Feminists For Choice

Television is, among other things, a representation of what the people think. This is a beautiful thing, where we can see emotional, intricate dramas or comedies based on situations that are on the minds of many. However, sometimes the reverse happens. Sometimes, TV is used to make an idea for people to think. This includes the news making things more negative than they are, various crime shows making pro choice and LGBT issues into just another 55 minute minutes of fame deal, and effectively setting feminism back quite a ways.

Television programs get away with a lot in terms of sexism. Feministing also posted an article showing some examples of sexist TV. Here are some examples of popular shows I have observed and my thought on why they are sexist, and what should/could be changed.

*Bridezillas- You have probable seen this one. For those who don’t know, this is a show about women, about to get married, who turn to some mean tactics to get their perfect wedding.

Why it’s sexist- Though amusing, this show really does quite a job of making all women seem like they care exclusively about getting the perfect marriage and otherwise, NOTHING matters. In the mean time, men are almost always shown to me angelic heroes (occasionally they are shown to jump into the mud though)

What should be improved- I think they should show more of the behavior grooms can and do exhibit at weddings. Grooms do get attitudes at weddings- it’s not limited to brides.

*A shot at love- This gem of a television show featured a bisexual woman, Tila Tequila, trying to find love, with a unique twist- Tila is bisexual. While there is nothing wrong with reality TV romance, this show took things pretty far. To be blunt, nearly every episode was more about sexuality than romance.

Why it’s harmful to women- Though, admittedly, this show portrayed everyone of both genders as promiscuous, it objectified Lesbian and Bisexual women more than nearly everything else I’ve ever seen. This show barely gave any personality at all to the women fighting for love.

What should be improved- though there will be no more episodes with Tila Tequila looking for love, if they choose to do a show with a different searcher, they need to do more romance and less sex! Sex is fine, but they made it the focus of the show and then called it a romantic reality show. They also, again, need to stop objectifying women. (Men, too!)

*18 Kids and counting- This is a family that believes in no contraception or, on the other side of the fence, fertility treatments. They believe in having as many children as possible, and they believe that women really should be housewives. There have been instances where the father chucked out college scholarship offers for his daughters, because, well, women don’t need or want an education!… Right?…

Why it’s harmful to women- the obvious misogyny in this show speaks for itself. The girls do all the cooking, cleaning, etc. while the boys don’t usually have to do much. The girls are told they need to be housewives, and there are various other sexist beliefs in this show. I actually got so frustrated with this show, I turned my TV off and walked away. While I approve of their closeness and being told family comes first (there are 6 people in my family, including me, so I think family is extremely important) women are told to sacrifice their chances for men. Sacrifice should come from both sides of a marriage.

What should be changed- Honestly, I can’t change the way a family thinks, and it’s not really fair to ask them not to say what they think, but I think they should tone down the male dominance a bit.

It is sad to see that there is still so much sexism on TV, but we HAVE come a long way in the last few years. I think that there’s a lot of progress left to make, but it will be made.