The Jerky Guy

This week's episode of 9021o featured Naomi and her new love interest, Liam. They both were on a spring break trip with Habitat for Humanity. Liam was forced to go, and Naomi went because she wanted to spend time with him. Liam is always a jerk to everyone that he meets. He treats Naomi meanly on a regular basis. He ignores her and acts like he is mad at her frequently. However, when the mood strike him, he sweeps her off her feet and makes out with her. He is totally bipolar towards her, yet she is still completely infatuated with him. She thinks he is extremely attractive, and she finds his bad boy vibe appealing. The more that he ignores her, and the worse that he treats her, the more she is drawn to him. Her ex-boyfriend tells her that he thinks Liam is a jerk, and she agrees, but then says he's hot and she wonders if he likes her. The episode demonstrates the classic girl falls for boy who doesn't treat her right scenario. The media portrays these jerky men as incredibly desirable, and they almost try and justify their mistreatment of other people as sexy and mysterious. This is a dangerous message for young girls. It tells them that it's okay for guys to treat them badly because it's all just part of their bad boy charm.

Fight, Fight, Fight!!

In this week's episode of 90210, the longtime feud between Naomi and another girl on the show is finally resolved. They had been having a long and bloody "war" over Nathan. Naomi had been dating Nathan for a long time. However, they broke up. Then the other girl moved here from Kansas. She originally was friends with Naomi. Naomi reached out to her when she first moved there and asked her not to pursue Nathan. This request was disregarded because the other girl thought she and Nathan were soulmates. Therefore, she was willing to throw her friendship with Naomi away in order to pursue a relationship with Nathan. Their feud continued for the long duration of their relationship. However, in this episode, she and Nathan break up. She apologizes to Naomi and says that she is very sorry for what she did, and that she knows she acted like a jerk. Of course, the two girls are willing to makeup and let bygones be bygones. Girls fighting over boys is not a new idea put forth by the media. It is a common stereotype of feminism. They are often portrayed as catty, and likely to fight over trivial matters, and forfeit their friendships for guys.

ANTM!!

Catfight!! This week's episode of America's Next Top Model opened with a serious girl fight. Every season catiness breaks out among the competitors of the show. This of course fits with society's usual stereotypes of girls never being able to get along with each other. After only a few episodes, the house has already split between "us" and "them." Celia called out Tahlia at the last elimination for wavering in her dedication to the competition. Tahlia and her group of friends in the house were of course outraged at this "backstabbing" move. Yet again, television portrays girls as two-faced. Of course, this disagreement ends up erupting into a yelling match in which Amita makes a total fool of herself. She tells Natalie that she is making herself look stupid. But, the irony is that Amita, who keeps yelling "you stupid, stupid, stupid" makes herself look incredibly idiotic. Whereas, Natalie portrays herself as being much more mature. Sarcasm, double-handed comments, head weaving and finger shaking filled the room. The show portrays what seems to be a very true stereotype involving girls and what it means to be feminine. The episode displays the catty, back-stabbing nature of girls.