Ok, so I realize I haven't written in eons, and I have no excuses other than the typical: lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of inspiration, blah blah blah, but tonight I saw something so unsettling and vomit-inducing that I just had to get it out. It was an episode of The Bachelorette.
I have always kind of been a fair-weather fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette (and most other reality TV shows for that matter). I mean, I used to watch it with my girlfriends in college, mostly as an excuse to take a break from homework and add a little fun to a mundane Monday. I got on board with the whole Trista/Ryan wedding way back in the day, and I liked the last bachelorette, Alli, and was respectively empathetic when she had to choose between two seemingly great guys. Other than that, I've never really been a dedicated watcher. But tonight it rained so I had to cancel my bike ride and I didn't have much else to keep me occupied, so, ya know, when in Rome...
Let me preface by saying that I have some serious moral objections to the whole concept of the show. For one, I don't think you can realistically meet, fall in love, and be engaged in a matter of three months. Secondly, I don't think that traveling the planet gives a realistic example of how a relationship can build and grow. Of course you're going to lust after someone when you're in some of the most romantic cities in the world. What happens when you head back to Ohio and your cell phone sales job? Third, it's ridiculously scripted and pre-planned by the producers to have a certain outcome with plenty of audience-gripping drama which, ultimately, makes a sham out of the institutions of courtship, engagement, and marriage. Jumping off my soap box now...
With that, I have to say that I am not a fan of this bachelorette. I don't want to be a big cyber bully and berate her to pieces, but, man, for someone who talks a lot, she doesn't really say anything. In an hour and forty-five minutes (I didn't tune in til 7:15) the most I got from her was that she was insecure and constantly wondering if she was "enough" for any of her potential suitors. Oh, and she was all hung up on some guy who first made her cry and treated her like shit and then walked off the show of his own accord. Well, here's a plan for you Ashley. How about you stop being such a masochist, grow a pair and, if some guy doesn't think you're "enough", tell him to peace out. I'm under the impression that this is kind of your show, after all.
Also, this show makes me wonder if the world is running out of men. I understand that you'd have to be a certain type of person to even participate in such a charade, but was the main requirement for these people that their level of douchiness needed to be equivalent to their muscle mass? What an incredible venue for manly men to oil up, show off their rock hard abs, and participate in shameless competition at the expense of everyone else's feelings. Please. Apparently, these men are supposed to be hot, and, I'll admit, I'm only human and can find the physical appeal, but I just can't keep from thinking that these men were probably all captains of their high school football teams and have lived in states of female-centered delusion ever since.
This is a completely unwarranted rant, but sometimes I just get depressed by reality TV and the toll it takes on our society. Some of us who actually live in reality still want meaningful relationships with a genuine people who are not looking for 15 minutes of fame and you, Reality TV, are ruining it. With that, I don't think I need to watch The Bachelorette again anytime soon. It just makes me upset.
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