Examining Exploited Extremes

My introduction to life in this world was extreme, and not in a fun way. I was raised to be extremely religious, extremely conservative, and extremely countercultural. Unlearning what I was taught has taken a lot of careful examination.

Growing up, my life was defined by extremes. My parents had extreme views about everything from government and god to family planning. They thought they should try to have as many children as possible because god wanted them to. As a result, I am one of 16 kids.

My everyday existence seemed to be the opposite of normal. When the school bus passed by my family's house, I watched the other kids gather to go to a place unknown to me. I was homeschooled until I was 18 years old.

My life has always been something shameful to "normal" people.

My family was never well-known, but we had brief moments in the spotlight. We were on reality TV a few times, but we never had our own show. I've written about my experiences at length on my own blog, but my most popular piece is clickbait on Huffington Post.

Image description: screenshot of an article on HuffPost Personal. Beneath the text is an image of a femme-presenting person with long brown hair and glasses, holding an infant. They both have blue eyes. Title: My family was on a TLC reality show. Here's the dark secret that never aired. Subtitle: Realizing that my parents couldn’t be questioned without severe consequences was like waking up from a dream. By Artemis Stardust. Published Mar 5, 2019. Updated Mar 16, 2022.

I've often wondered why my story became clickbait. For me, it was told in earnest vulnerability about personal trauma. For the media and consumers, it was entertainment. A morbid curiosity.

My life has been about looking in at the rest of the world from the outside.

That's where exploitation comes in. Growing up, my extreme situation was exploited on multiple levels. My parents exploited my labor as a child caring for other children. The Learning Channel exploited the spectacle of my family. Then, as an adult, my story was exploited again and again for entertainment.

Sometimes I was paid, but exploitation still occurred, because I learned to exploit my own trauma to perform. Writing about my life did not lead to healing and connection. I set out to write a memoir about my experiences, and read many memoirs similar to my own, only to recognize a pattern: exploitation strikes more than once.

There are so many tell-all memoirs and documentaries about horrific situations involving abuse and murder of all sorts. We are told that these stories are shared to "raise awareness." Yet entertainment corporations fund these productions and capitalize on morbid curiosity all over again.

I'm examining exploited extremes because I want to get past the notion of adding to the pile of horrible stories. I'm curious about how to effectively address the larger pattern of turning extreme situations into freak shows, and as a disabled person, I'm deeply aware of what that term implies for my community.

This is a common story for many people, and I want to examine this phenomenon. Capitalism is impossible to satisfy, and it will not stop after exploiting people repeatedly. It always comes back for more.

(Page updated 11/7/2025)