Sex and cultural mutation

Paris Hilton symbolizes our superficial culture, reader says.

If it is true, as Antonia Zerbisias suggests, that “for the first time in history, girls are really just outpacing boys to the finish line,” then perhaps it is because that particular finish line has been relocated in the priority order of human accomplishment.

In a culture dominated by mindless reality TV, where an “in-depth feature” is something that used to be known as a “sound byte” and fame — meaning looking good on YouTube — is a preferred and successful occupation (think Paris Hilton) then just maybe the lowest common denominators of womanhood are increasingly a better match to the world we’re renovating for our children.

In other words, the superficial culture that we are still perfecting in the face of game-ending environmental, economic and democratic crises is perfectly suited to the worst in all of us. There is no “Beauty Myth” if appearance is the “principle” unit on the yardstick for success. And Heidi Montag is sure to do well . . . now.

Of course, the truth is that this is simply just one more symptom of our terminally ill civilization. Need a band-aid for that? Or makeup? Or some plastic surgery, perhaps?