Dear Editor,
Since I have taken Women Studies, I have been noticing a ridiculous
amount classism, sexism, racism, and jokes/comments on television.
The fact that this hurtful “humor” is on television shows that people
love and watch a lot makes them think that it must be okay. All the
while, these comments are damaging to people’s self image as well
as their view of others. Sometimes these comments may seem funny
but they can be hurtful and damaging to many different groups of
people.
One show called “Married with Children” has an overabundance of
sexism, racism, insulting comments to overweight people and
degrading comments to thin and “beautiful” people. This use to be
my favorite show; now I realize that most of the jokes in the show
consist of unkind and degrading comments towards many different
groups of people. For example, the main character, Al and his
friends formed a group called “No MAAM” which stands for National
Organization of Men against Amazonian Master hood. This is putting
down overweight women, and they are trying to put down their wives
at the same time. I wish that shows like this could be funny and
make people laugh without putting other people down.
It upsets me to see that so many television shows have to put people
down in order to be “funny”. Now that I have become aware of how
hurtful and damaging these comments/criticisms can be to people, I
no longer find these shows very amusing.
I’m writing to you because if I had not taken Women Studies I would
still find the hurtful jokes / comments in “Married with Children” very
funny. However, now that I have been educated about the
degradation of different types of people I feel like I have learned
something that everyone should know and be aware of. Maybe if
enough people become aware, we can all do something to stop this
type of “humor” from continuing. Sincerely,
Rich Szczurek