There’s a lot of crap on TV. I rarely watch it, but every time I turn the TV on I’m disgusted by the new shows being aired. Of course there is the infamous Real Housewives series: Real Housewives of Atlanta, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Real Housewives of Orange County, and Real Housewives of Miami to name a few. These series serve no purpose other than to showcase arrogant, gaudy, wealthy people in as many US states as possible. Why people find stuck up, un-classy, catty women stabbing each other in the back and spending money they likely do not make themselves entertaining is beyond me; but, even more disturbing to me are some of shows produced and aired on TLC.

Personally, reality TV is a mystery to me. I’m not an overly private person, but I can’t understand why anyone would want every intimate detail of their personal life to be captured and shared with millions of viewers who judge their every word and action. I know the answer: money. But that is the very reason that I just can’t understand it. How can you willingly trade your privacy for money? Many Americans fight for their right to privacy while others are basically giving them away with one swift signature at the bottom of a television contract. “Stars” of these reality shows are followed with cameras and caught in moments they don’t want anyone to see and would like to forget ever happened themselves. I don’t think that any of the Kardashians have ever had a fight without every minute of it being captured on camera. That’s just sad.

Not only is reality television an invasion of privacy, but it is also an oxymoron, because nothing about it is real. “Stars” of reality television can’t live normal everyday lives, they have to live entertaining lives. That means they have to act bitchier than they actually are, crazier than they actually are, way more entertaining than they actually are. The Real Housewives is a perfect example of this. The women start fights with each other for pure entertainment purposes; they act more stereotypically snobby rich than they likely are. It’s largely an act.

Most reality television is also produced in a way that mocks the cast. Take Jersey Shore for example: this show exploits its cast as trashy, grimy Italians who serve as a source of comedy and ridicule. Reality television usually has some sort of comedic aspect to it in which the audience is prompted to laugh at the ridiculous lives of the cast. And what’s so interesting about the day to day occurrences of other people's lives? Why are people so intrigued by housewives acting like high schoolers and starting fights with each other over who had more plastic surgery than the other? Why do viewers get excited when Snooki gets trashed and brings a new guy home to “smoosh"? The personal details of people’s lives whom I do not know and never will do not concern or intrigue me. I am in no position to judge or ridicule any reality star for their on- screen lives, and I don’t care to. I feel sorry for these people that they crave attention and money to such an extent that they’re willing to advertise their lives on TV for anyone who wants to watch and judge them.

The amount of reality television shows doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Every time I turn on the TV there seems to be twelve new reality TV shows whose names alone make me shake my head in disbelief. They can truly make a reality show about anything...and they do.

TLC is particularly good at turning anything into a reality show and shamelessly uses exploitation as a means of entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, not all TLC shows are disturbing. I’ll admit I’ve spent countless rainy days watching marathons of Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings, but shows like Little People, Big World, The Little Couple, Our Little Family, and My Giant Life makes me wonder where TLC will draw the line of exploitation.

It alarms me that people would even enjoy watching shows like these that spotlight people with genetic abnormalities and frame them as different or unique from the rest of the population. Midgets are not here for our entertainment; they’re not some circus act we should oh and ah at. They’re real people just like everyone else whose normal lives shouldn’t be subject to reality TV for the entertainment of people born without this abnormality.

The categorization of them as “little people” is shameless and calls attention to a physical uniqueness that suggests they are something like their own kind, their own race. Just the title of Little People, Big World implies these “little people” are living in a world that’s not theirs. The Little Couple is a show that celebrates two midgets finding love and living a “normal” life as if this is an exception for midgets and not their reality. But, these aren’t the only disturbing shows produced by TLC that spotlight people for straying from the societal norm, among many others are: My 600 Pound Life, My Giant Life, My Fat Fabulous Life, and My Strange Addiction. Just let the titles of these shows sink in for a minute. Did they really create a television show dedicated to shadowing an overly obese woman and an abnormally tall woman??? I can’t decide if it's more alarming that TLC would actually produce these shows or that these people would be willing to self deprecate themselves in this way.

Maybe as a culture, we should re-examine our own lives and find a better source of entertainment other than the dysfunction or obstacles of others.