Can I lodge one more complaint?

I am staying at a nice hotel, and although I have ample reason to complain about other aspects of this trip (I hate travel), there's one in particular that leaped up and bit me when I retired to my room this evening.

There are 154 channels on the TV. So, it's the perfect opportunity to play the "count the representation!" game!!

Explicit marketing to majority groups:

• 31 channels marketed explicitly to men (Spike, ESPN x15, Big Ten x6, Speed, FSN x5, NFL, Golf, Sci Fi)
• 12 channels marketed explicitly to Christians (TBN, EWTN x2, Daystar, INSP, The Church Channel, FamilyNet, BYU TV, JCTV, The Word Network, World Harvest Television, Smile of a Child)
• 11 channels marketed explicitly to women (Lifetime x3, SoapNet, Home Shopping Network x2, E!, QVC x2, ShopNBC, Jewelry TV)

Explicit representation of minority groups:

• 3 channels marketed explicitly to people of color (BET, Telemundo, EWTN Espanol)

I couldn't identify any other group-specific targeting (with the exception of children, who had 8 channels but don't really have a sustained social identity as children).

IN SUM: 30% of programming available deliberately excludes minority groups. An additional 68% effectively ignores minority groups (the channels are "mainstream", i.e., straight white tacitly-Christian middle-income nuclear families). That means only 2% of the TV bulk remains to represent minority groups as something more than stereotypes.

(Psst! I think I see your value system showing!)


(Sideline: I more-than-half expected to see Logo on that 18-inch, two column, 8-pt font list, especially since I'm in one of the most-gay-friendly cities in the entire country. No dice. What would Logo be playing here, if it could play here, you ask? Would it be particularly offensive or even particularly gay friendly? No. It would be Buffy. And contrary to straight belief (and Joss's own beliefs), Buffy is not actually very supportive even of lesbians. Buffy is straight-up straight media. It doesn't even pose the threat of empowering teh gheys.)