A Dime a Dozen

If I had a dime for every reality show whose premise revolved around a group of ignorant, attention seeking women competing for the affection of a love-starved ex rock star, I would be a wealthy girl. Shows like Flavor of Love, Girls Next Door and Rock of Love have become staples on MTV programming over the past few years and within the context of the shows and the public’s reaction to them, America’s Puritanical origins are at once suppressed and exaggerated. Under Puritanical beliefs, women are held especially accountable for sin because of Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden. Part of this belief blossomed into the witch trials, which targeted mainly women. This thought process can now be seen within the public’s reaction to reality shows like these. The amount of disdain for the women on these shows can be seen in the public’s reaction, and while “Flavor Flav” and rocker Brett Michaels (to name a few) certainly garner very little respect for their actions on the show, the heavy criticism falls on the shoulder of the women who participate. This has always struck me as a reflection of the belief that women are considered more amoral for their actions than men because of Eve’s original sin.

This article discusses the criticisms of these types of shows and emphasizes the women's negative role on the shows:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/09/a_bitter_flavor.html