I love trashy magazines. I particularly like reading them at the gym because it takes no brain power and helps me pass the time instead of obsessing about how much I dislike stair climbers. They are also good for pedicures if I’m not absorbed in a book at that moment. The part(s) I like about the magazines are the pictures, sometimes human-interest stories and absolutely-laughable “truths” the mags come up with (this week’s US proclaims that Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are an item, read the actual article and it’s all speculation, no hard facts).
The part that bothers me the most is the underage, reality TV stuff. I’ve gone off before about OctoMom and Kate/Jon/8 and how stupid it all appears to those of us that live in actual reality. The “16 & Pregnant” show and related attention really bothers me. I get the promoted intent is showing young teens what it really means to have a kid, give it up for adoption, how it impacts your life, etc. When I was in high school, it was the Egg Baby assignment. Some friends at other schools had sacks of flour. Granted, these inanimate objects are nothing like caring for a real baby. Not even sure it gives a true picture on how hard it is. Maybe just a flavor. Like a mint leaf.
In the same US Weekly that talked about Sandy & Ryan, there were 2 separate references to Season 1 of “16 & Pregnant”. The first (perhaps most gag-worthy) was a shot of one of those moms in a bikini at the beach. What does this have to do with anything other than twisted voyeurism? The other was an article about the one arrest and facing charges of battery (of her ex). I don’t know the girl’s name, or the kid, or anything about what their specific story is since I never watched the show on TV. I don’t have any interest in learning more details, I have better gossip to waste my time on.
WHY are these girls being sensationalized by the paparazzi, gossip mongering public (like me) OK – season’s over – leave the girls alone to live a real life with their choices. What lesson is it teaching the younger girls that the show is over yet they continue to see these girls and their cute kids in weekly gossip mags and mentioned on the E! network? Without really showing what is going on in their lives? Or why we should have intimate details about domestic abuse or neglect? How does making them reality celebrities really providing the lesson that was originally intended? Stop them making some chunks of money off of articles and photos across all the varieties of gossip rags, put them back into an anonymous existence. What’s even scarier – what are these kids going to grow up and learn? What sort of values are we teaching our kids, their kids, the world? UGH! It’s so freaking disgusting!
So disgusting indeed…
Collective Fabric 