An Argument to Bring ‘All My Babies’ Mamas’ Back

What if 'All My Babies' Mamas' wasn't canceled? Would it be so bad?

By Jorge Rivas Jan 17, 2013

On Tuesday the Oxygen Media group announced they were canceling a new show titled "All My Babies’ Mamas" that was centered around Atlanta-based rapper Shawty Lo and his 11 children with 10 different women.

Oxygen Media made the decision after the online civil rights group ColorOfChange and a petition (that received more than 37,000 signatures) demanded the network cancel the show.

"The airing of a reality show like All My Babies’ Mamas would have reinforced many of the stereotypes about Black men and women that have power to influence public policy," said ColorOfChange.org’s Rashad Robinson in a statement. "Research shows that exploiting persistent racial stereotypes that marginalize Black Americans have real world consequences."

Other folks are wondering, what if? What if ‘All My Babies’ Mamas’ wasn’t canceled? Would it be so bad?

Gene Demby poses this question on NPR.com:

If unconventional families — polygamists, huge broods, marginal celebrities — are a staple of the reality show genre, Babies’ Mamas would seem to fit neatly within those parameters. What if the show’s subjects were mostly concerned with mundane stuff like carpooling logistics and dance rehearsals? Isn’t it possible that Babies’ Mamas could have also granted some humanity to real baby’s mamas and complicated some simplistic, ugly stereotypes about them?

A spokesman for Shawty Lo told RumorFix the rapper plans to fight his show’s cancellation with a petition of his own. Lo has received 123,000 e-mails in support of the show, his representative told RumorFix. 

A Change.org petition urging the Oxygen Network "Put Shawty Lo and Baby Mamas back on the air!" had 703 signatures at the time this story was published.

Visit NPR’s Monkey See blog to get Demby’s full analysis.