Even a cursory look at our popular culture reveals an alarming trend of misogyny. Look closer, and it becomes clear that men alone are not to blame; women themselves are playing into the hands of the money-grubbing, morally bankrupt, sex-obsessed culture that is exploiting them as the ultimate cheap commodity. Shmuley Boteach, the bestselling author and leading national radio host, is all for women embracing their feminine power, but he observes that many women are, if effect, doing just the opposite.
Paris Hilton actively exposes her flesh and ignorance in equal parts. Pop music princesses like Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson rely far more on shameless exhibitionism than musical talent. And look at all the reality television shows - from The Bachelor, Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? and Average Joe to Extreme Makeover - that boost their ratings by portraying women as viciously competitive, desperate for celebrity and riches, imbecilic and ignorant, and all too eager to serve themselves up as generic eye-candy for men. Meanwhile, girls and women across the country are following this lead.
In ages past, women were venerated for their nobility, dignity, grace, inner strength, and nurturing qualities, but contemporary society is rapidly reversing those ideals - as well as all the social progress that women have made in recent decades. Today, women typically confuse freedom and power for promiscuity and exploitation, and allow men to treat them as objects of sexual gratification - not as admirable human beings who have the ability to elevate the whole of society.
In 'Hating Women', Boteach asserts that four vulgar archetypes of women have come to saturate our culture: the Greedy Gold Digger, the Publicity Seeking Prostitute, the Brainless Bimbo, and the Backstabbing Bitch. But the nefarious archetypes don't stop with women; they breed and encourage four equally offensive types of men: the Crotch-Scratcher, the Harem Gatherer, the Selfish Spouse, and the Porn Addict. Misogyny, in the guise of entertainment, is reaching a fever pitch, and we are on the verge of a social crisis.
Boteach envisions a way to correct this downward spiral -- which he sees as far more than just a feminist issue. Now is the time, he says, for men to start respecting women and for women to start respecting themselves. Women must band together and fight back for their rightful place of honor. For anyone who has ever wondered where our popular culture is taking us, Hating Women is at once an electrifying social commentary and a clarion call for change.
