By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Unless the public steps in to put a stop to it, ABC is working on a pilot for a new sitcom entitled “Good Christian B-tches” which is intended to be a Christian-bashing version of “Desperate Housewives.”
According to the American Family Association (AFA), the show is based on Kim Gatlins novel of the same name and features the tagline “For heaven’s sake, don’t let God get in the way of a good story!”
The show centers on a recently divorced mother of two played by Leslie Bibb (Talladega Nights) who returns to her affluent Dallas neighborhood to find herself the target of malicious gossip from the women in the Christian community.
“ABC’s core viewership is Christian, so the goal of the show won’t be to attack Christianity,” said Los Angeles-based entertainment expert, Jenn Hoffman to FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “Just like the book, this is a show by Christians, for (mostly) Christians, to enjoy a little prime-time self-deprecation.”
Christians get enough deprecation on the nightly news, however, and not everyone finds it very entertaining, which is why the show is raising an uproar in both women’s and Christian groups.
“I find the title offensive,” Christian publisher Tessie DeVore told FOX411. “I don’t think those two words should be combined. A show like this can damage perceptions [of Christians in this country].”
Yana Walton from the Women’s Media Center said the use of the “B-word” to describe any woman is unacceptable.
“It is not an appropriate term to use to describe any woman, regardless of their faith,” Walton said. “Entertainment media, especially music and films, have been normalizing misogynistic language for years.”
This normalization of crude and offense terms is a slippery slope, says Melissa Henson, director of communications and public education for the Parents’ Television Council.
“In the past, we’ve raised concerns about changing language standards for television,” Henson told FOX411. “Once a particular profanity or obscenity has been embraced by a particular show, it quickly becomes mainstream.”
Dan Gainor, head of the Culture and Media Institute, says he’s not surprised that the pilot has gone this far already.
“The media keeps trying to redefine words and morality to mean what they say, not what they really do mean,” Gainor added. “One wonders which network will be the first to drop the F-bomb in a TV title and whether the FCC will even intervene.”
The AFA is launching a campaign to make sure the show never gets any airtime.
“Disney-owned ABC has no reservations about creating hate speech against Christians, but you can be sure they would never consider a show called ‘Good Muslim B-tches’ or ‘Good Jewish B-tches’,” says AFA president Tim Wildmon.
And even if they change the offensive title, the content of the show will still mock people of faith, he said.
He’s inviting all concerned Christians to sign a petition to ABC and parent company Disney to drop all plans to air the anti-Christian program.
It will also be helpful if people contact their local ABC station to let them know you intend to pressure local advertisers to pull their ads from the show. Contact information for local stations can be found here.
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