LogoTV's newest show, coined as the "gay Bachelor," has received mixed reviews from audiences. Finding Prince Charming is perhaps must succinctly summarized by the following tweet:
I honestly could not have come up with a better tagline myself: "Bad for the gays, but good entertainment!"
Compared to the Bachelor(ette), Finding Prince Charming is just as cheesy, just as unrealistic, and just as superficial. All of the contestants are incredibly beautiful, and those who were not what society considers an attractive gay man to look like were eliminated almost immediately. The show's "Prince Charming," Robert, claimed he felt no chemistry or connection with any of the less conventionally attractive men.
Such obvious favoritism is actually a problem within the gay community as a whole. One of the biggest unspoken rules of gay hook-up culture is "No fats, no femmes, no Asians"--meaning plus-sized gay men, feminine gay men, and Asian gay men are considered undesirable. This trope is consistently depicted in gay movies, gay porn, and now a gay dating show.
Although there are undoubtedly 'feminine' contestants on the show, Prince Charming himself said he was looking for "a man who is a man." Such a statement does not only shame feminine gay men, but it is also transphobic. He blatantly says he is looking for a masculine man with a penis.
Sure, we all have our own preferences. But at some point, we need to ask ourselves whether our sexual and aesthetic preferences actually come from internal feelings or whether we are perpetuating harmful societal expectations. Just as women are expected to be thin, curvy, sporty, feminine, have long hair, great makeup, fashionable clothes and other unrealistic expectations, men are expected to do the same. They are expected to be muscled, tan, athletic, masculine and dominant.
Even in the LGBTQIA+ community, which aims to break societal barriers, these unrealistic expectations persist. There is something so comforting about stereotypes. We, as humans, love to make order out of chaos, but the order we create often hurts more than it helps. When it comes to body standards and what society sees as attractive, our social constructions are definitely more harmful than helpful.
I hope in the future we are able to see people on reality television who look less like the ideal and more like the average person--especially on a channel like Logo, meant to celebrate diversity and people who are different.
Finding Prince Charming certainly has its redeeming qualities--like some of the incredibly charming contestants (I'm looking at you, Justin and Robby!), the trashy entertainment of watching 13 people fight over 1 man, and the wittiest of one-liners. If you have not watched an episode, I highly suggest you tune in for the amusement of watching a house full of sexually frustrated gay men vie for the attention of the same man.
