Smallscreen News
MTV Real World: Cancun reveals a Cutter in the group
By April MacIntyre Jul 22, 2009, 4:34 GMT
The special episode will tackle the problem of self mutilation as Real World roommate Ayiia is caught cutting her self after a roommate fight.
Wednesday MTV will air a special new episode of “Real World: Cancun”.
The special episode will tackle the problem of self mutilation as Real World roommate Ayiia is caught cutting her self after a roommate fight.
Self-injury is not something people talk about very often, but for an estimated 2 to 3 million Americans it is a problem. The majority of people who self-injure are women between the ages of 13 and 30, but there are "cutters" of every age, gender, and economic group.
People who "self-injure" are not usually suicidal. They do however, intentionally inflict injuries upon themselves, usually in response to stress or trauma.
Their injuries may vary from minor cuts that heal quickly to deeper wounds that leave permanent scars. This is also known as "Deliberate Self-Harm Syndrome".
Self-injury usually indicates that somewhere during development that person didn't learn good ways of coping with overwhelming feelings or stress. They’re not sick or insane; they just never learned positive ways to deal with feelings and emotions for various reasons.
Positive coping skills can be learned at any point in life. People who self-injure can learn to use new and healthier coping mechanisms. This process may take years to develop with the help of a skilled therapist familiar with this condition.
"The Real World: Cancun" - CJ and Joey have it out with Ayiiia on next week's all new episode. Ayiiia and CJ Fight
Real World Cancun airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT
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Older Talkback
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Well Frakie has died, so now this is the up and coming Real World Crazy
I'm sorry I can't really have any sympathy for Ayiia. Sure, what Joey did was wrong, but if you have a problem like that and you know you have one of those personalities that a lot of people will not get along with, why would you even put yourself in a situation like that? You would move into a house with seven strangers and expect there not to be conflict? It's ridiculous and the producers should have made her go home. She should have never been there in the first place. It makes it hard for me to believe that she wasn't just doing this for attention. I read somewhere that the producers even offered to get her some help and she turned them down.
I do sympathize for Ayiia. It is not that simple to just say 'Ok im going to stop an be strong'. It is a constant battle with yourself to fight it and it is also draining. she shouldn't have to isolate herself from people that she thinks may not get along with her personality because not everyone reacts the same way. It is hard for some one to want to get help if some people dont understand what it is like to have to go thru it and label u as crazy. there are some people out there that do think that if you have to talk to a phsyciatrist then you are crazy. i do agree she need to talk to one, but i also believe joey does too. he has so much hatred towards her. and i believe that if you feel that much hate for some one you really dont know then you must be unhappy with yourself also.
I feel that joey went extremely far with all of his comments. The fact that he stepped in when cj and aiiyah was not right at all. He should have mind his business.
I do feel for aiiyah but, if you are going to live with people that you don't know and you have this problem it is crucial that you get help and be fully cured. You can enjoy many things in life and be healthy.
i think her problem, and likely everyone else under the camera lens, is more deeply rooted with a deficit of attention.
MTV should be ashamed and so should every cowardly commentator who demeans this serious health issue for which there is no 'cure' by refusing to seriously analyse this episode.
MTV not only allowed another cast member to victimize Ayiiia with the explicit purpose of driving her to hurt herself by cutting (he said this very directly), a practice that can easily lead to death, intended or not, but MTV furthered this victimization FOR RATINGS and tried to make money off it by pretending to have a serious after-ep discussion about it where the aggressor was allowed to make false and ignorant statements about self-abuse WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS CHALLENGE. The psychologist looked like she was barely out of grad school and was interrupted repeatedly by Joey who believes he's entitled to his opinion even if it's factually wrong, based in ignorance of the psychology of self-mutilation, and not only makes it worse for people who suffer from this but actively blames the victim with the express purpose of driving them to cut themselves again. It's disgusting and there is absolutely no defence for his or MTV's behaviour in this matter.
Even if we assume there is an element of attention-getting involved in that instance of Ayiiia's self-cutting, we should ask why she would want attention, what kind of attention she wants, and why. Is wanting attention a bad thing? Or, is it wrong to want attention when people don't like you? Or, is this really just about the group finding a scapegoat for all their internecine quarrels? But, truly, none of this matters at all because cutting can lead to accidental death. Joey presents himself as one who realizes this and not only does not care but actively seeks to drive Ayiiia to cut herself, to ostracise her from the rest of the group, to admittedly and unapologetically push someone to hurt themselves is reprehensible, deliberate psychological abuse.
They provided very poor education about self-mutilation, pushed the sufferer to say that she's better now when it's apparent she's not. They even had her repeat this in a hotline commercial. This kind of stress does not help self-mutilators generally. Also, they report she refused help. She doesn't get to refuse psychological help when she works for MTV and starts cutting herself on camera. If she dies from a misplaced cut in the future, I will consider MTV liable. To have an MTV host hold her hand while he says things that are meant to push her buttons and upset her for ratings was filthy to watch.
There was also a racist, misogynistic framing of all this where a Latina is put on a stage and before a camera by MTV to be verbally attacked by two blond haired, blue-eyed white men for a form of self-abuse that often has its roots in very, very serious past physical and sexual abuse. Then, with the support of a white male host who repeatedly shows his ignorance and insensitivity (except for the expected paternalistic hand-holding, itself a form of control), a gang of now three white men alternately accuse and ask her repeatedly if she is not just making a victim of herself and this is all just for attention which she does not deserve. The only other woman on the stage remains ambiguous, taking both sides, more concerned there could be a negative effect on her own self-image because someone who admittedly wants to drive Ayiiia to not only leave the show but also to hurt herself when he can't repeated something private she should never have shared with him to begin with. I do not believe this is what Ayiiia signed up for, and it has all been dreadfully handled.
I am disgusted and will never watch this show again. If I could get my satellite company to remove the channel (along with MTVIndia) from my box I would. You have a LOT to answer for on this issue MTV. Your actions have supported and furthered this kind of misogynistic abuse by refusing to address it directly and intelligently, instead letting everyone have their violent opinions not only unchallenged but aired with greater force than that of the psychological community. Disgusting.
I think she needs to be in the hospital instead of cancun
Do you?
Or, do you think that she's responsible for her own victimization and that she should be punished by being forcibly removed from the show? It sounds like you're saying she should be institutionalized, forcibly put in a hospital when her visible behaviour does not indicate this is necessary or would even be helpful. You also seem to think that the abuser has every right to stay since you never mention him. Do you identify with him as an abuser? You're certainly supporting his right to cruelly and deliberately work to drive someone to cut themselves and possibly even die thereby.
Disgusting. Try again.
I am appalled at tonight's episode with Joey making such comments towards and about Ayiia. The cutter syndrome is a very serious disease. Joey's immaturity puts more focus and sympathy towards Ayiia. Joey has a lot of growing up to do.
I have two friends who have a grown 25 year old and a 22 year old who are both cutters. It is really sad to see your child do this.
Yes Ayiia has some issues that need to work out and its easier said than done but Joey's actions makes the show not worth watching. I couldnt stand watch him so I turned it off. It is so sad and disgusting that a boy of his age acts the way he does...he has no empathy
I agree.
I was almost as disturbed that not one of the other cast members tried to put a stop to it and stuck to their guns. Cowards, all of them. I cannot imagine ever feeling safe around a group of people like that, who go with the crowd and never stand up to violence unless they've got the support of a unanimous vote from the others.
Is this a generational problem in the U.S.? The earliest Real World seasons were the exact opposite of this. Since then, more and more of the casts are scared conformists with no basic moral positions worth supporting. Of course, bigotry and meanness are well represented as ever, there's just absolutely no opposition to it anymore on this show. Instead, everyone drinks and sleeps their way into oblivion in-between fights and unprotected sex. Great message, MTV.
I do understand how severe the issue of self mutilation is, and I can also understand that MTV could of acted more maturely, as should the castmate Joey as well. But, Aiiya is an instigator. She seems to always be in the center of drama in the house.
I also don't understand how race has anything at all to do with this and I am extremely confused, being half Latin and half white myself, at how CJ and Joey being white has ANYTHING to do with the fight.
Personally, I can't stand Aiiya. I do feel bad for her, but I know people who are in the same position as her and they do act as stupid, mean, and horrid as she does towards others.
Glascow,
Seriously, do you work for MTV? Because your post wasn't very believeable. If you're not an MTV news mole, I'm sorry. I just cannot wrap my head around what you're saying here. First, I'm going to paraphrase what you said, and I want you to try to see what I believe are some serious errors in thinking and morality present in your statements. Please correct me if I've misunderstood.
So, in a nutshell, you 'understand' Joey and MTV are good but could have acted better (because you like watching them), Aiiiya is totally wrong and should be reviled (because you don't like her). But you're also 'half Latin and half white' and 'don't understand how race has anything at all to do with this'.
I don't care that you don't like Aiiiya. I don't know her, and I think neither do you. What I care about is this idea, which you seem to espouse, that your (or Joey's or even the whole cast's) personal dislike and name-calling justifies deliberate emotional abuse especially when it's stated purpose is to intentionally lead to someone's physical harm and even death. If you really understood how serious these issues are, you wouldn't belittle them like this. I'm finding it difficult to believe you when you open with 'I do understand how severe the issue of self mutilation is' for so many reasons.
1] Your comments minimize what Joey and MTV did. You can't even go as far as to say they're immature. NO, that would be mean. Instead, you say they 'could of[sic] acted more maturely'.
2] But you attack Ayiiia. You have no problem not only calling Ayiiia an instigator but asserting she is actually the cause of all the 'drama in the house'. Sounds like blaming the victim to me. You didn't even stop there. You called her 'stupid, mean, and horrid'. Look in the mirror and pay attention to what you said very closely. You are defending aggressive violence, cowardice in the face of it, and corporate greed that seeks to profit from it. You don't 'feel bad for' her. That's either a lie or a useless emotion because you've shown no compassion or understanding so far.
3] You're oversimplifying what happened. It's not just about self-mutilation. It's about Joey's willful and unapologetic violence (he brags about his attempts to drive her to cut herself), the other roomates' cowardice (they all just want to be 'friends', so never stand up to this filth without a unanimous vote), and MTV's utter negligence and culpability. Not only did Joey get away with this, people are actively supporting his actions. So far, Glascow, you are one of these people.
If you're not following yet how immoral what you've said really seems or why someone would find it worse than offensive, then I don't know how to begin to have a discussion about the psychological and societal dimensions of sex and race with you. So let's not do that here. If you think there's no race, sex, and gender relevance to how this played out on television, then I don't really know where to begin except to ask you to think about it more. Honestly, I'm worried about discussing it with someone who says the kinds of things you've said here because I'm afraid you're just looking to use race as another excuse to get away from what actually happened. Since oversimplifying didn't work the first time, I'm guessing you'll try to derail the conversation by turning this into a purely racial discussion. It's not.
Hey, if you're not an MTV employee, you really should be! Based on your post, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between you, Joey, the rest of the cast, or anyone actively employed by MTV including their management staff. Good luck and be sure to add this to your resume if you haven't yet realized the goal of living in the 'Real World'.
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WendellJul 22nd, 2009 - 18:13:47
Frankie on 'RW: San Diego' was a cutter.
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