What happened to the Feminist Movement?

Have you seen what's on TV lately? In the reality show arena, women have two choices - either be a spoiled, uneducated, selfish housewife of a rich man, or be a pregnant teenager. What does this message say to women? What happened to the feminist movement of the late 60's and throughout the 1970's? What happened to "get out of the kitchen and into the workforce"? What happened to women wanting to be independent and self-reliant? Is it all about marrying rich and then getting your own show? What happened to wanting to be respected for your brain, thoughts, feelings and for being a woman? The type of women on reality shows are not respected - do you really respect any of them? I don't. I think a lot of them are really sad, but unfortunately our society glamorizes them because they are making a lot of money off of it. Do we really want to teach this to our daughters and the entire generation of younger women?

The "Teen Mom" show on MTV really enrages me. Look at what they are promoting for ratings. If two 16-year-old girls are in the MTV casting office - guess which one gets the reality show? The one who screwed up - yes, screwed up. No 16-year-old has any business having a baby - and now girls are just doing merely to get on MTV and possibly be on the cover of US Magazine who now puts these teenage girls on their cover.

Dr. Drew Pinsky, who began with the Celebrity Rehab shows on VH1, apparently also created "16 and Pregnant" really thought that this show would be a tool to teach teenagers the downfall of being a young mom and help educate young girls (and boys) into making the right choices. Wrong, think of what you did, you put the show on MTV - teenagers idolize MTV, you get on MTV, no matter what the show, and you are a star to your peers, you are famous, that's what is inspiring teenagers to now get pregnant.

I don't understand the whole excuse of "peer pressure", I just said "no" and meant it. I knew I didn't want to get addicted to drugs and alcohol, like my relatives, and wanted to live a comfortable and successful life, unlike my relatives. No one ever tried to pressure me to do drugs or smoke, yes, had a couple of guys try to (strongly) persuade me to have sex, but I said "No" and was smart enough not to get myself into situations I couldn't get out of. This is not rocket science, I do not have a high IQ, it is simply knowing right or wrong, which I think today's teenage generation is more than capable enough to understand. However, thanks to MTV and US Magazine, now they have a way to achieve money and fame by consciously making the wrong decisions. "Jersey Shore" what does that highlight - people in the early twenties doing nothing during the day, sorry, forgot that they do "GTL", fight with each other and get drunk every week. Again, MTV shows highlight the worst in young people, but it gets ratings.

It seems that, not just women, people will do anything to be on TV, allowing themselves to be humiliated, degraded and even discriminated against - all for money and fame. Shows such as "The Bachelor" and various other dating shows, have 20 women competing against each other for one man. Would these women really do this if it was not on TV? Can they really be in love with a man they have never met? No. They are simply doing it to create their TV career. This is what we are teaching our younger generation of women and it is sad.

I do not have a daughter, I do have an autistic son, he does not yet understand any of these concepts I am expressing. My point is this, if I was blessed to have a daughter, as so many of you do, I would take them time to explain to her that these types of shows are highlighting the worst qualities women can have and view them as the example of what a woman should not be. If you want to watch the shows, fine, remember to laugh at them, not with them and be grateful you are not them.

Maybe there is something good about those shows, maybe women can use these shows to teach their daughters how not to be. Women should not have to make a mockery out of themselves to make money, women are capable of so much more. Women are capable of having a brain, creating something new, helping people, educating others, changing someone's life for the better, etc. The Feminist Movement is not about hating men, putting men out of work, or complaining - it is about taking positive steps to achieve something that has to be fought for - RESPECT.

***More blogs to come: "The FEM Method", "Searching for Gloria Steinem" and "Warning: Woman working in the Information Technology Field."