Why it’s time to stop watching “The Bachelor”

ABIGAIL SAATHOFF Opinion Columnist

On March 25, 2002, the first season of “The Bachelor” premiered. The show was something special, focusing on one lucky man and 25 women on the search for true love. People fell in love with the show; over 9.9 million people watched its premiere, and 18.2 million watched the finale. But, the show ended with no proposal and a future announcement that the couple had broken up. But, since its start the show has been open to criticism: its lack of ethnic and cultural diversity, (its first African-American bachelor came in season 25) stigmatizing virginity, scarce representation of various body shapes and sizes and the perpetuation of unfair stereotypes against both women and men.

If you’ve been alive for the last ten years, there is a good chance you’ve heard of “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,”

“The Bachelor in Paradise,” or one of the many other spinoffs of the popular show. It’s a show many love to watch; the juicy drama, the interesting storylines and the attractive men all make the show a fan favorite. But the show has long remained the same, one man and 25 women, all models thin and beautiful, and the man, equally attrac- tive. “The Bachelor” is stuck in the past, and each needs to step up their crappy casting and exploitation of poor behavior or walk happily into the sunset once and for all after 21 years. From the first time I watched “The Bachelor,” my freshman year of college, I was skeptical of the show, but quickly became enthralled in the fun of watching the show. But, the longer I watched the more and more issues I discovered with the show, which took away from my general enjoyment. I realized that it wasn’t the great show I thought it was, but rather one of the worst shows on television to date, yet, like many other viewers, I couldn’t stop watching.

First and foremost, the show is marketed as an opportunity for men and women to find love, but the show is simply a fight to the finish to be the winner of a relatively standard man that looks remarkably like a Ken doll. Throughout the show, the women fight with each other, frustrated when the others find success, or when they don’t find themself a match with the selected Bachelor. Even the trailers usually show at least one heated debate between the women, and in a recent season, one of the women started a rumor that another woman was an escort. Not only is this uncomfortable to watch, but unfairly represents women as backstabbing, rude, and unkind. And, at the end of the day, why not figure out if the relationship is a match, rather than blackmailing your way through?