(PJMedia) — Scripted television does not reflect reality as it exists. Rather, in addition to dramatizing for entertainment, the creators often also intend to create a guide to what reality should be. Television programs tell us what is cool and what is not; they tell us what is desirable and what is not. A more precise way of saying this is that television programs often have political agendas.
One of the visions offered to us through contemporary shows is that single motherhood is cool. More than that, it is desirable, because it reinforces the feminist precept that women do not need men and are better off without them. Unmarried mothers and single motherhood are normalized, even encouraged. Many TV heroines are now single mothers:
Detectives Amanda Rollins and Olivia Benson (Law and Order: SVU) are both single mothers. Rollins has given birth to two daughters by two different fathers and is raising them alone; Benson adopts a foster son to raise on her own.
Brigette (SMILF, all 2017 episodes) is the single mother of her toddler son. The father is in a relationship with someone else, and Brigette is ambivalent about the father.
