Cultural Myths in The Bachelor

Why are women so quick to backstab each other in the back for a man? It seems like women give men too much power, making them think women NEED them and it's okay for women to fight over them. That idea is so far from the truth and goes both ways. Men don't NEED women and women don't NEED men. Having companionship is great and to want that is great and normal but to put emphasis on another human being as to say, "I NEED YOU TO SURVIVE," is a bit much.

In the book, Race, Gender, Class, Media 3.0, there is a short write-up about cultural myths and how they fuel the women battling against each other in the TV show The Bachelor. The show is a "reality" show that came out in 2002 and continues to air. The basic premise of the show involves 25 women who are on the show initially but then as time goes on, they get eliminated so the bachelor can limit the number down to the one he wants.

I personally never got into the show. It always seemed odd to me to have a show where grown women are competing for a guy. Not only that, but to know that he is courting other women at the same time to see which one he should choose just doesn't sit well with me. Women are not objects where men can just pick and choose who they want.

One of the myths brought up in the book is referred to as the Cinderella myth because the show resembles the Cinderella plot pretty closely. We all know the Cinderella story...where a young women is forced to be a slave to her stepfamily and ends up falling in love with the local prince who searches for his wife at a local ball. Once they meet and the prince receives confirmation that Cinderella is indeed the girl for him due to the glass slipper that fits her foot, they live happily ever after. In the show, "the women claim the opportunity to meet the bachelor is like being in a fairy tale and that they really do believe their foray into reality dating television is a viable way to find the perfect husband," (Lind, 209).

The reason the myths work so well as the book explains is because of, "the ideological discourse for women is based upon economic social power relationships which work to keep women in submissive roles," (Lind, 209). Therefore, the notion of an independent woman who has achieved much is not comparable to having beauty and marriage, is believed. As a result, women on the show are seen battling and backstabbing one another because everyone wants THAT perfect prince for an happily-ever ending that almost never lasts. The woman's woman myth describes women as physical objects as groomed and as the perfect wife and mother and rarely with having meaningful thoughts as explained in the text. Since women are so use to competing with one another naturally, they are use to "sizing-up" their competition on the show.

The Bachelor continues to get viewers because people like to see a fairy tale unfold and they also like drama. The culture that says, women need men and should fight for men definitely exists and will continue if women continue to watch shows like The Bachelor that support the myths.

The bottom line is...in my opinion women don't NEED men to complete them and fighting other women for a man is absurd.