It all started with one simple premise: 20 men or women put into a house in order to find love with one specific person. This person ranged from nobodies, such as the men and women of "The Bachelor" and the "Bachelorette", to washedup celebrities, such as Flavor Flav and Bret Michaels. This type of dating show has spawned countless spin-offs ranging from competition shows such as "I Love Money" on VH1 and even spin-off dating shows that feature one of the men or women who lost the chance at love on their original show.
An example of this is Tiffany "New York" Pollard. She first appeared on the first season of, arguably VH1's most popular show, "Flavor of Love". She made it down to the final two and was not chosen. She was brought back for the second season half way through to "help" Flav decide which one was for him. She did not believe any of them were good enough, and Flav decided to reinstate her into the competition. She, once again, made it to the final two and Flav, once again, did not choose her. This spawned her own dating reality show entitled "I Love New York".
Now when one thinks of these reality shows, it is believed that these women and men are exploiting themselves just for the sake of TV exposure or for money. The questionable behavior creates a distorted stereotype. All of the girls that are on these shows seem to be the same, and almost create a gold-digging stereotype. No matter the intentions of the girl, there is always a question of whether she is really there for the person or is there for alternate reasons. All of the guys come across as thoughtless jerks, and the same applies to the men; the question always arises as to whether the man is there for the person or for money or exposure. The issue of gender is ever-present in these shows, and whether they create a bad light or a good light is up to the opinion of the viewer. No matter how far the boundaries are crossed, there will always be viewers of these shows and whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is questionable.
I admit I am a fan of these dating shows, which some people are embarrassed to admit. I enjoy the craziness that ensues. Many of the people on the shows are characters, at least when it comes to VH1 "reality". I don't see these people as real and genuine, I see them as characters.
I always wanted to know what other gender-related issues people think reality tv shows create, dating shows specifically.
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2 comments:
I really enjoy watching reality shows and find them to be very entertaining. I have seen all types of reality dating shows and I think that it is very interesting that the majority of the couples do not work out. It does not matter that the one specific person that everyone is vying for, is male or female. In this respect, gender does not play a role in the successful outcome of the match. The outcome usually results from the fact that everyone on the show is living in a fantasy world-the massive house, the extreme and romantic dates and the contestants that are considered “perfect”. Once the couple steps out of this fantasy world, which is totally created for the show, the relationship crumbles. I think for couples to be most successful they need to spend time together for a while in the real world; but of course in the reality dating shows, the existence of the fantasy world grabs the attention of the viewers.
I am a huge fan of these dating shows but I will never consider going on anyone of these shows. I believe that these contestants can never find true love in such a short time period. The most recent reality show that I seen is Momma’s Boy. In Momma’s Boy three mothers had the opportunity to choose a potential date for their sons. Throughout the show the mothers, realized that they were not able to successfully find a spouse for their sons. I don’t believe that a mother can choose a lifetime spouse for her son.
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