The sun has finally decided to show its little face for more than a tease so I've been enjoying some time outside away from the computer. But when there are rainy days (which we have had lots of this summer) I've spent some time catching up on summer TV. In all honesty, I usually use my summer to get into ongoing series that I've missed and finally decided to sit down and give a chance, and this summer is no exception. I just finished watching Season 1 of Nip Tuck and am loving that show a lot! I'd heard people say it was good, but I wasn't expecting it would turn into a borderline obsession! Actually I am looking forward to getting my hands on Season 2 for a marathon...Anyway, the summer isn't just for catching up on old shows because there are some ongoing & new shows that aren't all bad. That said, I will admit that I've been watching Fox's newest "reality show" 'More to Love' (MTL). And I really am not sure why I am still watching because the show is just so wrong, and quite offensive! For those of you who aren't watching MTL here's a little summary:
I noticed something else when I glanced at the text on screen accompanying the girls names that has also bothered me. The occupations of the girls are listed and include the following: waitress, student, nanny, make-up artist, retail associate. See a pattern? All of our heavy ladies are in fairly low-paying jobs requiring minimal education. Subliminal message I read: larger people - in fact I'll change that to say larger women since our Bachelor is a "successful subcontractor and real estate investor" - who struggle with controlling their weight are restricted to lower-paying jobs requiring lesser education. What kind of message is that? In the real world there are large women in higher-paying professions! I am not happy with the producers of this show for not selecting from the candidate pool some examples of this. They do exist. I hate the portrayal of heavy people as being unintelligent and confined to lower class. For comparisons sake I looked online at the male contestant pool from the most recent 'The Bachelorette' series and found a more diverse spread including an IT consultant, a financial analyst, and a commercial pilot - all with "perfect" physique, education and money in the bank I'm sure.
I am also not impressed with the fact that 80% of the shows footage is of the Bachelor & the girls eating! Now I realize that eating is a part of life, but if these people spent that much time eating they'd actually be much bigger than they are. Way to edit the footage so that it makes the contestants look as gluttonous as humanly possible! Yes they are large, but come on...And lastly, to make an already bad situation worse the girls on the show pick on the skinniest girl for not being fat enough! In the episodes I've watched they are hating on her for not knowing what its like to grow up fat since she gained her weight after college. I thought this Bachelor likes heavier set women, so why is the least heavy girl a threat to them based on her size alone?
So, while I absolutely agree with the idea behind this show that you don't have to be super skinny to be attractive and capable of being loved, MTL has taken it too far. The show has twisted it into "if you are heavy, you need to be with a heavy person because they are the only one who will understand & love you for who you are" - notice that does read who you are not how you are. There are plenty of solid couples out there who are not of identical body size, race or upbringing and yet they somehow are able to love & understand one another just fine! The exploitation of the heavy women on this show is appalling - displaying their weight on the screen, always eating, low-paying professions, not "fat enough" .....makes me angry just thinking about it!
The bachelor, Luke Conely is a 26 year old, 300+ lb, former college football player who is looking for love, in the form of a large lady. The girls on the show are in there 20's and 30's, many have very little (if any) dating experience and are absolutely desperate to find someone who will fall in love with them and be able to see beyond their physical appearance.And although it may sound like your typical "reality show", it's got me a bit wound up by how awful it is. When you watch a reality-type show, quite often you see a person's name, age, occupation and hometown on the bottom left-hand of the screen right? MTL has all of that but it also has the weight of the girls next to their name. Sure, we know the bachelor likes larger women, but does their numerical weight need to be broadcast nationwide? What's the reasoning behind posting it there anyway? As a future dietitian I cringe at the use of weight alone as a judgment of size. After all, 250 lb on a body can look a lot different depending on body structure, height and muscle mass. We know the girls are all heavy, but does it matter to viewers whether he chooses a 203 lb or 195 lb girl in the end? I just don't get it! FYI - The Bachelor doesn't have his weight written next to his name; I only know he's 300+ lbs because he mentioned it in an episode.
I noticed something else when I glanced at the text on screen accompanying the girls names that has also bothered me. The occupations of the girls are listed and include the following: waitress, student, nanny, make-up artist, retail associate. See a pattern? All of our heavy ladies are in fairly low-paying jobs requiring minimal education. Subliminal message I read: larger people - in fact I'll change that to say larger women since our Bachelor is a "successful subcontractor and real estate investor" - who struggle with controlling their weight are restricted to lower-paying jobs requiring lesser education. What kind of message is that? In the real world there are large women in higher-paying professions! I am not happy with the producers of this show for not selecting from the candidate pool some examples of this. They do exist. I hate the portrayal of heavy people as being unintelligent and confined to lower class. For comparisons sake I looked online at the male contestant pool from the most recent 'The Bachelorette' series and found a more diverse spread including an IT consultant, a financial analyst, and a commercial pilot - all with "perfect" physique, education and money in the bank I'm sure.
I am also not impressed with the fact that 80% of the shows footage is of the Bachelor & the girls eating! Now I realize that eating is a part of life, but if these people spent that much time eating they'd actually be much bigger than they are. Way to edit the footage so that it makes the contestants look as gluttonous as humanly possible! Yes they are large, but come on...And lastly, to make an already bad situation worse the girls on the show pick on the skinniest girl for not being fat enough! In the episodes I've watched they are hating on her for not knowing what its like to grow up fat since she gained her weight after college. I thought this Bachelor likes heavier set women, so why is the least heavy girl a threat to them based on her size alone?
So, while I absolutely agree with the idea behind this show that you don't have to be super skinny to be attractive and capable of being loved, MTL has taken it too far. The show has twisted it into "if you are heavy, you need to be with a heavy person because they are the only one who will understand & love you for who you are" - notice that does read who you are not how you are. There are plenty of solid couples out there who are not of identical body size, race or upbringing and yet they somehow are able to love & understand one another just fine! The exploitation of the heavy women on this show is appalling - displaying their weight on the screen, always eating, low-paying professions, not "fat enough" .....makes me angry just thinking about it!
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