"exiled" to...my village?

There is a new show on MTV that I find incredibly insensitive called "Exiled." The premise is that they take those horribly spoiled and ignorant young girls from "My Super Sweet Sixteen" and send them for a week to a developing community, ostensibly to teach them a lesson about how bad it can really be, and about being responsible and grateful for the lives they are privileged to lead. To be honest, at first I had a glimmer of hope for this show. I thought hey, maybe this will serve the purpose of exposing the world to the issues of poverty, hunger, lack of clean water and environmental degradation that are so prominent in many developing countries. Maybe this will be a good thing!

No, not exactly. First of all, how f***ed up is it that the worst places they can "exile" these girls are in actual places where people LIVE? It's not like they are sending them to extreme climates or rough terrain, or places where there is very little life. These are just poor villages of indigenous populations where people still work to accomplish every task required for living. This show makes it all about the third-world people teaching the rich, privileged American girls a lesson. There doesn't seem to be any aspect designed to raise awareness about the particular troubles facing the areas visited, and the saddest part to me is that it is the first world that causes many of the hardships they face.

And another thing: why is it that they only send girls out to be "punished" for their evil, selfish ways? There were guys on that sweet sixteen show, weren't there? Was it simply a coincidence or is it just more fun to watch silly frivolous girls be sent into unfamiliar situations and taught about the "real world?" I think it's the latter. America likes to watch women get what's coming to them. This is from blog Snark Food:

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I LOVE the concept of MTV’s upcoming Reality TV show “Exiled”! Remember all of the super-spoiled, insufferable birthday girls from MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen”? Remember how you wanted to ship them off to a third-world country? Well, MTV has done it for you!!! Payback begins Monday, August 25th. Here’s the trailer for the not-so-sweet reality check for the obnoxious little bratz! I might actually watch this one! Extra points for the tribes and families who had to put up with the ‘lil divas!

As someone on Feministing put it:

Why is it always women who end up on these shows? Where are the guys who piss off college, spend all day hung over and only clear up long enough to get drunk again? No, girls are the lazy ones who need to be taught a lesson.

So true. Are women the only ones who slack off after high school and live in the lap of luxury at their parent's expense? I doubt it.