10 Revolting TV Shows That Need to Die

TV has a profound impact on our culture, for better or for worse. The United States has roughly 2,218 broadcast stations, and 98 percent of households own at least one TV—and it’s not going away, as even people without televisions still watch their favorite shows online. Many of those shows are politically reactionary. Here are 10 of the most politically revolting shows that are both wildly popular... and need to get off the air, ASAP.

1. Toddlers and Tiaras

TLC’s look into the backstage world of child pageants—where parents doll up and sexualize their very young daughters (JonBenet Ramsey, RIP) -- was initially quite fascinating when it launched in 2009. Seeing the different ways these stage parents train their children to adhere to complex, grown-up, consumer-defined beauty standards was hard to watch, but useful in a sociological way. But as the show has grown—and many of these stories have been told—it’s felt doubly exploitative, compounding the parents’ exposure of their children to experiences they can’t yet begin to understand with a freakshow eye on the pageants. Plus, it’s hard not to feel complicit in child exploitation when you’re watching a one-year-old crying because her hairpiece hurts. The worst part? “Toddlers and Tiaras” has spawned a host of knockoffs, including “Dance Moms,” in which a dance teacher yells at competitive eight- and nine-year-olds like they’re Marines, and “Little Miss Perfect,” which encourages consumer culture in five-year-olds. There’s no way the normalization of this subculture of gussying up tiny children and pitting them against each other can be good for anyone.

2. Last Man Standing

It should probably come as no surprise that “Home Improvement” stalwart Tim Allen is starring in a new show about masculinity. But it is quite disturbing that his return to ABC, in new series “Last Man Standing,” is so adherent to stereotypical ideas of masculinity and femininity, if not downright misogynist. The trailer, bragging about how he’s a “man’s man” (a voiceover superimposed on a clip of Allen beaming at an assault rifle), depicts women as either whiny and spineless or ball-breaking and “not woman-like.” Allen, of course, is oppressed in this horrific environment, and when he’s not grousing over the fact that his son is at the tanning salon (too feminine), he’s making rude, misogy cracks on his single mom daughter (she: “I do not need a man”; he: “you’ve got a baby, looks like you needed a man once!”). Utterly gross. And if that’s not enough? The network is airing this show as the first in its Tuesday night Cock Block, followed by...

3. Man Up

Three best friends find themselves in a state of suspended adolescence, not only avoiding adulthood with late-night World of Warcraft sessions, but trying to ruin their ex-wives/girlfriends’ happiness by sabotaging their new relationships. Oh, and the one guy who’s married? His wife hates having sex with him, of course. This one’s of the Apatow-variety comedies, wherein emotionally stunted men get away with their Peter Pan syndromes with relatively little consequence and the women are over-it, shrewy wenches who broke their hearts. Also: it’s frigging called “Man Up.”

4. Border Wars

Speaking of normalizing/glorifying horrible aspects of American culture, National Geographic’s disturbingly popular show follows patrol agents along the US/Mexico border as they search for smuggled drugs and/or immigrants. This show doesn’t incite violence per se but it’s certainly ripe to drum up xenophobia—despite its handling of the issues from a journalistic objective—as most of those captured in Texas and Arizona are Mexican nationals. Certainly the show illuminates some of the truth surrounding the deadly drug war and the horrific realities of unsafe immigration. But some agents are almost gleeful about finding Mexican cadavers, and its depiction of strong and patriotic border agents can be jingoistic. “Border Wars” has been accused by critics of being propagandistic, indeed. Last year Racialicious called it "a perfect example of how the popular media tends to misconstrue the issue of immigration through a sensationalist approach to the problem."