Limo entrances are a steadfast ritual in every first episode of The Bachelor. Each time a contestant pops her meticulously coiffed head out of the limo, the faithful chyron tells…
Contemporaries Essays
Feasts and Famine: Consumption on “The Bachelor”
In the Bachelor mansion, the kitchen stays empty. There are no gourmet chefs; no kind mothers work in the kitchen. No phones to order UberEats, no Instacart; no internet, even…
Behind the Camera: The Crucial Role of Parents on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette
The Bachelor and Bachelorette accelerate not just dating, but other romantic milestones such as falling in love, achieving physical intimacy, and — though rarely discussed — meeting a potential partner’s…
The Bachelor as Novel of Manners
Why do smart, critical viewers who are actively harmed by the systems of domination that The Bachelor upholds continue to watch the show? The most common answer served to any…
Lesbians at Sea: Queerness and The Bachelor Franchise
When asked in a 2014 The New York Times Magazine interview if there should be a gay Bachelor, Chris Harrison, the franchise’s former host, responded: “The question is: Is it…
Here for the Wrong Representation: The Misuse of Diversity in the Bachelor Franchise
Season Nineteen of The Bachelorette (2022) proved to be one of the most “dramatic seasons ever.” Deviating from the show’s typical format of having one bachelorette, this season featured two…
Disability Narratives in Bachelor Nation
There is an exception to every rule. When it comes to the portrayal of disability in The Bachelor franchise and its spin-offs, only exceptions, as in, people with disabilities who…
The Bachelor at 21: Our Final Rose
March of 2023 marked the twenty-first “birthday” of ABC’s hit show The Bachelor. Since its inception, the show has presented itself as helping young, wealthy, and conventionally attractive Americans find…
A Thank You Note
Dear John, I’ve been reading “Ten Things I Do Every Day” every day. “Now I don’t know anything anymore.” What does sacred, ordinary protocol have to do with knowing anything…