The 20th season of The Bachelor ended this week, with bachelor Ben Higgins choosing Lauren Bushnell. In fact, the season ended not only with love, but with an engagement! Oh, the feels!
But as happy as I am for the newly engaged couple (I totally called that it would be Lauren), I’ve been thinking lately about whether The Bachelor really is feminist or not. Blame the the fact that I’m a Communication major at a women’s college, but this question always pops into my head when watching television. I never watched The Bachelor until this season, and even then, I only watched one episode with my little and afterwards vaguely kept up with it on social media. So I didn’t really have much to go on when I first began thinking about this question.
So let’s go about this in a simple way, friends. Let’s look at some of the common arguments for and against the claim that The Bachelor is feminist and dissect a little bit.
Let’s begin:
Argument One: Having 25 women competing for a man’s attention is so ridiculous.
True statement. Since the women leave their jobs and lives to participate in the show, this creates the idea that getting a man should be a woman’s sole purpose in life. It also perpetuates the idea of competition among women, something which has been prevalent in media for decades. It encourages women to see each other as enemies, something that actively hinders the feminism movement.
Verdict: 1 point to Anti-feminist
Argument Two: The women on the show are there willingly and can leave anytime!
Also true. While one can speculate for hours why the women go onto the show, the fact that they can leave any time at their own will is a big deal. It places a huge importance on consent and respects a woman’s right to say no. This season, one woman, Lauren Barr, said no to a rose and left the show on her own. Another woman, Lace Morris, chose to leave, claiming that she needed to learn to love herself first before she could love someone else. A positive message that everyone can get behind!
Verdict: 1 point to Feminist
Argument Three: How can The Bachelor be anti-feminist if there’s also The Bachelorette?
Good question. But after even just a cursory Google search, I found that The Bachelor began first in 2002, and The Bachelorette began in 2003, was dropped in 2005 and was picked back up in 2008. The Bachelorette is defined as a “spin-off,” meaning that the producers didn’t originally have it in mind along with The Bachelor. So the idea began with having women cat-fight over a guy, making him the Prince Charming on a pedestal. In addition, the fact that far more Bachelorettes are ex-Bachelor contestants than vice versa perpetuates the idea that a woman needs a man to be satisfied in life.
Verdict: 1 point to Anti-feminist
Argument 4: It doesn’t advocate for a happily ever after, just a happy relationship.
This is a tricky one. While the idea of “happily ever after” is often pushed by the show, the fact that so few of the couples are still together reminds viewers that shallow, six-week relationships are not always the best. While there have been some success stories, there have also been instances where couples had break-ups that ended in friendship, normal, run-of-the-mill break-ups and even domestic violence disputes (Bachelor winner Mary Delgado was arrested for battery assault against her live-in fiance in 2007, although the report never specifically names Byron Velvick). The fact that the show keeps up with participants after the fact shows a willingness to demonstrate that not every relationship ends well.
Verdict: 1 point to Feminist
So what’s the final verdict? It’s sort of hard to come to a complete conclusion. While the show’s premise itself is anti-feminist and goes against many feminist ideals, the women go on the show willingly and can leave anytime they please. Some of the contestants go on to get married to other people, and some are still single. It’s all about perspective, I guess.
So, in my eyes, the only truly anti-feminist thing in this argument is women hating on other women for watching the show. Because in judging another woman for watching a show which advocates malice among women, you yourself are creating malice between women.
