A Final Rose for Females
Hi Y'all. I know that I said I would be out of commission for the next three weeks, but I decided not to go out of town this weekend due to unforeseen circumstances. I still spent the weekend super busy and in the Halloween spirit (happy Halloween, by the way!). But one of the days this week, I was clearing out my google drive folder and found yet another article from my old "The Women's Network" days at UIUC. I wrote this one a few weeks after the finale of season 25 of The Bachelor, which my fellow Bachelor stans will remember as Matt James crash-and-burn of a season, where he dumped (and took back) the winner in the span of a few months after racist allegations about her past resurfaced. It also just so happens to be the last season of the show I have seen, largely due to the psychotic competition and drama that season...which ruined the reputations and relationships of over half the season's female contestants. So in the spirit of not having time to write a new blog but wanting to share a topic I feel pretty strongly about, here is that article in all of its glory:
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A couple of weeks ago, season 25 of The Bachelor aired its final episode. It would be quite the understatement to say that this season had its fair share of drama, and as a superfan of the franchise in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, my friends and I binged every single episode. Tuesday nights from January to March, you could expect to find me glued to the couch in my friend’s apartment, yelling at the girls who I hated, and looking up info on the girls I loved. All in all, I can sum up season 25 of the immensely popular reality TV show with three foolproof statements: 1.) Queen Victoria sucks 2.) The only ‘love’ Matt James’ found was with Tyler Cameron and 3.) The editing team truly manipulated the drama this season to another level. And while I could write an entire blog about the first two and the unfolding situation dealing with Rachel Kirkconnell and host Chris Harrison, I have chosen to focus instead on what is perhaps the biggest problem with the Bachelor franchise, and how this season made it worse. In each season, but especially this one, the editing team at The Bachelor pits female contestants against each other for entertainment. The ratings for The Bachelor are always higher than those for The Bachelorette, which pegs the question: why does society love to objectify and demoralize young women?
Let me start off by saying that I would be a total hypocrite to blame the fans for enjoying the drama that occurs on The Bachelor every season. I, myself, am a fan-- and the drama is what makes the show what it is. Besides, it’s only natural. Put 30 young women in a mansion for eight weeks, have them fight over one man, and let the fighting ensue; it's practically a recipe for disaster. What I AM calling attention to is the way this specific season reduced its contestants to objects, turning them against each other and destroying their reputations.
The first example that comes to mind is that of Brittany Galvin, one of the contestants vying for Matt’s heart this past season. While she may have entered the show to find love, during her time on screen, another contestant on the show circulated a rumor around that Brittany was a sex worker. What started off as a baseless accusation was aired on national television and ruined Brittany’s life. Brittany later sat down with host Chris Harrison during the Women Tell All to talk about how once Bachelor Nation aired the false rumor about her being an escort, her entire reputation crumbled. As a fan and viewer of the series, it was appalling to watch a woman’s career and life be destroyed for the sake of ratings. The editors of the franchise blatantly chose to edit in these kinds of rumors rather than cut them out, emphasizing and (even) rewarding the bullying that went on during the season.
Beyond distorting the contestants’ reputations, The Bachelor’s editors also manipulated the relationships, making the women compete and belittle one another, rather than bring each other up. While the reality show is obviously a competition and not a place to make ‘best friends’ (a point the contestants often bring up), this season turned it into a bloodbath. Many of the contestants that received the most screen time humiliated other women into leaving the show, shamed their co-contestants for their appearance, gaslighted each other, and played with the feelings of the season’s lead. Rather than focusing on love, which is often the focal point of The Bachelorette, the season chose to follow bullies as they attacked their fellow contestants and demoralized one another. In the end, Matt James’ relationship with his final pick, Rachel, lasted just a few short months before allegations of her racist past became known to the public and he called their relationship off.
All this goes to show that had the seasons’ episodes been focused on love rather than drama, viewers may have gotten to see Matt James’ journey, instead of watching women tear each other down episode after episode. Instead of sitting through watching multiple women be ostracized by their co-contestants, we could have seen the unseen clips of women encouraging, supporting, and forgiving each other.
In fact, one of my favorite clips of this season was never aired to the general public. It was a clip I heard about after the season was over, of Rachel, Bri, and Michelle, the season’s final three women, during the seasons ‘After the Final Rose’ special. According to rumors, the three women talked in depth about the direction of the season’s and Rachel’s growth journey. This clip however, along with many clips of the women’s friendships and group dates, was never released to the public.
There needs to be a line between entertainment and degradation, and season 25 of The Bachelor crossed that line. By manipulating clips for extra drama appeal, cutting out people and stories (like forgiveness) that didn’t fit their overall narrative, and giving extra screen time and appeal to contestants who harassed other women, the franchise proved one thing about society. We’re okay with sacrificing the reputations and relationships of women for a few extra catfights. And we’re okay with gaslighting, rumors, and bullying even if it means the demoralization of the women who are part of, not to mention the young women who watch, our entertainment.
I’m gearing up for another (hopefully much better) season of The Bachelorette, and I’m excited to get some real romance and more importantly, self love. We as females have been torn down for too long to dig each other even deeper. Through the movies we watch, the shows we support, and the love we give, now more than ever is the time to uplift one another and give each other our “final rose”.
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While this was from way back, I think the sentiment of women tearing other women down is far from over, and a pattern I have witnessed play a role in many of my greek life experiences and adulthood, especially as I put roots down in a new city. I hope one day we can acknowledge the toxic, jarring treatment of half our world's population, because it's kinda, maybe a little important.
And with that, I'll ~actually~ talk to you in two weeks, once I'm home from Disneyland and Las Vegas. Take care:)