Heavy Petting: Girls Next Door Impact on the Socialization of Girls

In the episode “Heavy Petting “ the Girls Next Door prepare for an Easter Party in only the way Playboy playmates can. Shows such as these are amazing pieces of television, aimed and shown for only one reason I can think of: sex and fake breasts sell. (The show is almost as bad as Real Housewives) Bridget’s character gets a new dog and when the dog refuses to let her put bows in its hair Bridget refers to the dog as a “Tom boy.” Besides having no direction or meaning, the show constantly allows these "adults" to speak incorrectly, further dumbing the population that actually sits down and believes they enjoy the show. (The people who feel that way should not have a right to vote or let alone be considered an adult in society.) Bridget moves on to talk about the last party she threw for her dogs and how it went “really good.” The incorrect grammar used seems to be “dumbed” down for television considering Bridget has several master degrees. Later on at the Easter Egg party, the girls are asked to wear uncomfortable bunny costumes. Bridget’s response to the situation is “sometimes you have to pay a price.” In past episodes Bridget has struggled with her weight and instead of showing her losing weight in a healthy manner, the media fails to explain that many of these women have had plastic surgery. Research indicates “exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.” (Beauty and Body Image In the Media, 2009)
On to the next genius, Kendra. Kendra states that she’s “not a girly girl” and that she would have never sat there painting eggs before living in the mansion. Kendra does not want to participate, but does so in order to fit in with the other girls. On Easter Sunday, Kendra wears a very short, pastel colored dress, just like Holly and Bridget. Feminine clothes such as this are constraining and hard to move around in but it does not seem to stop Kendra because she realizes her place at the mansion is to look sexually attractive and that is all. At the Easter egg decorating party, Holly uses her mouth to literally blow the yolk out of an egg and jokingly says, “Finally I found something I’m good at!” Holly only sees herself talented at one task that is similar to a very sexual act. There is never any mention of career or education ambition. Females do get educated and go to college, but that is never depicted in the show. Holly has the potential for intelligence but only sees her talent as what she is expected to do and be, which is to wear skimpy clothing and act like she does not understand the world around her. These women choose to act this way, and in doing so, are setting a terrible example for women and young girls around the country. (Let us hope this show does not air elsewhere)
Not only are women watching this show but young girls are as well. The media should be aware of what they are exposing to our young population. Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman’s worth. “Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less.” (Beauty and Body Image In the Media, 2009) Women do not comprehend that the media images of women are sometimes unfeasible. In a study conducted by regenerating a computer model of a women with Barbie doll proportions found “that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition.” (Beauty and Body Image In the Media, 2009) Barbie is one of the top sold toys to girls ages 3-10.
While women are depicted in a world of thinness and beauty, “The Girls Next Door” depict Hugh Hefner as living the dream for all men. The women in this show receive their power from Hefner instead of their own goals or accomplishments from themselves. This show is just another one of the Medias brilliant ideas to reinforce gender expectations instead of adding to the epidemic of real life women and girls who seek a similar lifestyle as their so-called role models.