Fiona Carmody

A SYTYCB entry

Yesterday, I watched the very first episode of “Married to Jonas,” the newest reality TV show on E! Entertainment. As the title may imply for those of you who aren’t fully familiar, this show is a heavily edited peek into the lives of oldest Jonas brother (of the “Jonas Brothers” boy band) and his new bride.

I gave this show a chance despite harboring serious doubts. After all, I was aware going in that the Jonas brothers are devout Evangelical Christians, one step away from the likes of the Quiverfull Movement and preaching basically the exact opposite of feminist and progressive ideals on the reg. (This shines through at many points in the show already, like when their former Assemblies of God pastor father reminds oldest Jonas brother Kevin that his primary duty is to “protect [his] wife.” Gag.)

And while it was dangerous enough when the Jonas brothers looked straight out of television sets and from stages into the eyes of their die-hard tweenie fans and preached abstinence and the sinfulness of premarital sex, I believed that maybe either the directors of the show, the Jonas brother(s), or both together would somehow make the show palatable for viewing. But I was dead wrong.

From beginning to end, watching this show was uncomfortable at best and triggering at worst. The behavior of the oldest Jonas towards his wife, Danielle, is under no circumstances acceptable, let alone watchable. ...