What will it take to stop the child abuse “reality” shows that have taken hold, especially on TLC? The L used to be for Learning. Now it’s about Loot.
In case you’ve somehow missed Honey Boo-Boo, she is the six-year-old breakout star of TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. It is a hit – really – show about little girls in beauty pageants and the pushy Moms who put them there. Honey Boo-Boo has a real name. It’s Alana. But that’s not how she’s known in the show, Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo. She gets glittered up in sparkly dresses and shiny makeup by her Mom who is an extreme couponer, apparent hoarder and morbidly obese bit of work who seems to be well aware of how she comes across and is fine with it. That’s the only thing I admire about her.
I’ve only seen ads for this whole genre of shows, never the shows themselves. That’s because I have something called taste and I don’t like to see little children of 4 looking into a mirror and crying because they think they look fat. That should never be a toddler’s concern. She’s hearing that from somewhere. Pushing a frightened child into an adult-woman-style gown, slathering her with makeup and getting her to prance on a stage is abusive in my opinion, no matter how much she says she wants to do it. And it’s just friggin’ gross.
Mama Boo-Boo is a star now and has lots of fans, especially in the American south where she’s from. She also has her share of haters but even haters are watching the show. The lowest common denominator gets what it will consume, I suppose. I’d rather watch a rerun of Storage Wars for the 3rd time and see what Barry’s driving than ever spend a moment of my life with stage Moms and their little princesses.