Dance Moms

I like cheesy reality tv as much as the next person. I can watch multiple episodes of Strange Addictions, Hoarders, and my personal favorite, House Hunters/House Hunters International. Oh, and of course My Cat from Hell on Animal Planet. We all love to see people being "real", although I question just how much is actually "real" and how much is staged. But I draw the line at televised child abuse.

First of all, I thought Toddlers in Tiaras was bad. Pageant Moms clearly are delusional, reckless and quite possibly brain damaged. But they are a fresh spring breeze and a picnic at the park compared to those Dance Moms. I mean, the dance instructor Abby Lee (or whatever...I THINK that's her name) is an overweight, overbearing slave driver who would give any child nightmares. Why would any responsible mother give their child over to her instruction? She slaughters their self-esteem, puts them through grueling physical abuse....and those Moms...they sit and whine and complain about what a witch Miss Abby Lee is. And they do absolutely nothing about it.

The one thing that is obvious, these crazy women LOVE preening for the camera. Apparently more than they love their daughters. It makes me sad, and nauseated. And last night? It pushed me over the edge to "I WILL NOT watch EVER again"! The dance routine was some stripper fan dance. The kids (7-10) were dressed like topless dancers (oh they had flesh colored bras but looked naked) and did this peek-a-boo strip tease with pink feathery fans. It was so vile and so tasteless. It crossed the line from bad TV into child abuse. Not that I blame Abby Lee. I mean, yes, she bears some responsibility. But its those Moms who should have stopped the whole abomination. Somebody should be in jail. I felt dirty for having watched it.

The only thing that is clear to me...ALL of those women are unfit mothers. Child protective services should step in. Somebody, somewhere should do something to help these kids. I know that people would never stand for animals being paraded around and exploited like that.
I don't know exactly who to contact, but I feel like I should contact the network just to say "NO" to damaging and irresponsible programming. Will any of those poor girls ever grow up to have even the tiniest shred of self respect after the whole world has born witness to this fiasco? I don't think so....and it makes my stomach hurt. How can they face going to school? How do those Moms show their faces in public? Why is this NOT illegal????