Honey Boo Boo is not a stand-up comedian.

A lot of the in-class responses seemed to posit that the portrayal of Honey Boo Boo and similar personalities was totally ethical because the family was being compensated for their time. I think this is a cop-out.

Honey Boo Boo is not a stand-up comedian. She doesn't spend months crafting her lines and perfecting her delivery. Comedians are compensated for that amount of preparation and skill that comes with the responsibility of making jokes at the expense of themselves and/or others. Honey Boo Boo is not. She is a child negotiating the process of growing up in a poor family on TV to the voyeuristic pleasure of a national audience.

I'd also like to talk about this idea that because her family's income has suddenly increased that they somehow aren't disadvantaged. What kind of career opportunities do you think are waiting for that mother? Do you think the daughters would ever imagine a post-college degree as something they'd be interested in? What if their father gets sick and drains their savings, will the family's experience as a reality TV show family be an adequate recommendation for employment? The answer to all of these things is no. Poverty is more than a lack of financial resources.

It's also worth noting that in justifying her treatment through financial gain, you are positioning yourself, the audience, as some sort of benefactor. To be clear, no matter what the ratings peak at, the audience is not paying for Honey Boo Boo's college tuition or career development. The audience is paying to see her overweight, inarticulate, and ignorant. This conclusion is inescapable. The show would not exist without these markers.

It's easy in a capitalist society to think that money cures all ailments and justifies all treatments, but it is not the only determinant of success. Education, social capital, and political power also sort out whether a pony grows up into a Pegasus. It's a tragedy that not all these resources are equally accessible, even systemically denied to certain economic classes within our society, but it's even worse to self-exonerate by throwing money at them and pretend that makes it ok.