{"id":2021188,"date":"2023-09-04T03:56:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T07:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netflixs-down-for-love-is-exploitation-not-entertainment\/"},"modified":"2023-09-04T04:03:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T08:03:00","slug":"netflixs-down-for-love-is-exploitation-not-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netflixs-down-for-love-is-exploitation-not-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix&#8217;s &#8216;Down For Love&#8217; exploits rather than entertains."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnetflixs-down-for-love-is-exploitation-not-entertainment%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2021188&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Reality &#8220;dating&#8221;\u2062 shows\u200d have a way of distorting reality,\u200d appealing to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firefighters-who-shared-photos-of-kobe-bryant-crash-site-could-soon-be-fired\/\" title=\"Firefighters Who Shared Photos Of Kobe Bryant Crash Site Could Soon Be Fired\">baser instincts<\/a> and turning the relationship between exhibitionists and voyeurs \u2062into a profitable\u2063 venture. These\u200b shows have already had a negative impact\u200b on our understanding of romance and\u200b human sexual relationships, but the latest addition to this genre, &#8220;Down for Love,&#8221; takes it \u2064to a new low by exploiting people with Down syndrome.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/down-love-restore-faith-dating-070100696.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Headlines<\/a> promise\u00a0that \u2064&#8221;Down for Love,&#8221; which has made its way into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indy100.com\/tv\/netflix-down-for-love-syndrome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Netflix top 10<\/a>, will &#8220;restore your faith in dating shows.&#8221; While some individuals\u200b with Down syndrome and their families might find it\u200b charming, as the father \u200bof a young man with Down syndrome, I find it offensive that a television show would exploit the vulnerabilities of \u2064these individuals as\u200b they\u2063 strive\u2063 to find meaningful relationships. Reviewers claim that it is different\u200b from other\u200b dating shows that thrive on \u2062making participants uncomfortable, but \u200bdating and relationships in the \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">21st century<\/a> are complex\u2062 for everyone, especially\u2063 those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1448012471\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-677dcb308956291ad89085f3042003a4 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-677dcb308956291ad89085f3042003a4\"><\/div>\n<p>I am acutely aware of my son&#8217;s natural desire for relationships and intimacy, but I also understand his limitations in comprehending the true meaning of these\u200d desires and successfully acting upon them. Pope St.\u200b John Paul\u2062 II eloquently addressed this in his 2004 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/john-paul-ii\/en\/messages\/pont_messages\/2004\/documents\/hf_jp-ii_mes_20040108_handicap-mentale.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">message<\/a> to participants in the International Symposium on the Dignity and Rights of the Mentally Disabled \u200cPerson.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The care of the emotional\u2064 and sexual dimensions of \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netflixs-down-for-love-is-exploitation-not-entertainment\/\" title=\"Netflix's 'Down For Love' exploits rather than entertains.\">disabled persons\u2063 deserves special attention<\/a>. This\u200b aspect\u200d is often ignored, glossed over, reduced, or even dealt with ideologically. Instead, the sexual\u2064 dimension \u200bis a fundamental part of being\u2064 human, created in the image of the God of Love and \u200ddestined\u200b to find fulfillment through connections and communion with others,&#8221; said the pope.<\/p>\n<p>So, does \u200b&#8221;Down for Love&#8221; have\u200c an underlying ideology that \u2063exploits individuals with Down syndrome? It is fair to assume that the\u2062 show genuinely aims \u2063to demonstrate that people with Down syndrome are just like everyone \u200belse in \u2062their desire to \u200dform meaningful\u2063 connections. However, this \u200bis where\u2062 the\u200b distortion\u200c of reality\u2062 TV\u200b becomes apparent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-718dc47162f4a21382fc6e552b74ed7f fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-718dc47162f4a21382fc6e552b74ed7f\"><\/div>\n<p>In the 21st century, typical dating couples don&#8217;t require their \u2063parents\u2062 to chauffeur them on \u200ddates \u200bor\u2062 nervously cheer\u200b them on \u2064in the background as romantic music\u200c swells, heightening expectations. John Paul II acknowledged that &#8220;disabled persons find themselves at a\u200b disadvantage when it comes to fulfilling these \u2064legitimate and natural needs.&#8221; His\u200c observation \u2064is wise and accurate.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the extent of an individual&#8217;s impairment,\u2064 autonomy and\u200c consent, \u2062which are crucial for successful Catholic relationships and \u200cessential for marriage, may be disadvantages that are difficult to overcome,\u2064 even for \u200bthe most capable individuals with Down syndrome. My son lacks the capacity for both autonomy and consent. \u2063This brings me to my next point.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Down for Love&#8221; \u200bexploits the \u2062abilities of more capable individuals with Down\u200b syndrome while glossing \u200dover\u2063 the challenges they face. \u2063Similar to its predecessor, &#8220;Love on the Spectrum,&#8221; the show conceals the difficult circumstances of those who are \u200dless capable. In the case of autism, this\u2062 means individuals\u200b who are non-speaking, cognitively \u200ddisabled, and sometimes prone to aggression.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m curious about the motives of viewers outside the Down syndrome community, but \u200cI have\u2064 no doubt about \u200bthe motives\u2063 of the producers. Nothing gets produced on television without\u200d the promise of financial gain. &#8220;Down\u2062 for Love&#8221; and other shows\u2063 like \u2062&#8221;Love on the Spectrum,&#8221; &#8220;Born this Way,&#8221; or &#8220;The Undateables&#8221; fail to depict the complete picture of\u200d how individuals with disabilities struggle to find employment \u200cor how they and their families navigate\u200d medical issues \u2064and educational opportunities. These shows focus solely\u2064 on what sells\u2014their challenging and\u200d sometimes clumsy attempts \u2064to, as Pope St. \u200dJohn Paul II said, &#8220;find fulfillment in\u2064 the encounter with others.&#8221; This seems to \u2063blur the line between genuine interest \u200din a person and what borders\u200b on \u2063circus\u200c entertainment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-68958843ca31462c4122d422858ddb64 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-68958843ca31462c4122d422858ddb64\"><\/div>\n<p>The exploitation of individuals with disabilities has a long history, \u2063from court \u2062jesters to festival sideshows to\u2063 the present\u2062 day. There is a performance\u200c group called\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragsyndrome.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Drag Syndrome<\/a>, which also plays on the name Down syndrome, and\u200b it is\u200b a\u2064 horrifying abuse of these individuals. As \u2064the name suggests, people with Down syndrome \u200dare dressed \u2062up and paraded on stage in drag, creating what has been \u200ddescribed as &#8220;a sexually exploitative \u2063nightmare that\u2064 is the equivalent \u200bof a turn-of-the-century freak show.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In their quest for recognition, individuals with intellectual disabilities, and their\u2062 families as\u2064 well, can easily \u2063be persuaded to compromise their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-signs-memorandum-backpedaling-on-president-trumps-abortion-policies\/\" title=\"Joe Biden signs memorandum backpedaling on President Trump\u2019s abortion policies\">human dignity<\/a> for the amusement of\u200b others. This is a kind of Faustian \u200bbargain in which the devil always wins.<\/p>\n<p>As Catholics, we are called to challenge the shallow and pessimistic attitudes that have infected our\u200b society&#8217;s understanding of sexual \u2063relationships. This is particularly important for the most innocent souls entrusted\u200c to our care. Human \u200brelationships hold\u2063 great significance \u2064for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Their efforts to navigate the complexities of relationships should not\u200d be reduced\u200c to mere\u200d entertainment that \u200dturns \u2064vulnerable individuals\u200c into objects \u200bof salacious amusement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a68baba6ae907f66aaa6cc0724e8acaa fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a68baba6ae907f66aaa6cc0724e8acaa\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reality dating shows distort reality, catering to our primal instincts. They exploit exhibitionists and voyeurs, exacerbating society&#8217;s confusion about romance and sexual relationships. The latest addition, &#8220;Down for Love,&#8221; crosses a line by exploiting individuals with Down syndrome. This show further contributes to the cultural devastation caused by such programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2381,"featured_media":2021189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2021188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2021188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2021189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2021188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2021188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2021188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}