Bad Girls are the new Good Girls?

The Oxygen T.V. Show Bad Girls Club showcases so called bad girls from around the country, put them in a house, and see how they get along. Hmmmm it sounds quite similar to the MTV long running reality show Real World. The first time I watched Bad Girls Club I had to ask myself, "is this show for real?"

The Oxygen Network which is owned by NBC Universal, broadcasts in my opinion some of the most trashy women in America doing nothing but partying, fighting, and hooking up with guys. What is so special and enticing for almost 600,000 viewers per week?

This show has zero substance. The American pop culture and the average reality T.V. viewer cherishes shows that have more style over substance. If you look at the Nielson weekly ratings for all ages the most popular T.V. Shows are all broadcasts that have less substance than style. The outlier, 60 minutes, with 7.8 million viewers is one of the only shows in the top 25 for the week that showcases and presents hard facts to the American Public. But if you look deeper even shows like 60 Minutes have a few in depth stories in their newscast, as well as a few light hearted stories. They have to keep those 7.8 million viewers engaged watching the broadcast as well as the advertisements that ultimately keep 60 Minutes alive.



So how does a show like Bad Girls Club which airs on a predominately Woman focused network keep viewers engaged as well as the advertising dollars and revenue flowing in? Viewers that watch shows like Bad Girls Club, Rock of Love, and Flavor of Love, which both air on the Viacom owned network VH1 feature vulnerable girls who have bad girls qualities. Viewers across the country and the World feel bad and are thankful that their lives are not as "messed up" and are less focused around hitting the bottle 24/7. As a viewer we feel better about ourselves, our lives, and our persona if we watch a 30 minute show on girls or boys humiliating themselves on television.

Who wants to sit down and watch a day in a life of a successful lawyer eating lunch, talking on the phone, meeting with clients? Yes it would be interesting for the first few episodes but after about episode 3 the fact that the show has more substance than style would cause loss in viewership and soon people would be turning back to Oxygen or VH1 for their trashy style over substance reality T.V. Show.