Don’t worry, everyone, I have cracked the case of Why Feminists Sometimes Enjoy Watching The Bachelor Franchise, and you will rejoice to hear that it does not suggest that viewers are morally compromised, although we still might be. Or in other news, I stayed up seventeen minutes past my bedtime the other night reading Amy Kaufman’s book Bachelor Nation.
Kaufman is a journalist with a long history of covering The Bachelor and its sister shows, which means she gets lots of terrific interviews with contestants and producers and staff. It also means that her book’s a quick and accessible read, with each chapter a contained piece of journalism about one element of making the show. How are contestants chosen? How do producers elicit emotional responses or set up dramatic moments while they’re filming? How does editing work? If you’re interested in how the sausage gets made, Kaufman — look, I don’t want to make a gross meat metaphor here. There are lots of good details. Let’s not think about how actual sausage actually gets made.
(I have seen sausage being made. It’s not that bad as long as somebody else is doing it and I am just standing nearby. I think it’s grosser to describe than to witness.)
There’s also a wonderful appendix, presented without comment, that lists each Bachelor and Bachelorette, the names of their final choice (if any), and the romantic outcome of that season. It is so damning — especially the Bachelor side. Nobody is any good at finding a mate on television, but dudes seem to be way worse at it, even if they are not as dumb as a stick like Chris Soules, bless his dumb heart.
However! Interspersed among these chapters are two-page explanations from various actors and public figures as to why they watch this franchise. The subtext of the premise of these interstices is why would anyone watch this show, and that’s made textual by most of them. Maybe if you are a Bachelor watcher, you wonder this yourself! Fortunately I am here to resolve the issue for you: You watch The Bachelor because (it’s fun, and) it makes you consider and articulate your values. Talking about values is fun! Values are like my favorite subject to talk about!
Most crucially, conversations about values serve a social regulatory function. When you talk about The Bachelor, you are talking about how to play a game fairly, how to treat friends/coworkers/acquaintances ethically in times of strife, how to comport oneself in a romantic situation. How to behave (or not behave) when drunk. What kind of traits are desirable in a romantic partner. What kind of behavior is absolutely not acceptable. It’s fun to talk about The Bachelor because it’s fun to talk about values! That’s why! This is fine and normal, and it is entirely possible to be a feminist and still enjoy the franchise, because one of the ways you are interacting with the franchise is by discussing with your friends the ways in which it counteracts or reinforces your own beliefs about gender and romance and heteronormative dating. And feminism.
That said, if you want to talk about values but you don’t want to keep watching The Bachelor because the whole subplot with the racist guy on Rachel’s season made you feel morally compromised for supporting the franchise (JUSTICE FOR KENNY) and plus you didn’t watch Emily’s season so you didn’t gaf about Arie anyway, I would strongly recommend the alternative of acquiring several advice column buddies and reviewing advice columns with them on the regular. I read Carolyn Hax and Captain Awkward and Dear Prudence and Ask a Manager.
Also, Bachelor Nation was exactly what I wanted it to be. It could only have been improved by being twice as long, because my appetite for behind the scenes information about the Bachelor franchise is bottomless. I want to know more about how to be a Bachelor producer. I want transcripts of the exact conversations producers have with contestants in order to make them say some of the things they say, and still have the contestants think well of them afterwards. (Hashtag, things INTJs want.)