Reality Show for Stay-at-Home Moms

DSTCHAOS · #1 03-13-2008, 11:47 AM

Most of our more respectable fantasies have found a place on reality TV. There's the show where designers swoop in to organize your clutter and the one about the nanny who figures out how to keep the kids from using their potties as weapons. There's even a show about wife swapping.

But TLC has found one more untapped fantasy—at least for mothers. We're not talking about "The Manny." No, this is the one where you're a woman who's been home with your kids so long that you can't remember the last time you wore hard-soled shoes. Then someone (say, former sitcom star Tracey Gold) comes by and says, "Hey, you know how you always wanted to be a fashion designer, cop or chef? Well, we'll give you a week to try it out—without your family knowing. Then at the end of the week you get to choose whether to restart your career or stay home. And guess what: your kids and husband will support you either way."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/120362?GT1=43002

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Yay another reality show.

This show has received criticism from people who think these women are "selfish" and shouldn't have had kids if they weren't going to raise them. Eh--I agree that a family with a stay at home parent (father or mother) needs the appropriate transition if the parent decides to be the other breadwinner.

Working mothers in traditional homes tend to have two jobs--one without pay---and stay-at-home parents have a 24/7 job that is overworked and unpaid. Knowing how I feel about the family and gender, I can't just say these women are selfish for wanting to reduce the home responsibilities (which requires the fathers to do more than sit on the couch and relax) and place more emphasis on the working world. Maybe it'd be better if the kids were a bit older (like what my mom did) but it would still depend on the situation.

Anyone heard of this? What say you?

DSTCHAOS · #2 03-13-2008, 12:04 PM

Maybe this doesn't belong in the entertainment section. The article and discussion are newsy.

Senusret I · #3 03-13-2008, 12:12 PM

I wouldn't have imagined such a backlash.....

DSTCHAOS · #4 03-13-2008, 12:14 PM

Well it's a touchy topic for many so it's more than a TV show to them.

Senusret I · #5 03-13-2008, 12:20 PM

Yeah. I definitely don't have the cultural competency/capacity to begin understanding.

<---- mom was a working single mother and I had a mammy.

Okay, not a mammy, but a great aunt named Sissy (really!) who lived with us during my early years.

DSTCHAOS · #6 03-13-2008, 12:28 PM

LOL @ mammy

DaemonSeid · #7 03-13-2008, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

LOL @ mammy

I am reading the title and I am already thinking....

You have:

Maury
Jerry
Judy
Alex

Cheaters

Cops

Divorce Court.....

Why another?

DSTCHAOS · #8 03-13-2008, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

I am reading the title and I am already thinking....

You have:

Maury
Jerry
Judy
Alex

Cheaters

Cops

Divorce Court.....

Why another?

Okay.

I get it.

So now that you've read the article, what say you?

DaemonSeid · #9 03-13-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Okay.

I get it.

So now that you've read the article, what say you?

Oh...I was serious...

Furthermore, when you think about the glut of oxymoronic reality shows that are on now, one does have to wonder...why is there ANOTHER one coming out?

Whose reality are they basing 'reality' TV on anyways?

DSTCHAOS · #10 03-13-2008, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Oh...I was serious...

Furthermore, when you think about the glut of oxymoronic reality shows that are on now, one does have to wonder...why is there ANOTHER one coming out?

Whose reality are they basing 'reality' TV on anyways?

skylark · #11 03-13-2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Oh...I was serious...

Furthermore, when you think about the glut of oxymoronic reality shows that are on now, one does have to wonder...why is there ANOTHER one coming out?

Whose reality are they basing 'reality' TV on anyways?

Well, I think that this show really isn't just another reality show. I think it addresses an important issue that I think will be at the forefront of our generations' public policy decisions. How do we (as a society) expect women to succeed equally in careers if they are forced to do 70-80% of the at-home work as well? Biology isn't really an excuse for the dilemma, since a relatively small portion of our lives are actually spent so pregnant or post-delivery that working is a really bad option.

I think it is a conversation that women and men need to have with eachother not only at home but in businesses. We have to make career paths that do not penalize for having a balance -- for both women and men. Otherwise, we will simply be a society of couples where one is the breadwinner and the other is at home (or has a low-priority career). Because of cultural influences, that will usually mean the woman puts her career on hold or on a backburner for a significant portion of her life.

To me, this show is anything but just another reality TV show.

skylark · #12 03-13-2008, 01:41 PM

This is so on point with my life and future choices when I have kids... if I had cable I would definitely watch it.

Maybe I'll try to time my workouts with the show, since my gym has cable on the exercise machines.

DSTCHAOS · #13 03-13-2008, 01:49 PM

My gym doesn't show TLC on any of their many TVs.

I think the backlash for this show is poorly placed.

skylark · #14 03-13-2008, 01:55 PM

I think that the backlash is defensive... like maybe the stay-at-home moms view the show as a criticism of their own lives. Trying to look from their perspective... I've often felt a little patronized and defensive when watching a Wife Swap show where one of the wives is telling the other that she isn't a good mom for not cooking, cleaning, etc. everything around the house because the other mom has a job she is trying to balance.

DaemonSeid · #15 03-13-2008, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skylark

I think that the backlash is defensive... like maybe the stay-at-home moms view the show as a criticism of their own lives. Trying to look from their perspective... I've often felt a little patronized and defensive when watching a Wife Swap show where one of the wives is telling the other that she isn't a good mom for not cooking, cleaning, etc. everything around the house because the other mom has a job she is trying to balance.

Skylark...that there is a perfect example...

What 2 families will get together and 'swap' members...let them go to each other's homes and try to tell another family what to do?

The only time people wifeswap is when they are swinging

(which when first heard of the show, I thought that was the premise...hehe)