why are young girls being sold Naughty Nurse costumes for Halloween? In Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future (Lawrence Hill Books, $24.95), Barbara Berg argues that despite recent headlines, sexism in America is thriving. “Sexism is now applauded like the comeback kid, newly equipped and stronger than before. Massively destructive, it’s brazenly obliterating years of women’s progress.” Berg draws upon evidence from legal cases, personal anecdotes, surveys, popular culture, scientific studies, and politics to debunk the myth of a post-feminist era in America. Instead, she argues that as society has changed in the last 50 years, sexism, too, has evolved — assuming a variety of guises, but ever present.