Reality television is revealing a side of popular culture I am shocked to see exists.
Watching a couple of the “wives” in Love and Hip Hop, Mob Wives, Housewives of Whatever city, I am disgusted at the level of entitlement that these women exhibit. There is no feminism on these shows, and there are so many women willing to compromise their morals to remain in the industry and be on TV.
Recently the public unrevealing of the “marriage” of NFL player Chad Johnson and Basketball Wives TV star Evelyn Lozada captured nationwide attention. The disbelief that a marriage could end faster than a Kardashians marriage was scandalous. It brought new attention to these so-called reality “wives.”
The truth is that many of these shows promote crass opportunism and exploitation, but I guess agreeing to tell all on reality TV requires an opportunist and someone willing to be exploited. Women should never base their life choices on whether they can bag a rich guy and then use his stardom to rise to success.
But let’s get real. These shows are the modern day bread and circuses (Roman history reference for those confused). The audiences love to see a train wreck, especially when it’s easily put in front of them on the TV screen. What we end up witnessing isis as violent as a car accident that we cannot pull our eyes away from. The depictions of women as catty, abusive, disloyal, ignorant, and dependent on their men for crumbs of infamy are, unfortunately, appealing to many people today.
What ever happened to women doing things and making moves on their own? The self-assured women who younger women can look up to?
One of the most popular reality shows is called Love & Hip Hop on VH1, which is about the lives of several Atlanta women who are involved in the music industry.
On the show every one of these women complained about their mate committing to them. At one point, an outspoken Hip Hop “Wife” said she understands that in the music industry there are women willing to give up their bodies before their names. She went on to explain that as long as she never knows or sees what is going on with her mate and these other women she was fine with that.
This shocked me. To brazenly make such a statement on national TV was not only disrespectful to herself but to women in general. How much of her dignity was she willing to give up for a couple of hand bags and her face on TV?
The entire show (Love & Hip Hop) is a study in ridiculousness and bad behavior. It’s pretty damn awful, with little to no redeeming qualities. There is no love or hip-hop on the show. All of the women (Mimi, Rasheeda, Karlie, K.
Michelle, Joseline and Erica) suffer from explosive anger, pathetic attachment to men that don’t want them, or overall ratchetness.
Another “wives” reality show that is appalling is the Housewives franchise, specifically the Real Housewives of Atlanta and that show has a number of issues going on.
The Atlanta house “wives” may look nice, but they reveal themselves to be backstabbing and dishonest women. The relationship between the women on the show is downright toxic and borders on bullying.
From gold-digging, to cat fights the Atlanta wives stir up drama to the maximum. The personification of this is exhibited by Sheree Whitfield, an ex-wife of an NFL player.
They say that life deals you a hand and you’re forced to play with the cards you’re dealt. Well Whitfield is playing high stakes poker as the “housewife” goes from place to place causing problems for everyone in her path, pretending to be a socialite when in fact she a broke single mother of three.
Last, but not least, the Mob Wives show is simply over the top, and promotes the underbelly of our society. The women have taken on the persona of their non-law abiding mates and family members. When is it okay to threaten to end someone’s life because they said something you didn’t like?
Honestly, there are more fist fights on the show than the UFC. This does not promote anything positive, and it is outrageous to think that women are pretending they are Scarface or some other mobster come to power.
The popularity of reality television tends not to reflect on what is reality. Because one dates or has dated a professional sports player or actor etc. does not make someone a “wife” nor should it be the basis of a television show. The portrayal of women in these shows isn’t reality.
