So, at least for myself, viewing any variety of crap television, female-oriented or otherwise, is about the confirmation that the day I just untied myself from doesn’t suck nearly as bad as what’s going down on some of these shows. To argue that we are actually learning something from these shows would be rather hyperbolic. But if the Nielsen ratings system is a somewhat democratic process, then we also have to blame ourselves for what ultimately reigns supreme on our channel guide.Īre these female-oriented reality shows perpetuating scary womanly personas or can we simply be entertained and possibly learn something by viewing these extremes? What’s more “Jerseylicious” than watching a cheetah take down a gazelle (both female, of course) on The Nature Channel? They easily seem like one in the same to me. Our culture, as a whole, enjoys extremes and drama, in whatever form. It’s just that in ancient times people had Greek theater to promote their cultural identity and we have NFL football and “Mob Wives.” “Reality-based” moments have been playing out for hungry spectators since life slithered out from the primordial soup. The easy answer to why we enjoy these shows, or any form of entertainment, is that we are human beings. And yet, we sometimes (or all the time) tune in to watch female progress shrink back several decades.Īs we consider ourselves feminists and/or progressives of some variety, why then do we enjoy these shows so much? As the woman in the spoofy Onion article, does the progressive part of our brain just “switch off” for a while? These shows are the things our collective nightmares are made of. “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” “The Jersey Shore,” “America’s Next Top Model,” any number of wedding-oriented shows, any form of marrying-off show, all of th e “Real Housewives,” possibly “ New Girl,” and, yes, “Jerseylicious.” And, if you’ve read this far into the article, you know that, in fact, you have been guilty of periodically falling head first into this vapid pit of deliciously terrible, estrogen-fueled drama. There are plenty of shows one would consider a waste of time for a feminist. I’m not 100% proud of this fact, but it’s a fact either way. However, when I do go to that dark, dank place where women are sensationalized as horrifying, high-definition prima-donnas, I go for the gold. When it comes to bad reality television specifically, I don’t always go for what we might deem as anti-feminist. Much of what I watch is, admittedly, utter crap. Generally, as a whole, I’m known for watching a lot of TV. This article made me think about my own viewing habits. The article describes the newsworthy event like this: “Jenkins, 29, told reporters that after a long and tiring day at her office, all she wanted to do was return home, sit down on her couch, turn on an episode of the TLC reality show Say Yes To The Dress, and treat herself to a brief half hour in which she could look past all the various and near constant ways popular culture undermines the progress of women.” On January 22, The Onion posted a pretty funny spoof article titled “Woman Takes Short Half-Hour Break From Being Feminist To Enjoy TV Show.” Viewing any variety of crap television is about the confirmation that the day I just untied myself from doesn’t suck nearly as bad as what’s going down on some of these shows.
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