Bad Feminist

Bad Feminist will show you a new way of looking at equality by revealing some not so common ideas about race, gender, and feminism in the United States.

Admit it, at one point or another you’ve probably been watching TV and seen at least a little bit of a reality TV show. These shows suck people in with dramatic confrontations between contestants and often exaggerated romantic connections. But the biggest problem, perhaps, is that they perpetuate damaging stereotypes about women.

Rather than showing real, three-dimensional women, they often portray exaggerated versions that reduce women to a few basic stereotypes. Just look at any reality dating competition where women compete for a bachelor’s attention. They all clamor for his attention and seem to be totally infatuated while the man seems like he couldn’t care less.

In addition, they portray these women as the worst versions of themselves. They stir up drama and can’t seem to get along with other women. When we reduce women to charcitures, it basically gives the audience permission to make fun of them and tear them apart. The worse they behave, the better the ratings. People enjoy watching this because seeing others make bad decisions makes them feel better about their own lives.

Makeover shows and those that focus on outward appearance are also damaging. Surgically enhancing female bodies or putting women through harsh workout and diet regimens to achieve an ideal women’s body might make for good TV. But these shows tend to completely ignore their internal experience and inner value by focusing on appearance only.

Rape is a horrible crime that is often both physically and emotionally damaging for victims. Unfortunately, TV and movies love to add it into storylines for drama. This exposure through media desensitizes us to the horrors of rape culture. Just think of the popular TV show Law and Order: SVU. They have had so many storylines about rape that they have to make each case contain more interesting or gruesome details to keep things interesting. A story of a man “just” raping a woman isn’t seen as shocking or horrifying enough anymore, showing how we are slowly becoming desensitized. But it’s not just TV. Sexual violence against women is so common we refer to it as “rape culture.” This idea almost expects a woman will get assaulted at one point or another. TV and movies are partly to blame. But the way the media reports doesn’t help either. The news has been known to focus on the perpetrator rather than the victim and how it affects them. Politicians also have not been good at helping the cause. Just consider former US Representative Todd Akin’s comments about what he called “legitimate…