I am well aware that media is constantly selling us images of what we should and shouldn’t be, but I didn’t think I would see the day when the media would do this. The latest radio contest in Calgary, Alberta is “Upgrade Your Spouse”, a contest where one spouse can enter the other in to receive an “upgrade”. As quoted by the radio station webpage itself “get the trophy wife – or hubby – you’ve always wanted.” Such ‘upgrades’ include (in the order appearing on the webpage):
· Breast augmentation
· Tattoos (or tattoo removal)
· Frown lines
· Laser hair removal
· Cooking classes
· Sex drive
· Shrink their waist or thighs
· Driving lessons
· Cleaning
· Etiquette
· Eyes
· Dental work
· Hairstyle
· New wardrobe
· Lingerie
· Home gym
· Spa treatments
· Personal trainer
· Post Secondary education
Uummm… really?! There is actually a contest to alter your spouse into a ‘trophy wife/husband’? As if we are not sent enough subconscious messages we are now making a game out of altering someone’s body/mind/life without their input!
What gets me is the list of examples they give on the website of how you can ‘upgrade’ your spouse. Majority of the list consists of all things that will alter their body: from breast augmentation to laser hair removal, their body apparently isn’t good enough. I don’t want to think what it would be like to be on the receiving end of this contest; finding out that your spouse thinks there is something so fundamentally wrong with you that they will publically announce and enter you into a contest to alter you in some way. If you thought there was troubles in paradise before, ooh I’d just wait.
While the idea of giving your spouse the option to get a post secondary education, this contest still raises the questions of self-agency. Does your spouse really not have the agency to complete the forms and do it for theirself? Not to mention, what if they don’t want to go to post secondary? While having a post secondary education is beneficial in today’s culture and economy, it is not for everyone. You don’t need a post secondary education to thrive. So what if you are someone who doesn’t want a post secondary education and your spouse enters you to win an education, what are they really trying to say? There are so many hidden messages within this contest that it makes me sick to think that some couples feel the need to alter the person that they ‘love’. The person whom they have proclaimed “to love, honour and cherish to death do they part”. But apparently that is completely true because apparently their spouse needs upgrading.
Upgrade Your Spouse Contest Link
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