playnext.fm

Forever35

Episode 350: The Scamminess and Scumminess of Growing Up in the 90s with Sophie Gilbert

·41 min·4 clips
Sophie Gilbert reveals how porn became an unexpected through line shaping women's power in the 90s and 2000s.
The episode begins with hosts Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu discussing listener survey results and personal updates, including Doree's tennis match and a difficult interview experience. They introduce guest Sophie Gilbert, a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of 'Girl on Girl'. Gilbert explains her book examines how 1990s-2010s culture influenced women and feminism. She identifies porn as a major through line that shaped societal views of women's power. Gilbert discusses the concept of being 'porn-brained' and its connection to current political misogyny. The conversation explores how corporate messaging and beauty standards distract women from real issues. Gilbert critiques 'choice feminism' and the individualistic post-feminist movement. She analyzes the 'scamminess' of the girl boss era and multi-level marketing schemes. The hosts and guest examine modern phenomena like 'trad wife' influencers who perform domesticity while working as content creators. Gilbert reappraises Lena Dunham's 'Girls' as a challenge to porn expectations and public exposure of women. She connects the proliferation of first-person trauma essays to the #MeToo movement. Gilbert offers a prognosis on current backlash against feminism, noting cyclical patterns but expressing concern about organized movements like Project 2025. The episode concludes with the hosts sharing personal intentions and thanking Patreon supporters.

As heard by us

A focused look at how recent pop culture cast sexual power as women's available power.

This episode considers how the culture of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s shaped ideas about women, the women's movement, and feminism's stalled momentum.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want to revisit the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s and notice how often culture told women that sexual power was the power worth chasing?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on
Apple PodcastsSpotify
Play clips from this episodeMore from Forever35