Kate+B.

= = Profitability; the Story of Kate Gosselin And the Exploitation of Her Children

Does Kate Gosselin love her children? Of course. Does she use her unusual family to gain fame and fortune? You can bet on it. From “gracing” cover of People Magazine to her spot as a contestant on the primetime show Dancing With the Stars, Kate Gosselin has mastered the art of exploitation.

Don’t get me wrong. Jon Gosselin, too, is quickly mastering this art, although due to extenuating circumstances of culture, a single mother is looked upon more kindly in media than her cheating husband. Because of this, Jon has been having trouble grabbing media attention except when partying with college-age girls and putting fraternity boys to shame in games of beer pong.

When the mother of eight started her reality show, Jon and Kate Plus 8, she was probably well meaning; wanting only to give her kids the best life she could give them, for example by only feeding them organically grown food. Yes, raising eight kids is certainly a pricy undertaking, but it soon turned into more.

In the September of 2005, a new reality show about a family with twins and sextuplets aired on the Discover Health Channel. With the tagline “two six-year-olds and six two-year-olds” the show chronicled the hectic lives of Jon and Kate Gosselin with their large clan. From the reality show, the Gosselins received many gifts, including all-expenses-paid trips to Disney World and New York, and other such presents. Kate Gosselin even received a pro bono tummy tuck from a couple that were fans of the show and saw how her body looked after giving birth to sextuplets. However, in the June of 2009, viewers learned that there was trouble in paradise regarding aforementioned infidelity on Jon’s part. The unthinkable happened, and the couple separated. They then divorced later that month. After the divorce had been announced, ratings skyrocketed and “Kate Gosselin” soon became one of the most searched phrases on Google.

Kate saw a market and capitalized on it. Who can blame her? Using the still-fresh scandal of a broken marriage and a broken family, Kate quickly became the favorite topic of grocery store rags. Her publicist must have been thrilled.

Since then, Kate has filmed the beginnings of a talk show with Paula Deen, been on the cover of People Magazine for her new hair extensions, and become a contestant on season ten of the popular show Dancing With the Stars. Oh yeah, and published four books.

You may ask, why is this girl telling me a comprehensive history of that lady from Jon and Kate Plus 8? My answer is that I believe it is important for you, the reader, to understand how Kate Gosselin is profiting, quite lucratively I might add, from her children. She uses her children to attract viewers and then milks them for all they are worth. Parents should try to create a loving environment for their children; not figure out how to glean the biggest profit from the nosy American public.