WHY ARE WE STILL WATCHING SHOWS LIKE THE BACHELOR?

The question about whether or not The Bachelor franchise should have a queer Bachelor or Bachelorette has been pondered for years by people both inside and outside of the LGBTQ+ community… but the fact that there is still so little representation is completely unacceptable.

WHEN WE ONLY FOCUS ON HETERONORMAL RELATIONSHIPS THE QUEER COMMUNITY OR THOSE NOT YET OUT ARE AFFECTED.

Chris Harrison, former host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, has been clear that he believes it would not be worth pursuing LGBTQ+ versions of the popular shows because they already work well enough as they are. He told The New York Times that he does not want to divert from the straight-folks-seeking-love model. However, he has been clear that he supports gay marriage and equality. 

Conversely, Lance Bass, a rotating guest host for The Bachelor in Paradise, said he is into the idea of an LGBTQ+ version. He is openly gay and thinks creating a show like this could bring more drama and entertainment for viewers.

However, it’s mostly all talk at this point.

While there have been some LGBTQ+ moments on shows like The Bachelor, there hasn’t been enough.

Here is a recap of the brief exposure we’ve seen in the franchise:

In 2018, on The Bachelor: Vietnam, contestant Minh Thu confessed her love for a fellow contestant, Truc Nhu, during a rose ceremony. The women left the show together.

In 2019, the US version of Bachelor in Paradise included a bisexual woman named Demi Burnett. The show incorporated her coming-out story and her engagement to Kristian Haggerty. They may no longer be together, but the visibility was a great addition to the show and they became the show's first same-sex couple. GLAAD even tweeted that they were impressed with the inclusion.

Bachelor In Paradise Australia showed a date between contestants Alex Nation and Brooke Blurton that same year.

We also can’t ignore that Colton Underwood from The Bachelor season 23 came out as gay in an interview with Good Morning America in 2021. This interview now has well over 1 million views. 

He spoke about how difficult it was to embrace this part of himself. There was a time when he would have rather died than come out, and now he openly talks about his struggles which likely had a lasting impact on LGBTQ+ people who might be feeling the same way. In December 2021 Netflix debuted a series called Coming Out Colton where he continued his conversation about self-discovery.

CREATING AN ENTIRELY LGBTQ+ SEASON OF THE BACHELOR OR BACHELORETTE COULD CHANGE THE SHOW’S PREMISE… BUT DO WE EVEN WANT THAT KIND OF EXPOSURE?

Part of what makes these shows enjoyable is watching everyone be so obnoxiously straight.

There have been attempts at creating other LGBTQ+ centered dating shows such as Finding Prince Charming, Transamerican Love Story, and A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, but these shows do not tend to last more than one or two seasons. 

While not quite a dating show, the 2021 reality show Tampa Baes features quite a few lesbian relationships and has become very popular.

Maybe that is the direction we should be aiming for instead — a deeper look into the lives of LGBTQ+ people without turning it into a competition. 

Focusing on creating shows that explore authentic LGBTQ+ relationships and the love of queer people would fair much better in the queer community than a typical dating show… and guaranteed, the relationship would last longer!