Monday, November 02, 2009

TV Violence Against Women Skyrockets in 'Family Values' USA

I used to be a fan of Family Guy, that was before I noticed that the show is one big misogyny festival. Move over Bill Maher! Speaking of broadcasting misogyny across the nation, a recent report finds that violence against women on U.S. television has skyrocketed in the past 5 years -- by 120 percent! And the depiction of teen girls as victims of violence has surged by 400 percent! That's according to a report by the Parents Television Council:

The report suggested that violent acts against women and teen girls was increasing at rates that far exceed the two percent increase in overall violence that the study found existed on TV between 2004-2009.

The PTC compared prime-time programming on networks ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox in February and May 2004 and the same months in 2009. It said every network except ABC showed a dramatic increase in stories that included beatings, violent threats, shooting, rape, stabbing and torture. But the report singled out Fox, saying the network allowed violence against women to be trivialized through punch lines in its satirical animated comedies "Family Guy" and "American Dad." It cited one May 2009 episode of "Family Guy" in which a character gets divorced under a fictional 18th century procedure -- by shooting his wife dead.