Oh, The Bachelor…Our guilty pleasure and entertainment keeping us all afloat during COVID-19. It’s clearly not the best show in terms of diversity, everyone I know wants more representation on the show.
It is responsible to be critical of problematic aspects of tv shows, but it is also okay to simultaneously enjoy them. The drama, scandal, and humor has many of us hooked. It’s damn good reality tv, perfect for a laugh with our friends.
To give you some quick background about my own viewing history, I unfortunately have been watching this God-damn show since I was in second grade. My mom let my sister and I join her each Monday night and framed it as “what not to do when you’re older and start to date”. This may or may not have not been the best parenting move, but the damage is done. I have been watching the Bachelor franchise shows for about 10 years; I feel like Chris Harrison is my uncle or something.
While the show is a bit wack, it has been a great way for my sister, mom, and I to bond throughout the years. Now we’ve got our boyfriends hooked too, so every Monday night is a party (figuratively of course, we’re in a pandemic people).
Enough about me though, I wanted to hear what others thought about the show and current season. I put out a few polls on my instagram and the results are in! Thank goodness it is not just me, 73% of participants said they enjoyed watching the Bachelor.
Now onto talking about none other than Matt James. First of all, I can’t believe it took them this long to include a Black Bachelor. This obviously should have happened a long time ago. Now that he’s finally here, Bachelor nation is in love.
And we’re not the only ones, the ladies on the show seem to be falling for him too. According to my polls, people think Rachel is going to end up with him, but several are hoping that Michelle, Abigail, or Bri will come out on top.
These same ladies were voted to be the next Bachelorette if they don’t win, along with a few votes for Serena P. and several for local contestant Katie!
If you have been paying attention to any recent episodes, you know that Katie is the most mature woman in the house. Period queen, we love to see it! And she’s from Renton, WA, so she’s reppin us well.
She’s also our sex positive hero, bringing a vibrator to her entrance? Hilarious. My poll included a question about the best entrance, and Katie won by a landslide. Seriously though, women expressing interest and desire in pleasure should be normalized, so go Katie!
Now this article would be incomplete without discussing the very essence of the show, the drama.
Victoria was voted “Mean Girl” of the season on my poll, and wow does she deserve it. Many of you said she was toxic, a bully, and just plain ridiculous.
Binsa Bhandari, Junior at SPU, stated “I think the producers are the real bullies for letting this go on”, and I couldn’t agree more. We all know Victoria was kept around for the drama.
Maddie Hayden, Sophomore at SPU, added on, pointing out that, “They definitely pitted the girls against each other”. I see eye to eye with her, I mean why else would they have brought in five new girls in the middle of the season?
The drama is often cringey, but what would the Bachelor be if it weren’t “The most dramatic season ever”, every season??
Onto this season’s dates, so far our favorites have been the intimate cooking date, shopping spree, four wheeling, and as SPU alumni, Connor Takata voted, “The one where Matt took his shirt off to chop wood”.
The date that everyone loves the most though is Matt’s date with Michelle in the hot air balloon! Chloe Wesson, junior at SPU, commented, “Their energy >>>”. I completely agree, they seem to vibe really well together.
I don’t know about you guys, but it is getting freaky seeing people our age on the show! Growing up these women seemed so old, but now we’re in our early twenties and some of the women, like Kit, are our age. What!?
I was curious how old my followers thought participants should need to be for The Bachelor, and the average ended up being about 23 years old. Many thought you should be upwards of 25 and many thought that being 21 was good enough.
Either way, the women are old enough to make their own choices, so it’s all relative! We should all empower women to do whatever the hell they want. Life is short, live it the way you want to.
We may love watching this show, but when I asked if anyone would ever consider going on the show, everyone, but one, on my poll said no. It is clear that as of right now we’re content observing from afar.
Bachelor nation may be a tad loony, but it is so much fun to be a part of. It feels like you’re a part of one huge inside joke.
I’ll see you Monday nights with your charcuterie board and champagne! Cheers!