Every Monday, as many as 12 million viewers tune into the reality television series The Bachelor (or The Bachelorette) on ABC. The show follows a single man or woman in their search for "true love" among 25 twenty-something, conventionally attractive contestants. The show is controversial in and of itself- the vast majority of the contestants are white, young, and conventionally attractive. The fact that a single man or woman is shown simultaneously dating 25 potential suitors- and on television!- has caused extreme controversy. And, in 26 seasons, there has not been a single non-white bachelor or bachelorette featured on the show. An article in The Hollywood Reporter stated that a group of Nashville residents have planned to file a lawsuit against the television series: "The potential plaintiffs point out that over 10 years of the show and 23 seasons, the programs have not featured a single person of color as the featured Bachelor or Bachelorette."
Now here I am- an adamant viewer of the series and firmly anti-racist- utterly confused and not knowing what to think about The Bachelor. What kind of audience is The Bachelor trying to attract? Why, after 26 seasons, haven't they featured a single bachelor or bachelorette of color? And- most importantly- would people stop watching the show if there was a non-white bachelor or bachelorette?
What are the producers of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette so afraid of? Other shows have featured non-white characters as their stars- Black-ish, The Prince of Bel Air, The Cosby Show, Family Matters. Is The Bachelor Nation, as the series is commonly referred to, scared to change? Scared to lose money? Racially discriminate? I'd naively like to assume the former, that the producers of the show are not in and of themselves racist, but simply trying to appeal to and maintain a larger audience. However, this may be worse. This transfers the blame from the television series to its viewers- are Americans as a society afraid of seeing a non-white bachelor or bachelorette?
Perhaps this law-suit is a much needed call for change. American society as a whole needs to realize that though there are many issues raised from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, race should not be one of them. In fact, I'd argue that we should be more concerned that we are teaching the American youth that dating 25 suitors at once is acceptable, that to find a spouse one must be young, conventionally attractive, skinny- virtually flawless. Above all this, we are teaching our youth that to find a spouse, you must also be white. The Bachelor Nation is only playing into this undying circle of discrimination and social normality.
As a member of a biracial family- two of my siblings are adopted from Haiti- I hope to see the day
when having or not having a person of color as the bachelor or bachelorette does not raise question, when the producers of popular television shows are not afraid to have a non-white star.
Another opinion on the topic- from a Bachelorette contestant himself
I completely agree with you; The Bachelor should have a non-white star. I also find it upsetting that there has been no LGBT bachelor or bachelorette. The show so far has been extremely hetero-normative. I feel that since The Bachelor has been so successful, having such a large and loyal audience, it should use its success to help both the LGBT community and people of different ethnicities, spreading awareness. There are many ignorant people in the world who rely on stereotypes to understand those who are different from them, and being able to see those who are different, instead of just hearing malicious things about them, is absolutely necessary. Even though reality T.V. may not be the best way to do this—seeing as how most of the shows are scripted—it is better than none.
ReplyDeleteTommy- I agree! Other shows change over time because they know that their viewers will still watch. Why hasn't The Bachelor done so? I feel they are playing it safe, fearing the loss of even the smallest amount of viewers.
ReplyDeleteEllie -
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, and Tommy as well! I find it particularly ironic that Marquel, an African American contestant, was a fan-favorite on this past season of "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise". Not only was he just a fan favorite, but he also was one of the serious candidates to be the next Bachelor. Marquel's extreme popularity shows that America can love a contestant that is non-white, so why can we not have the Bachelor, the lead of the show, be African American? The amount of fans Marquel had shows the fans are ready for an African American Bachelor and would continue to watch the show if the Bachelor was of a different race. Hopefully, Marquel's popularity makes a statement to the producers and the network and encourage them to have a Bachelor who is not white like the rest.
Ellie:
ReplyDeleteI as well think that The Bachelor/Bachelorette should branch out into having more ethnic diversity on the show. Time and time again the Bachelor/Bachelorette on the show is white and the fact that this has been going on for 26 seasons? I believe it is time to change. There was however Juan Pablo who had some kind of ethnic diversity and he was known as the "Latin Lover" of Desire's season. It is interesting to see how he had the least amount of screen time during that season,but however produced such a large fan base and that made him the next Bachelor. He also collected a fairly large audience for his season. Although he is not a man of color, it still is diversity within the franchise and that goes to show how having a Bachelor or Bachelorette of color will attract a larger audience therefore attract more ratings.
I agree with you, and I think that the fear of losing viewers has definitely caused the Bachelor to keep following the same course and not include a bachelor/bachelorette of color. These days, revenue and the number of viewers drives the decisions almost every show, and instead of being fair and rational, the production company has just continued with the same layout of the show that they believe has made them so successful. However, I too believe this is completely wrong, and I don't think they would lose any viewers if there was a bachelor/bachelorette of color. Instead, they would probably gain even more viewers because those who couldn't relate to the previous, white, perfect bachelors will now be more inclined to tune in. This show can be viewed as implicitly sending the message to those of color that they are less likely to find love because they don't fulfill the image of perfection, and society needs to change this stereotype. Unfortunately and realistically, I don't know if this will happen in the next few seasons, just because the television companies are so focused on continuing their success and bringing in money. This ugly and repetitive cycle will continue until the company can overcome their fear of losing viewers and realize they are negatively affecting the lives of viewers and of society as a whole.
ReplyDelete