i am teaching a women's studies course at hofstra university and we have recently been talking about reality television and how they are often misogynist and send out dangerous messages to girls and young women. the reason i bring this up is because we learned that a vast majority of people who watch reality shows are teenage girls and young women between the ages of 18 and 24 and also most reality shows are produced by men. we're talking about shows such as the bachelor, rock of love, the girls next door, keeping up with the kardashians, bad girls club, america's next top model and even shows like american idol and dancing with the stars. now granted i do not like reality shows to begin with we have been studying these shows by watching scenes from these shows on tv and seeing how dehumanizing to women they are. yeah one might argue that these shows are sexist against men as well but they really aren't. at least the men on these shows aren't botoxed up or are cosmetically enhanced. and even the bachelorette is anti-women by showing the female lead as a brainless sex object. i for one hope for the sake of all womankind that reality shows soon die a painful death and are put out of their misery once and for all so we can see shows that are more empowering and less insulting.

I agree. I catched maybe 10 minutes of that Rock of Love garbage and honestly it turned my stomach. I pray young girls don't look to these skanks as the ideal woman otherwise we're going to end up with a world filled with nothing but them.

If I had a teenaged daughter I'd be so worried about her thinking they had any value. Hopefully they'll realize it's more how NOT to be female.

Reality shows are just plain bad period.



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I don't like all the aggression and violence you see on most woman-oriented reality shows. To me they seem to say "If you have a disagreement with another woman knock her down, spit on her, get in her face, belittle her and ruin her property." There is no talking or compromising, just shouting and accusations.

Agreed

In my entire life, I have never, EVER spit on anyone. I only got into a couple of fistfights with other girls when I was about 15 and close to getting out of control myself. It's immature to say the least.

These girls have mouths on them worse than any longshoreman, and what kills me is that usually the show is all about appealing to a guy!! Yah, that's what every male wants - someone who can defend him in a mini-skirt and stilettos! They seem to spend a fortune on makeup, botox, nose and boob jobs, weaves, hair colouring, manicures, pedicures, clothes to make themselves attractive......and then they open their mouths and it all goes out the window!

I think all reality shows (with the possible exception of The Biggest Loser) send bad messages to everyone!! I hate reality TV with a passion. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

^ Actually I still enjoy The Amazing Race which has been up for a lot of emmys. There's not much backstabbing (and never had been before Rob and Amber from Survivor played) and it really is entertaining with all the different areas of the world.

I hate to say it, but I'll still watch Big Brother, Survivor, DWTS, and ones like that, but I've never even liked the Bachelor or any of the shows about "supposed" love. * gag *

they send a bad message and set bad examples for EVERYONE.

...most importantly, they send a bad message to network executives that people actually want to watch this crap.

true the men fight over women on these shows as well, but I think we live in such a male-dominated world as it is and that women have more to offer the world than men do because we are better people than men in general. but not just these shows. i hate the way kate gosselin is being ostracized just because she's an assertive woman and doesn't take any crap from her loser ex-husband. everyone calls her "abusive", i call her a hero to all womankind. most women would kill to be able to stand up to these lazy slugs known as husbands. but we're too intimidated by men even though we're better than them. i'm all for women abusing their husbands. but jon's playing this "oh! my wife yelled at me alot! i was abused!" card trying to milk sympathy. at least kate isn't sleeping with 20-year-olds all the time like this humbert-humbert wannabe of an ex-husband! an american idol is horrible! i mean when was the last time we had a female american idol winner in the past several years? first we had kelly clarkson. then fantasia burrino. then carrie underwood. now we're just getting dudes who are not even that talented while these super-talented women are being short-changed. what happened? simon suddenly said "i don't want anymore girl winners"? all these guys have to offer is cheap gimmicks! the fact that jennifer hudson didn't win is a sin! who won instead of her again? some long-haired stoner dude who couldn't sing to save his life?! what was wrong with j-hud? she wasn't thin enough?! she wasn't another britney spears?! as if guys need another sex object to drool over?! sorry got a little ahead of myself there! anyway back to the subject at hand i am so sick of these dumb reality programs and cannot believe all these great scripted shows are actually getting the ax because people are too busy watching these crappy reality shows!

true the men fight over women on these shows as well, but I think we live in such a male-dominated world as it is and that women have more to offer the world than men do because we are better people than men in general. but not just these shows. i hate the way kate gosselin is being ostracized just because she's an assertive woman and doesn't take any crap from her loser ex-husband. everyone calls her "abusive", i call her a hero to all womankind. most women would kill to be able to stand up to these lazy slugs known as husbands. but we're too intimidated by men even though we're better than them. i'm all for women abusing their husbands. but jon's playing this "oh! my wife yelled at me alot! i was abused!" card trying to milk sympathy. at least kate isn't sleeping with 20-year-olds all the time like this humbert-humbert wannabe of an ex-husband! an american idol is horrible! i mean when was the last time we had a female american idol winner in the past several years? first we had kelly clarkson. then fantasia burrino. then carrie underwood. now we're just getting dudes who are not even that talented while these super-talented women are being short-changed. what happened? simon suddenly said "i don't want anymore girl winners"? all these guys have to offer is cheap gimmicks! the fact that jennifer hudson didn't win is a sin! who won instead of her again? some long-haired stoner dude who couldn't sing to save his life?! what was wrong with j-hud? she wasn't thin enough?! she wasn't another britney spears?! as if guys need another sex object to drool over?! sorry got a little ahead of myself there! anyway back to the subject at hand i am so sick of these dumb reality programs and cannot believe all these great scripted shows are actually getting the ax because people are too busy watching these crappy reality shows!


Whoa whoa whoa!! I was on your side and actually agreed with you until your last post. The following statements made by you are what bothered me the most:


women have more to offer the world than men do because we are better people than men in general


Excuse me? What makes you better than me? If I said that men were better and offered more than women, you'd be up in arms.


i call her a hero to all womankind. most women would kill to be able to stand up to these lazy slugs known as husbands. but we're too intimidated by men even though we're better than them.


Women are better than men? Um, no. Neither is better than the other.


I had a feeling it was coming to this by reading your first post. After reading your first post, I actually agreed with you. These reality shows are horrible for young women. Believe me, I agree 100%. These shows are incredibly shallow and promote it. But, who the **** do you think you are, claiming women are better than men? I guarantee you if the situation was reversed and I ripped women like that, you'd be the first one complaining. Calling you a feminist is too good for you. You're a feminazi, who's goal is to ultimately convince women that they are the dominant gender and that men are scum.

I think almost every reality show on channels like VH1, E ! and MTV do send bad messages to girls and women.

Reality shows tend to send bad messages to everyone, about everyone and everything. They appeal to everything base and gutteral in our society, and in fact, glorify those things.

I loathe reality shows. They are lazy, uncreative, exploitive, superficial (to say the least) and about as connected to art as a Red Bull is to a fine wine.

And I agree with Darren J. To assert that one sex are "better people in general" is a horrendous leap of logic and presumption, based on no fact or research. We're all in this together, men and women, all religions and races, all walks of life, and we're all going to rise or fall together.

they set really bad messages..yet somehow I still watch some of them (I don't know why). It glorifies drugs, sex and just god awful behavior, and disrespect.

to one of the posters who went nuts over my post...i hate to burst your bubble but women are superior to men. deal with it. we always have been which is why men try to keep us down. if you notice on these reality shows the men always come off as victorious while the women come off as barbie dolls. kinda the way men want it to be like. but men are the biggest dufuses on the planet. women rule.

Uh, bambilynn. I don't quite know how to break this to you....but reality shows are degrading to both women AND men. They're degrading to the human race in general. You don't realize that your attitude is what's ruining feminism and making it less about equalizing men and women and more about making women better than men, just reversing what's been happening for ages. Making one gender superior to the other ruins humanity. True, women have certain advantages over men and are better at certain things, but so do men. We compliment one another as people. But reality TV is crap...complete, utter CRAP!!! Both women and men are equally degraded and it sends out bad messages to all humans, regardless of gender. In actuality, it sends out bad messages to young kids. Children are the ones who are really being needlessly exploited by these crap shows!

The problem with reality shows is that many people don't think something is real unless it is negative. It's the same thing with sitcoms and dramas.

I think we live in such a male-dominated world as it is and that women have more to offer the world than men do because we are better people than men in general. but not just these shows.

I believe in equality between the sexes. It may never be a reality, but it's something to strive for.


i hate the way kate gosselin is being ostracized just because she's an assertive woman and doesn't take any crap from her loser ex-husband. everyone calls her "abusive", i call her a hero to all womankind. most women would kill to be able to stand up to these lazy slugs known as husbands.


You seem to be interjecting tabloid stories into your analysis of the show.

I haven't seen every episode of 'Jon and Kate,' but I find Kate more domineering than assertive. Note, this maybe due to the way the show is edited. She's being shown (on the news) now as the romanticized, self-sacrificing mother, but I remember an episode where she hollered and spoke to Jon like he was a child in a grocery store. If a husband did that to his wife, people would accuse him of being a wife beater. Right from the start, Kate said that initially Jon didn't want to try for a third child, but she pursued her fertility options anyway without regard to his feelings. What would have happened to this family financially if TLC hadn't offered them a show? What if Kate wouldn't have been able to work or died during childbirth? Jon would have been responsible for the the financial and emotional responsibilities of raising all 8 children alone. I think Jon should receive credit for being committed to the marriage when they found out six children were coming instead of one.

I think it is okay to talk back (be assertive) and not like the same things. But, Kate is shown as a "my way or the highway" type of figure. Whether this is true or not, who knows.

I also don't see Jon as being lazy. He's been shown going to work, helping with the children and renovating the house.

I think 'Jon and Kate' focuses more on the day to day tasks of raising 8 children than on presenting a loving family. It's a shame because here are two adults that don't have economic woes and can love freely without worrying about the rent. Being a self-sacrificing mother isn't loving. Being a martyr isn't loving. Couples must be partners. This show presents a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy and both are no good.


an american idol is horrible! i mean when was the last time we had a female american idol winner in the past several years?

I think this is a poor example because American Idol winners are voted for by the public. The judges have influence, but at the end it's the public that decides. I don't know how fair the voting is (i.e. voting is probably affected by demographics such as age, race, economic background, etc.,), but I think the show makes an effort to give each contestant a chance. I would imagine that one of the reasons there have been so many male winners is because of all the teenage, female fans.

to one of the posters who went nuts over my post...i hate to burst your bubble but women are superior to men. deal with it. we always have been which is why men try to keep us down. if you notice on these reality shows the men always come off as victorious while the women come off as barbie dolls. kinda the way men want it to be like. but men are the biggest dufuses on the planet. women rule.


You sound just like a poster that signed up a few months ago to rag on men and when most of us disagreed and pointed out what a man hater they were, they left the boards as fast as they came.

You sound more like you've been through some bitter relationship(s) and should get help for your warped sense of males. If you're going to group all males in as being lazy, bad, etc.. then it's no better than racism - only pointed towards a sex. Do yourself and us a favour and instead of posting this garbage, get some serious professional help. That, or if you're lesbian just say so, but don't blame males for the bad behaviour of females. If we're so great, then why do we lower our standards so much for 15 mins. of fame and/or a dollar.

Get real babe! :rolleyes:

to one of the posters who went nuts over my post...i hate to burst your bubble but women are superior to men. deal with it. we always have been which is why men try to keep us down. if you notice on these reality shows the men always come off as victorious while the women come off as barbie dolls. kinda the way men want it to be like. but men are the biggest dufuses on the planet. women rule.We have another Maddison on our hands. :rolleyes:

We have another Maddison on our hands. :rolleyes:

Who?

Who?Maddison was a poster who started thread after thread about how women are superior to men and how men are scum, etc. She was suspended a few months ago.

Maddison was a poster who started thread after thread about how women are superior to men and how men are scum, etc. She was suspended a few months ago.


Thank you! That was the name of the poster I was thinking of. Wasn't sure if she just left or was suspended and then left. Just wanted to stir up trouble. Signed up and immediately started posting garbage about hating men. Not for this site - you want that, go to some narrow minded site where others think that way.

Wouldn't be surprised if this one is the same person, just signed up under a new name. A real loser.

I just flat out hate reality shows and I think they're equally degrading to women and men. I just think they send out bad messages to impressionable kids and teens. Bambilynn, I am sorry that you had bad experiences with men, but rest assured we all have good and bad in us. Maybe men and women have certain advantages and disadvantages, but that's called being human. No one is perfect. But I love men and I know not all men are monsters. In fact, most of my closest friends just happen to be men. Sure I have a fair number of girlfriends, but I also have a ton of guyfriends. I think we live in a gender-obsessed world and we should all just calm down and learn to accept one another for who we are along with our flaws. People are people, period.

Reality shows are just plain bad period.
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