Housewives?

Is it me or did Bravo change the definition of housewife? Merriam-Webster OnLine defines housewife as “a married woman in charge of a household.” So, I have to ask what is Bravo’s definition for their show “Real Housewives of Orange County”? I thought you had to be married to be a wife, since one maybe two of the five women are married, they have missed the point. It is hard to call a “working mother” a housewife, in the traditional sense of the word, since their obligations are at least split between work and household.

I give Bravo credit for finding some of the most dysfunctional people in Orange County to appear in this show. Coto De Caza (a.k.a. Coto) is pictured as being typical Orange County but it is really just a bunch of want-a-bees. While it is not depicted that way in the show, Coto about 15 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and at least another five miles further away from the “real” shopping of Southcoast Plaza or Fashion Island. Coto lacks the real money and prestige of Newport Beach, Huntington Harbor, San Clemente, Dana Point, or Laguna.

There are plenty of “real” housewives in Orange County but I’m sure they would not make for “Bravo TV” because they are not much different than the housewives through out the country. They put their families before their careers; spend much of their time taxing kids with friends from event-to-event; help with homework; volunteer with school, scouts, sports teams, etc.; and skip the plastic surgery for funding for college or retirement. They are the unsung heroes whose hard work has been trivialized by Bravo.