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Disco Divas: Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s

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DISCO DIVAS, edited by Sherri Inness, is an excellent anthology of essays from a variety of popular culture critics writing about the much-ignored decade of the 1970s and the variety of ways the evolving definition of what is female was influenced by advertising, television, movies, and even recipes.

Of particular interest to me were two chapters: one on the relevance of CHARLIE'S ANGELS (the in-depth discussion by Whitney Womack of how the signified transcended Aaron Spelling's supericial signs is a revelation that takes all the fluff out of a Farrah Fawcett haircut) and the other on changing female images on American soap operas (the depth with which female characters were written, moving from the home and bedroom to the office and boardroom, gives contemporary soap watchers a very good idea why daytime (and for that matter, nighttime) soap operas have declined both in number and viewers; Thomas Petitjean, who wrote this chapter, has a good handle on why the 1970s were indeed the golden years of the American soap opera).

This book is not simply for scholars or readers of feminist studies; it's written with style and verve that make it interesting reading for the non-scholar who simply loved the 1970s or grew up in the period and wants to see just how popular culture shaped the new millenium.

My women's studies teacher assigned this book, and I loved it. I had no idea that there feminist ideas behind shows like Charlie's Angels. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about pop culture.

Compiled, written and edited by Sherrie A. Inness, Disco Divas: Women And Popular Culture In The 1970s cogently examines the 1970s as an era of great social change, especially for women. Illustrating the reverberations of cultural shifts in the 60's, the changing images of women in popular culture and mass media, and the changes that continue to evolve as those generations of women grew older, Disco Divas is a timely and insightful contribution to Women's Studies reading lists and American Popular Culture Studies reference collections.