Does one group of wild banshee breezies look worse than the other? Does Reality TV Equally Depict All Women? The era of reality television has brought about many debates over whether or not the means (using real life as a form of entertainment) truly justify the end (“fame” and/or notoriety.) While the initial idea behind the concept of reality tv was to film the “real lives” of once-everyday people, the spectrum has now broadened to give viewing audiences an intimate look into the lives of everyone from teenage mothers and unknown rich kids to well-known athletes and superstar entertainers. Although reality television certainly isn’t a gender-biased genre, it’s no secret that the most widely popular reality shows often feature women. The reasoning behind the overwhelming female presence is debatable: Do viewers in general find women to be more visually stimulating, more entertaining, or simply more willing to have their lives filmed and broadcast to the world? Or is it a combination of all three? Whatever the case, women of all races, shapes, sizes and backgrounds grace our television screens daily , with a new reality show popping up seemingly every month. And what’s more, the forumla for a successful female-dominated reality series seems to be pretty much the same: a mixture of outspoken women, shameless women and the token level-headed woman, all desiring to take their career or lifestyle to the next level by any means necessary. However, many argue that this very formula is purposely contrived to portray minority women in a worse light than their white counter parts………but are they right? Do predominantly white reality shows like Mob Wives, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Jersey Shore not promote and glamorize the same reckless behavior as shows like Basketball Wives, Real Housewives of Atlanta and Love And Hip Hop? Let’s discuss, Bossip fam. Photo Credit: VH1/Bravo
