By Francesca Lewis
Many people are repulsed by the hit TLC show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and I challenge every one of them to compare the values of this honest family to those of the Kardashians.
As well as being afraid of mayonnaise, Mama June is a commitment-phobe; but in the season finale she exchanged vows with long-time partner Sugar Bear. The family is non-judgmental, and they are able to laugh at themselves and make the best out of almost any situation.
Kim Kardashian on the other hand seems to take herself too seriously, and cries on air so often that there are pages and pages of online sites dedicated to her “ugly cry faces.”
Instead of calling it a wedding, the Georgia couple modestly described the event as a “commitment ceremony” when they tied the knot. There was no doubt of the love between these two; they wrote their own vows and Sugar Bear’s tearful words left everyone choked up.
It was unlike the $10 million Kardashian/Humphries wedding, which has already been outlived by Mr. and Mrs. Bear. The focus of the two ceremonies was completely different.
Unlike Kim’s big day, June’s focused on love. “The day was very special mostly because my girls were able to take part in it. I felt like it was important for them to see this moment and celebrate my love for Sugar Bear,” she told People magazine.
Honey Boo Boo’s family is not pretentious. Rather than playing with electronic devices or sailing on yachts, the family spends time outdoors doing activities together like bobbing for pig’s feet and making a “redneck waterslide” by dousing a tarp in baby oil and hosing it down with water. “We are who we are, and we like to have fun,” June says.
The family also accepts themselves and others for who they are. Young Alana Thompson, the star of the show, has famously been quoted for saying, “Everyone’s a little bit gay,” and, “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with being gay.”
Despite weighing 300+ pounds, Mama June has a positive body image, and encourages her children to feel the same way. “We both got big asses, but Kim ain’t got shit on this, baby,” June said when she dressed as a more voluptuous version of Kim Kardashian for Halloween, “This is the bigger version, bigger and better.”
It seems there is not much difference between this southern matriarch and the leading light of the Kardashian clan. “Me and Kim are similar, uh, because we have kids out of wedlock,” June says in one episode.
It would appear Alana is familiar with how the Kardashian family operates too, as she dressed up as Kris Jenner for Halloween and knew exactly how to behave to make her character convincing. “My job, today, is to boss folks around!” she said.
An article from the LA Times couldn’t have summed it up better. “It is a very straight line from “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” to the Thompson household, albeit through blue highways through red states,” Mary McNamara said. “And that is precisely what caused the culture shock.”
Her reasoning for why Honey Boo Boo has made such an impact? “Probably because it reflects a higher degree of American ‘reality’ than its predecessors,” she said.