Friday, October 08, 2010

MTV, Teen Mom and domestic violence against men

I realize that few of the readers of this blog would be watching "Teen Mom" on MTV; however, if you caught the September 28th episode when Amber beat the crap out of her ex-fiance Gary, you would realize why this episode is so important in at least making an attempt to expose the blatant domestic violence against men.

Reluctantly, I admit that I watch and was sucked into this show on a fairly regular basis. I was shocked when I saw Amber attacking Gary a number of times and then finally, in the Sept. 28th episode, she hit him in the head and tried to kick him down a flight of stairs while he carrying down a TV to put in his car. Yahoo.com has this information on that episode:

Teen Mom star Amber Portwood tells the new Us Weekly that she's facing her serious anger issues head on.

Fans of the MTV show were shocked by the Sept. 28 episode, in which an enraged Portwood, 20, punched, kicked and screamed at Gary Shirley, her on-and-off fiance and father to daughter Leah, 23 months.

"A lot has changed," Portwood, now in couple counseling with Shirley, tells Us Weekly. "I haven't hit him since that fight." (Local authorities in Anderson, Ind. reportedly launched an investigation after the incident aired, and MTV broadcast a domestic violence PSA during commercial breaks.)


I must say I was surprised that MTV broadcast the domestic violence PSA for an abused man after the show. It was subtle but well-done. Kudos to MTV for exposing this taboo topic. They could have played it down and ignored it but they caught Amber's abuse on tape for all of the world to see. Yes, I know if the roles were reversed, the man would be in jail with no questions or apologies but at least it's a start.

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Sunday, October 03, 2010

Stuart Schneiderman: Who's smarter now?