Gender Stereotypes In Flavor Of Love

Reality TV brings out the worst in people. The first reality series ever, The Real World, even includes the lines “...people stop being polite, and start getting real” in its opening title sequence. Producers edit and manipulate people’s actions to create drama and paint their casts in their worst light. A great number of reality shows “represent” certain demographics, such as young Italian-Americans on Jersey Shore or white, affluent teenagers on Laguna Beach. According to Media Ethics Magazine, one crucial component producers should uphold in reality television ethics is that the stars “be treated in a fair and responsible manner” (Crew). However, a show’s poor representation of an individual representing a demographic, even if it is acceptable

The cast of Flavor of Love was predominantly black, as is Flavor Flav, and the show’s producers set the cast up to participate and embarrass themselves in stereotypical competitions to win dates with Flav, such as a hip-hop dance battle and a fried chicken cooking challenge. Unlike in other shows’ innocuous challenges, Flavor of Love’s challenges irresponsibly misled viewers into thinking dancing and chicken-making skills are characteristic standards that black women regularly face and have to meet in their lives. When one black contestant, Schatar “Hottie” Sapphira, did not know how to prepare fried chicken, Flav and the other contestants were outraged. In a recent blog post, Sapphira wrote, “Many are familiar with the stereotypical images of people of color with fried chicken and watermelon.... I, however, shocked the world as a female of color who did not know how to fry chicken” (Sapphira). Flavor of Love’s representation of Sapphira’s lack of cooking ability intentionally promoted the expectation that black Americans and fried chicken should go hand in hand, which is unethical for generalizing black women and for misleading viewers who may not know much about the accomplishments of black women outside of what they see on television. Had producers decided to stick to their few goofy yet inoffensive challenges, such as the roulette competition, instead of challenges with stereotypical associations, the show would have been much less offensive without sacrificing entertainment