Feminists and “The Bachelor”
Posted April 9th, 2003 @ 06:48pm by Erik J. Barzeski
In Bring Back 'Studs': Feminism and the Nielson Ratings, Stephanie Harmelin, in addition to confessing to a Madridian makeout orgy, says:
The Bachelor is disgusting, pathetic and damaging to any feminist movement. And I'm hooked.
Jamie's got me thinking about "feminist" issues a lot lately. The whole "what's fair to women" and "how do we, as a society, put down women or pigeonhole them into childcare specialist or domestic goddesses" question.
The article linked to above is somewhat poor in regards to feminist issues - the author is a college sophomore - and she seems stuck on whether or not the women partaking in The Bachelor represent the average woman of today.
They don't.
But here's the kicker: the current contestant (and I realize her article was written in 2002) doesn't well represent the average man:
As the great-grandson of tire entrepreneur Harvey Firestone, and the son of pioneering vintner Brooks Firestone and former British Royal Ballet soloist Catherine Boulton Firestone, Andrew Firestone inherited a thirst for adventure that continues today, as he helps lead one of California's most successful winery and brewery enterprises. From running with the bulls in Spain to riding the tech boom in San Francisco, from playing college football in San Diego to grinding out harvests at the winery estate, Andrew brings a wealth of skills, experience and insight to Firestone Family Estates.
Simply put: reality TV is pretty damn far from reality. Any discussion beyond that is one already couched in fantasy land. Does television affect how we perceive each other? Yes - I can't deny that. But does any reasonably intelligent man think that those women are "average?" Does any reasonably intelligent woman think that the bachelor is "average?"
Then again, I'd probably be surprised by the answer. 🙁
P.S. I never saw "Studs" and have no idea what she's talking about there… anyone care to enlighten me?
One Response to "Feminists and “The Bachelor”"
Posted 01 May 2003 at 9:53pm #
Studs was a dating show a few years back which had a girl ask questions of a panel of 3 guys (and, also, contraire to the title, vice versa) to see who she wanted to date. Remember, the season of Real World where that black chick got the comedian thrown off for pulling her pants down and then later (after the episodes aired) married NBAer Kenny Anderson? During that season, that chick was a contestant on Studs. Where will all this trivia end?