The Bachelor is a reality TV show that has just finished its 22nd season and is a competition among 25 women that strive for the bachelor’s love, hoping to end up engaged to him in the end.  On the show, the women go on dates with the bachelor, trying to ‘win’ by receiving the final rose and therefore becoming engaged to the bachelor. The show is filled with drama as the women fight among each other and the audience never knows which girl the man will really choose in the end until she steps out of the limo.  Despite being a widely watched show with thousands of fans, it is extremely sexist and is terrible to the women on the show, as seen in the latest season.

This season, bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr, who was previously on season 8 of The Bachelorette but was sent home by Emily Maynard, tried to find ‘The One’.  Luyendyk was soon to be labeled as “the kissing bandit,” since he kissed the women any chance he got. He then ended the show in one of the most controversial decisions ever.  Arie was deciding between two women, Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin, and was indecisive until the morning in which he was supposed to propose. He then sent Lauren home and proposed to Becca.  But, only a few months later, he chose to end the proposal with Becca, admitting that he was still in love with Lauren, then proposed to Lauren on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose.

Katelyn:

I began watching The Bachelor a few episodes into the current season, which is something that I never thought I would do.  I always found the show incredibly sexist and demeaning to women, as it pits them against one another to fight over one man.  However, my friends began to watch it while I was around them, so I decided to watch along with them since it was fun to have a conversation about.  The show is interesting in the sense that it is something that is not seen every day– multiple women out on a date with one man, exploring countries from Italy to Peru.  However, my opinion that it is sexist and can be harmful to women has not changed. The women are forced to present themselves as perfect, always over-dressing for simple events like hiking, and abiding by the bachelor’s wants.  Even the most simple elements of the show cast women in a sexist light, like when the girls walk to Arie across a long field for every date, and he just stands in place and waits for them to come to him.

The latest season has further illuminated how awful the show is to women.  After choosing to marry Becca, Arie called off their marriage with cameras filming at every angle.  He then left and almost immediately began a relationship with Lauren. He then proposed to Lauren on the live broadcasting of The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, while Becca was backstage.      

Isabelle:

This is my third season watching The Bachelor, but this has by far been my least favorite season. Whenever I watch the show or any of the other Bachelor-related shows, I don’t really view the contestants as people because I know that only a very curated side of their personality is being shown. I see the women, or the men, as casted characters until the end of the season when more of their real emotions and personalities are shown. After watching the show for three years, I’ve seen how sexist the show is, but this season has really crossed a line. Arie originally chose to propose to Becca, but then ended up rescinding his proposal and proposing to Lauren instead. Arie had already talked to Lauren before he broke off his engagement with Becca, so he knew that Lauren would take him back. The women on the show, for the most part, tell the Bachelor exactly what he wants to hear because they are being pressured to move their relationships along as fast as the other women. While the show highlights sexism, it also portrays an unhealthy relationship dynamic due to the competitive nature of the show.