To My Future Children: You Will Not Watch Reality TV!

To My Future Children,

You will not watch reality TV.

You will not watch reality TV.

You will NOT watch reality TV.

And just incase you’re wondering, no, you will not watch reality TV!

And if you do so anyway, I hope it’ll be a show similar to T.I. and Tiny; The Family Hustle where you can see positive images of the black family depicted.

I must admit, I’m being a bit of a hypocrite because I myself watch reality TV and have been tuned in since Flavor of Love. I remember when New York snatched Pumpkin by her hair follicles after being spat on. And who could forget the time New York mooned Flavor Flav for choosing Delishis over her after he had brought her {New York} back for a second season? The nerve.

Sure, it’s entertaining. It’s a 30 minute to one hour escape from my reality into someone else’s. But that’s the thing. As an adult, I can see it for what it really is; nothing more than entertainment. I can spot the scripted storylines a mile away. I am aware that much of what we see is edited beyond measure and re-packaged in a way that’ll boost ratings.  I already know that when you take a group of women, place them at a dinner table or exotic destination, add alcohol into the equation, nothing good will come from it.

Furthermore, I know that it’s just another opportunity to perpetuate the stereotypes that all blacks are ignorant, uneducated and lacking class. As a child, who is very impressionable, whose brain isn’t fully developed until about the age of 21, you may not understand that. Therefore, you may be tempted to emulate certain behaviors that you see. But {in my Bryson Tiller voice} Donnn’t.

You don’t have to know how to twerk. It’s okay if you don’t have perfectly drawn on eyebrows at all times or this big boobed, skinny in the middle with a U-Haul for a behind, shape that everyone has nowadays. They look cute right now, but give it twenty years. Just be yourself. And that goes for any woman reading this, not just my future children. Don’t get caught up in this flat tummy tea sipping, waist trainer rocking, lace front having, stiletto nail wearing image that has become the poster child that is reality TV.

Signed,

A Black Girl