The Bachelor is a popular reality TV dating competition, in which an eligible bachelor dates a group of possible romantic interests with the intention of finding a wife. The Bachelor typically begins with about 25 women who get eliminated throughout the season until there is one woman left, at which point he is expected to propose to her.

The show has been on the air since 2002 and now regularly brings in ratings of ~7 million views per episode. Because of its success, producers have created multiple spin-offs of the show, including the gender-reversed Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, and Bachelor in Paradise which frequently feature contestants from previous versions of the show. The Bachelor franchise has also grown internationally, with 19 countries having created their own Bachelor show.

Though many may dismiss shows like the Bachelor as reality TV trash or guilty pleasures, the show is worth analyzing because as we have learned in class, pleasure is political, and these shows not only reflect but re-produce culture. This site aims to examine the portrayal of gender and femininity on the The Bachelor as well as issues of racial representation on the show. We also explored the way The Bachelor is perceived from the perspective of the audience, using a sample of Middlebury College students who are fans of the show.