Self-Loathing or So Genius It Hurts?

A day or two ago, I thought about women's programming. Strange, I know. But, I've been thinking about typecasting in programming. I know all about this from watching way too much ESPN Classic, which is a channel that is dedicated to all things male. This maleness is personified in such programming as Rodeos, continual boxing (I love boxing, but I'm also a man), and old sports programming such as vintage Basketball and American Gladiators. There is also Spike, but I don't really watch it. But, it's another men's channel. But, I'm not explaining my project.

Women's programming, as I have seen it, revolves around esteem-destroying programming and denigration of fellow women. That seems wrong. I don't know what it is, but I feel like that is counterproductive. Also, the programming on these channels is really questionable. Some of it is good like A Different World, Living Single, and Xena: Warrior Princess on Oxygen and The Golden Girls and Frazier on Lifetime. But, the bulk of this is terrible.

Now, before any haters say, of course you wouldn't like the programming, it's meant for women. That's where you would be wrong. I've watched a ton of women's programming and actually like a good bit of it. A good television show is a good television show. I'm convinced that there is something more insidious in this whole project of women's programming. I know that women control it, but it has this feeling that men are setting it up and feeding women what they think they would like as they did in the 1950s.

I'm going to undergo a social experiment. I'm going to subject myself to full days of the women oriented channels. This includes: E!, Style Channel, Oxygen, Women's Entertainment, and Lifetime. I'll skip over SoapNet because I can explain their demographic right now: 30-50 yo middle-class housewife. She loves her 2 kids and husband. She also probably lives in the suburbs and drives a station wagon or a SUV. She's also involved in the community and likes a good deal. She probably also reads romance novels from time to time as well. There's a good chance that she's also white, but I don't want to assume on that front. The other channels are a little cloudier. I'm going to spend some time looking at them and studying. I'll do each one by channel instead of together. This is an ongoing special project unlike 5 a day was. They won't be everyday. They will hopefully come soon, one after another. But, I wouldn't expect it. Watch out for it to start.