Bad Girls Club: Another Few Steps Back for Women

So this Monday was the season premier of Bad Girls Club. I was surprised at how much hype this show was getting all over. My Facebook updates were bombarded by BGC countdowns and I even had a long conversation with one of my mentees about the show. Apparently, besides college basketball, it's the only show she watches. So, I decided to check it out myself. I've seen short scenes here and there, but I never sat through a whole episode. Since the Hubs was making dinner that night, I took the opportunity to finally see for myself what all the commotion was about. I should have probably left it alone, I would have retained a few brain cells.


The show was problematic from the start. The first girl to get to the house was a Latina from Chicago. I cringed the way I do when I take my dogs to the park to socialize, thinking quietly to myself, I hope it isn't my animals that act a fool or create a situation! She did her thing, she talked to the camera about how she was the baddest b*tch, how nobody better mess with her, yadda, yadda, ya... woofing. I rolled my eyes and braced myself for the potential of it getting worse than this. Yet, when she got to the house and squealed with excitement, my feelings of annoyance turned to feeling bad for her because she was showing her only moment of vulnerability in the episode.

I understood where she was coming from. The house was decked out: a private gym, amazing kitchen, big pool, hottub, tons of open space, cutesy bedrooms. The works. Anyone who was given the opportunity to live in such a lavish house would be excited. But, her excitement was different.  I recognized this excitement. Years of working with underprivileged youth enabled me to understand that this excitement was the excitement of coming from not having anything.

I don't know the exact economic statuses of the other girls in the house, but context clues show that some of them come from more comfy backgrounds while others are working class girls. Still, this house is theirs. Rent free, full of food, alcohol and the privilege to not pay any bills or, really, anything. To me, this contributes largely to the problem.

These girls are being given luxury for their out of control behavior. They're understanding that being obnoxious and careless pays off. And if you happen to be one of the girls that comes from a working class background, it means more. Why would anyone ever stop to think about how their behavior is damaging themselves or others when they are rewarded with money, fame and fancy living for acting like they do?




It's brainwashing and sending out the absolute wrong message. I sat through the whole episode, fighting the temptation to change the channel on a number of occasions. Mostly, it was just sad. Within an hour, these girls did the following (in no particular order): puked, argued, got drunk, fondled/made out with each other, got violent, cliqued up, cried, were racist, talked behind each other's backs, got naked... did i miss anything? oh yeah and called each other every name in the book other than their own.

What stuck out to me the most (which is hard in a list of absurd behaviors) was the fact that most of these actions were a result of being drunk. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having a drink- per se- but the house is filled with an abundance of alcohol for these girls to binge on and then act out of control. Now someone could argue: Well, just because the house has a ton of alcohol doesn't mean that they have to drink it. No it doesn't mean that they have too. Valid. I'm not a drinker, but I do go to bars to see friends, catch live music, etc. and I don't feel the need or desire to drink up.  But, in the case of BGC, it also doesn't mean that the behavior is not being encouraged.

These girls obviously have emotional and social issues. There's no reason why a bunch of 20 something year old women can't control their behavior. Actually, there is: emotional abuse, socially damaging environments, lack of Love, lack of confidence, physical abuse, trauma, hormonal imbalance... to name a few. What's messed up is that someone gets paid to single these women out. Instead of acknowledging their need for help to flesh out their deeply rooted issues, someone targets them, knowing that if these women, with one or a few of the above issues, is placed in an uncontrolled environment, with tons of alcohol and other triggers, along with other women with the same issues, something or someone is bound to blow up.

It's rude. And just plain ol' exploitive. And this is just ONE episode. If I had a few hours to kill I'd go in on the numerous issues this show presents. I'm not even going to go in on how 4 out of 7 of these girls are W.O.C.

Unfortunately, it's a hit. Tons of people watch it and tons of women want to be on the show. What does this say to young girls? Act a wreck and you too can be on t.v. with all these amenities!

It all comes down to accountability. I really want to be mad at these women who go on the show and put themselves on blast like that. But, I can't. Can I be more mad at the network that glorifies this abusive and tragic behavior instead of aiming to heal these damaged souls? Who's the chicken and who's the egg?

What do you think?