Is she really going out with him?

Today as I watched the new MTV reality (?) show 'Is She Really Going out with Him?' I realized a few things. The 30-minute show follows a "douchebag" longtime boyfriend, his "hot chick" girlfriend, and her BFF who tries to expose her to the truth about her obnoxious beau.

Not that the scummy, sleazeball dudes on the show do much to hide their heinous behavior. Herein lies the pull of the show. We get a story of female emancipation and empowerment as the woman dumps her loser boy toy (who generally acts like he doesn't care one way or the other) and we get to laugh and scoff at this shamelessly self-absorbed guy.

But these doomed couples and their bizarre friends show very little personality and individuality. They often act like teens on a perpetual MTV Spring Break special or in a gross-out comedy movie. The boyfriend prefers the company of his nitwit friends and consciously treats his frustrated lady friend like crap. The girlfriend justifies his behavior and puts up with it because she likes the warped attention from this classic "badboy".

More eager than ever to air dirty laundry on a TV show, this MTV generation seems to crave any fleeting fame. Most shows have some sort of reward system for the participants; in this case the girl gets out of her trashy relationship. And we are rewarded for watching with the knowledge that (at least while the cameras are rolling) the girl dumps the domineering loser boyfriend.

I wonder if these people would have existed a few decades ago. Has TV's buffoon character-type (think Homer Simpson or the 90's Tom Green) influenced people to become jerks? Did MTV have anything to do with glorifying this tough-guy, commitment-phobic stereotype? The Viacom-owned cable network's millions-strong under-25 viewership and obvious global influence suggests as much.

But since MTV's 'Is She Really Going out with Him?' bills itself as a comedy, the voice-over narration implores us to think the brute boyfriend is pathetic -- for his preferred music and dance aesthetic, his language, his companions, and even his taste in clothing. Inspired by website and recent literary success Hot Chicks with Douchebags, the show's narrator verbally abuses these skeezy dudes in language and in a manner we might use ourselves.

The main thing I realized is this: MTV and other teen media celebrated this slang-spewing guy stereotype from the late 1990's and into the new century. And young men found it cool enough to actually grow up and emulate their Jackass idols, only to turn around and be mocked by the ever-hip music television network.

Haha.