The smell of success? You go, girl!

Feminism has been declared dead, so I'm not sure what to call the assertive culture of modern girls and women. You can find it in marketing and pop-culture phenomena-the thrust of the jaw in The Gap's model, Vivian Solari, or Shania Twain's hit single ("That Don't Impress Me Much," a wry comment on male vanities). You can listen to kids talk ("You go, girl!"). Or you can look at the serious strides women are taking: Women own 38% of all US businesses; women now outpace men in college degrees earned (56% to 44% in 1999); and they are expected to take a similar lead at the graduate level in a few years.