Back in the day, the criterion seemed a lot simpler when it came to determining who could be a potential Mr. Right.

Being handsome and dressing well (whatever that entails) usually gets things off to a nice start, but the more serious we become about settling down, other qualities start to become meaningful about that particular suitor as well—is he kind, compassionate and hard-working? Does he enjoy quality time with family and friends? Would he qualify as a full-fledged, or potential, ‘baby-daddy’?

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a ‘baby daddy’ describes a man who has a child, or children, with at least one woman with whom he’s not married. In some cases, that man may have one or more children with several women.

It’s not a new phenomenon by any means (does the song “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” ring a bell?), but the practice of wearing the title as a badge of honor and being able to capitalize off of it seems to be a new trend.

There’s Levi Johnston (Bristol Palin’s ex), Kevin Federline (Britney Spears’ ex-husband) , Tom Brady (Bridget Moynahan’s ex) and now rapper Carlos “Shawty Lo” Walker, who’s joined forces with the Oxygen network and is presently filming his own reality show, creatively entitled All My Babies Mamas.

Seriously.

The 36-year-old Atlanta-based rapper first had a chart-topping hit with the song “Laffy Taffy” in 2005. But as of today, his most memorable accomplishment is the eleven children he has with ten women, the first of whom he fathered while a mere 15-years-old.

The preview reel, already available online, features Shawty’s current girlfriend Ashlin and his assorted exes, which are characterized as, to name a few, “The Jealous Baby Mama,” “The Shady Baby Mama” and “The Baby Mama From Hell.” Along with his ex-fiance, “The First Lady,” all ten of the women live in the same home, along with Shawty and their assorted menageries of kids.

The controversy is already raging at a fever pitch in the Twittersphere between fans and critics, mostly about the levels of desperation and dysfunctionality for ratings. Many are protesting the show and calling for a boycott. As far as who’s catching it the most, the blame is almost evenly spread between the so-called ‘man’ who keeps creating the out-of-wedlock children and the ‘women’ who perpetuate the madness.

Call me odd or old-fashioned, but because I grew up in a home with parents who were married and prided themselves on keeping their families intact, I never saw the appeal of men who treated procreation as a competitive sport and the resulting children as trophies. It’s one thing when marriages end and the parents begin anew with other people, but how are family bonds strengthened when men and women require little more than a pulse from those they have babies with?

Instead of gawking at the circus atmosphere these people live in and pointing cameras at the carnage their poor choices and low self-esteem have wrought, why not examine the issues and predicaments that produced this lopsided pimping of young women?

Thanks to reality shows like Real Housewives and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, there is more than enough depravity on the air, so what function could All My Babies Mamas serve?

Unless it’s a cautionary tale of how not to squander your fleeting fame and fortune as rising entertainer, then I don’t see much that could qualify as ‘educational’ or ‘entertaining.’

Just because someone’s content with wallowing in slop doesn’t mean you reward their gluttony with a camera crew and air-time.