If you think the Women's Movement (remember the Women's Movement?) has changed stupid cultural attitudes, you haven't been paying attention to Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow said in a recent interview that she would never ask a man out because she is "freaked out" by "forward women."

It is amazing that a woman with such an abundance of talent in a field requiring intelligence and sensitivity could believe that inviting a man to dinner is "forward." She probably thinks the man has to pay for the dinner and order for her, too. These are the attitudes of the 50's and 60's that kept women "in their place," which is to say, submissive. Don't beat boys in sports. Don't show any romantic interest in them until they show it first. Don't give up your virginity until you're married. Don't pursue a career, and if you must, remember that it isn't as important as your husband's.

Women's fear of being thought aggressive when they are only conducting transactions in a normative manner is well-founded; I'll give Paltrow that. When a man takes charge, he's called a leader. When a woman takes charge, she's called "unfeminine." But fear of being judged by ignorant standards is a poor excuse for being less than who you are.