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.

Why People Don't Snitch

From Yahoo! via Feministing:

PHOENIX - A woman had the word "snitch" burned into her face with a branding iron in apparent retaliation for helping police in a domestic violence case, authorities said.

The brand singed into her flesh during a June 13 attack is 4 to 6 inches long and stretches across her left cheek from lip to earlobe, Mesa police Sgt. Chuck Trapani said Friday.

This is unacceptable. The woman received the branding because she actually summoned the strength to come forwards and tell the police that she had been victim to a crime. Additionally, this story helps to elucidate a couple different points. The first being that this is why people in the hood don't snitch. I know, I should want to tell if I saw someone get gunned down, but, that's exactly why I wouldn't say anything. If I saw someone get gunned down, that means someone probably saw me, and, as proven by this story, we live in a world where revenge is always served with cruelty and indifference towards consequences. This means that I run a high risk of getting killed if I snitch by someone in the criminal's gang. And, while I do want to see crimes solved, I also would like to keep my life. This is the constant conundrum of snitching: do I want to solve a crime or do I want to live?