You Can Insert Your Own Witty Headline Here if You Would Like

I was watching TV the other day and a commercial came on advertising a new show called "Flowers Uncut." The premise of the show is to showcase Jeff Leatham, a.k.a. "The Rock and Roll Florist," and his work with floral arrangements.

Fair enough. But that made me think of all the other shows on TLC that have similar topics. We have "Cake Boss," which centers about a family who makes fancy pants cakes; "Say Yes to the Dress." which is all about finding the perfect wedding dress; "Masters of Reception," which, I'm sure you can guess, is about people who set up wedding receptions in 2.5 seconds.

All of these shows focus on weddings and how big and material they have become. Does anyone else find this a bit odd? Shouldn't weddings be about how much two people love each other and their commitment to one another, not about how much money they can spend?

Let's face it: the ideal wedding is between one heterosexual white male and one heterosexual white female. They even make the little people on the cake like that. Society is pretty much saying if you do not fit these standards, you should not get married.

Asst. Features Editor Sarah Schmader wrote a few weeks ago how the word "gay" is constantly being used to demean people and has a negative connotation to it. Apparently being gay in America makes you less of a human and more of an object of humiliation. Someone's sexual orientation decides whether or not they have the same rights as everyone else. It's outrageous.

And it doesn't stop at just the word. Gays and lesbians are not allowed to show the world they are committed to one another by being recognized as legally married. My government teacher in high school said we shouldn't worry too much about it now because it a few years it will not be an issue at all.

But in recent news, a Louisiana judge refused to marry an interracial couple because "of his concern for the future of the couple's children." I mean, really? Clearly racism, sexism, and all other types of isms still exist and persist today, but that is just ridiculous.

Some people argue that marriage is sacred because of religious reasons, and that is a fair argument. However, can you please explain to me how shows such as "Bridezilla" portray the sanctity of marriage? You have a bride who is going crazy while driving everyone else around her crazy. That is the basis of the show. And you're telling me that that form of marriage is acceptable but two people of the same sex getting married is not?

And then you have the aforementioned "Say Yes to the Dress" where women pay thousands and thousands of dollars for one single dress that they will wear a grand total of one time. Being completely material about your wedding is permitted, but two people of different races are being denied marriage.

America is such a material country now and it's really getting on my nerves. We're so obsessed with outer beauty. Shows like "Swan" and more recently "Nip/Tuck" send the message that if you don't like the way you look, change it. That's a great message to be sending to young girls.

Dove has launched their beauty campaign, which is a nice change of pace from other cosmetic companies. But I find it a little ironic that a company that makes money on beauty products is campaigning for natural beauty.

And if there is one more season of "America's Next Top Model" I might cry. How sick is it that these girls are pranced around on television being told they're not quite good enough. But this season they are petite models. Which is different from the ideal body type of being six feet tall, but I was watching an episode a few days ago and the judges were telling they girls how difficult it would be for them to succeed in the fashion world because they are so short.

Let me get this straight, women who have a more natural and normal body type will not be as successful because of that very reason. But women who have the "Barbie" body type are idealized.

And this ideal body just shows up everywhere. The previously mentioned people on top of the cake show not only the ideal couple, but also the ideal body type for each sex: A white tall, strapping man beside a dainty white shorter female. It's all a vicious cycle.

There is a documentary called "Killing us Softly" put on by Jean Kilbourne. It is about how ads portray women as objects, which ultimately leads to some men seeing women as objects, which leads to domestic violence. There is a program going on currently called the Red Flag Program. It basically educated people about dating abuse and violence. Their website www.theredflagcampaign.org has a list of things that are red flags for abusive relationships. There are also posters around campus about it.

I went to Virginia Tech this past weekend and saw the same poster there. One of the warning signs for physical and sexual abuse is "Throws or breaks objects." As a joke, well I assume it was supposed to be a joke, someone scratched out "objects" and wrote the word "partner."

It amazes me that people still find things like that funny. Throwing or breaking partner is not a joke at all; it's actually a very serious issue that should not be taken lightly at all. And laughing about it is just as backwards, if not more so, than denying an interracial couple their right to marriage.

These are real problems still going on today, and instead of taking the initiative to fix them people instead decide to make jokes about it. It's bad enough to be ignorant about problems but it's almost unforgivable to just ignore them completely.

And as far as these shows that glamorize weddings: Take a step back and think about what marriage is supposed to be about. If all of people want nowadays is a big fancy party, then have a big fancy party but don't get mad if other people who are not the same as you want to join in. And don't disallow anyone because of the sanctity of marriage would be ruined.

If two people love each other and want to commit themselves to each other, that right there should be sanctity enough for marriage.