In Megan Garber’s article, entitled “The (Booze-Infused, Bikini-Clad) Values of The Bachelor,” she examines many of the core features of the popular reality television show. The Bachelor, and the corresponding The Bachelorette, both involve a group of contestants vying for the love of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette, finally ending in an engagement between the chosen pair. The traditional depictions of romance and dating on these shows play a role in their enduring popularity. Garber’s article describes these representations as seen in The Bachelor, including the limitations placed on the contestants, the emphasis on conservative family values, and the formulated dating procedures.
Garber observes that the casting of The Bachelor is typically
…show more content…
As stated by Garber, The Bachelor suffers from “…its extremely non-diverse casting choices…” (3). In past seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, there have been contestants of color, but they do not typically continue to further rounds, thus avoiding “…parading interracial romance on prime time” (Halberstam 6). This trend is furthered by the fact that “…so far none have cast a bachelor/ette of color in the main role” (5). Although The Bachelor does feature a large cast of women and gives a woman a position of power on The Bachelorette, it maintains an uncontroversial viewpoint by not involving itself in the potential politics of interracial dating. As a result, it never addresses intersectional feminist issues, such as race. Especially as the show emphasizes a traditional idea of relationships and marriage, this lack of diversity demonstrates a flaw in its portrayal of these topics. Ultimately, this problem prevents people of color from partaking in The Bachelor’s idealized romance and being considered worthy of exemplifying conservative family values on national television. Additionally, The Bachelor has “…the tendency to downplay, and pretty much ignore, the fact that its cast consists of humans with jobs and lives and