Reality TV is Hurting Women, Literally

Stereotypes that exploit women are perpetuated in society by people and the media. The Bad Girls Club, a show in its seventh season on Oxygen network, creates this false image that women are sluts and are catty towards other women. Yelling, name-calling, hair pulling, acrylic nails clawing, fake hair and makeup flying are thing to be expected in an average episode, all wrapped into a neat 60 minute package every Monday at 9 p.m.

On the show, seven women in their 20’s from different backgrounds are chosen to live in a house and let their “bad girl” ways flow freely for three months. Verbal and physical abuse, racism, and molestation between the roommates flood the television screen the entire time this show is on. When did violence become entertainment? And what causes these women to behave so badly on live television?

Fighting is so common in the Bad Girl household that Oxygen network’s weekly poll said, “What do you think of Bad Girls who scratch in a tussel?” The three answers to choose from included, “They know how to hit where it hurts—without hitting”, “It’s safer than throwing bleach”, or “They are 100% #weak sauce.” Over ten thousand people answered this poll, the majority in favor of the “weak sauce” response.

Although there is an agreement in the “bad girls’” contract that they are to refrain from physical violence against their roommates, it only says that they “may” be evicted from the mansion and kicked off the show. Confrontations are common in the house, but the aggressors are never made to leave. The only roommates that have left have done so voluntarily because they didn’t feel safe in a house full of women with behavioral issues.

The house is divided into cliques and the hierarchy of the house gives power to the popular. Although feelings about one another change daily, the best defense strategy is staying with a group. These alcohol-fueled bad apples aren’t women to be reckoned with. Singled-out women have become the victim of onslaught attacks with six to one odds. As this brutal violence goes on, the cameras keep rolling to give people what they want.

This show is not entertaining, it is just plain wrong. Reality television or not, “bad girl” or not, there is no reason for people to act this way. After seeing a few episodes of this show, I thought perhaps it could be excusable if the women on the show made a transformation in their lives by its conclusion. I figured, if at least they learned something from the experience, it might be acceptable material for television.

In recent news, former “bad girl” Christina Hopkins surfaced in a racist video in which she dropped the N-bomb at least a dozen times. Former “bad girl” Erica Langston can thank the show for scoring her huge contract deal in the porn industry. This latest season in New Orleans, the bad girls have been banned from a number of local clubs and bars because patrons were frightened by their behavior.