Ok, if you know me then you already know that I vehemently oppose the show Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC. I watched one episode once, and I felt like I literally had to go and vomit.
The parents featured on the show are abusive. Shooting kids faces up with botox, and pressure hosing them down with spray tans is wrong. It's clear these kids' parents are total lunatics for thinking that kind of behavior is ok.
But, what disgusts me even more is that the show continues to rise in ratings. How can the average American viewer watch the show and feel ok about themselves? If you watch the show you are watching child abuse (children getting exploited once by their parents) and then child abuse again (children getting exploited by a television network who uses the shock value to draw in viewership) all for a good laugh or for a little distant indignation. It's not funny. It is shocking, but the shock should lead us to action. Not to pausing, rewinding and re-watching on our DVRs.
I saw this last week, and I was horrified. This is exactly my argument against Toddlers and Tiaras. It does not shed light on this important issue in any meaningful way. This child who has been exploited is now going to be even more so, her parents WIN! They've turned her into a little porcelain doll with no real life, America finds this unbelievably creepy and yet oh-so-cute. And oila! She has her very own show.
If you watch the show. Please stop. You are contributing to the continued exploitation of children for your own entertainment. I just have to ask...What the Wednesday?
Dear T&T Parents, TLC, and the American Public,
Children are not commodities to be bought, used, and sold. We are on to your sly pretense when presenting this as journalism, we're not fooled. At all. Take this crap off the air and do something that actually makes a difference on the supposed Learning Channel.
Sincerely,
A Boycotting Former Viewer
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