The Epicenter of American Gender Politics: “Dancing With The Stars”
I have never watched this show. I never will. But one of its contestants, Monique Coleman (By the way, has the term “star” ever been thrown around more loosely than it is on this show? Does anyone know who this is? According to the link she was in something called High School Musical, and she is twenty-five. A mid-twenties actress playing a high-schooler. Doesn’t really narrow it down), is accusing the series of sexism. Being that she is apparently the lone female left with four men, her point would be valid if the elimination process were not a combination of viewer voting and the judges scores. Now, I do not have any statistics to back this up, but my assumption would be that the majority of Dancing With The Stars voters are female. As for male voters, I will attempt to speak as the embodiment of the boorish, twenty-something straight white male culture that may or may not be swaying this vote:
“It’s not the male contestants we are voting for, its the male contestants dancing partners. Holy Christ are those women attractive!”
See, it’s not sexism, its shallowness. I hope Monique feels better. She was apparently under the impression she was entering a world of sophisticated appreciation for the art of dance. And not just the latest fad in reality TV.
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