In chapters 1-3 of Enlightened Sexism, Susan Douglas begins by describing the events of the early 1990's. In this time period, there was a rise of "girl power" and a "time of considerable feminist ferment among women and girls". In addition, women began to feel defensive and angry in response to the dismissal of Anita Hill's accusations by an all-white all-men Judiciary Committee, who said that she was delusional in saying that an Oklahoma law professor acted sexually inappropriate towards her. There was also a huge response to the Tailhook Scandal, where the Naby covered up the fact that "naval aviators formed a gauntlet on the third floor of the Hilton and trapped women in it, pawing and molesting them, stripping off their clothes". In 1992, Douglas describes that women emerged as a political force, known as "The Year of the Woman" by the press. Political changes gave women more social power, along with the change brought by the election of Bill Clinton as President. Social issues such as sexual harrassment, date rape, and domestic violence began to get more attention throughout the nation. The emergence and popularity of 90210 showed that teenagers were important and that their problems were serious. This helped it to serve as the "early building blocks of enlightened sexism" and propelled this movement through new TV shows focused on teenagers, chick flicks and chick lit, boy bands, and teen magazines.

In Chapter two, Douglas writes of displays of female aggression in the early 1990's. Different and surprising images of women emerged in the media, such as Janet Reno, a "six-foot-one-inch Florida crime fighter who... supposedly wrestled alligators in her spare time" and the Virginia woman who cut off her husband's penis with a 12-inch filet knife while he was sleeping. These images, along with other controversial events in the media regarding women and their actions, made the public question what feminism was truly turning into, and what type of power women were trying to seize. The wild actions of certain females and the commanding and "bad-ass" appearance that they were starting to claim in movies was somehow viewed as a threat to male dominance. Female sexuality and female power started to contradict one another, and women became afraid that if feminism was taken too far that it would turn them into monsters or "ridiculous, unlovable freaks". Women were forced to toe a very fine line between a consumerist, stereotypical girl, and a psycho, manly freak.

In "Warrior Women in Thongs", Douglas illustrates the combination of badass chick with beautiful supermodel. She uses examples such as "Xena: Warrior Princess", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and "Charlie's Angels" to show the popular image that many girls tried to work towards as a result of these shows' popularity and influence on the perception of feminism in the media. These shows turned the tables on female victimization, targeting the men who preyed on women and children. These warriors were champions, who were both transgressive and conformist. A sense of equality was perpetuated through these shows, portraying how women ad girls could be as strong as men. All in all, these three chapters of enlightened sexism shows the transgression of female attitudes and expectations of how they should act and conform to society and how it has passed through the generations and across the nation.