Is cable TV access is a feminist issue?
My mom posed the question, possibly to see if I can construct an argument that might persuade her household to spring for the extended digital basic. I suspect the long nights watching the ION channel are beginning to grate. Good daughter that I am, I figured I’d try tackling the question. To start with: Cable television isn’t cheap. The average bill for expanded basic cable is $49.65 per month — nearly seven hours of work for your average minimum-wage employee — and that’s more than double what it was ten years ago. Since it’s not like we’ve all doubled in wealth or earning power in the last decade, it’s evident that cable is eating up a larger chunk of discretionary income. Yet this is not really stopping people from getting cable. According to the U.S. government, 64% of households making less than $15,000 per year have cable. Sadly, the U.S. government doesn’t examine how many of those households might be made up of college students whose parents are paying the rent, thus freeing
