reality TV

“Too Hot to Handle” Is a Conservative Nightmare of a Reality Dating Show

Two people, both white, one man, one woman, stand laughing on a beach. They both have words written on them in paint.
by Erin Taylor
May 15, 2020 at 7:38am
The premise is simple: for the duration of the season, no one can have sex.
Madison Prewett, a white woman with long, light brown hair and blue eyes and a dark tan, speaks to another woman, who has her back turned.

She’s so Pure: “The Bachelor” Still Has a Virginity Problem

by Ilana Masad
March 5, 2020 at 2:04pm
Madison’s “purity” rhetoric illustrates a much broader, scarier problem with her virginity-focused narrative arc. Read more »
Carlton Morton, a Black man, wears a suit and a bow tie. He is bald and wears a serious expression while sitting on a couch.

“Love Is Blind” Shows There’s No Bisexual Boom for Black Men

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
February 27, 2020 at 12:12pm
Televison’s “bisexual boom” hasn’t yet reached Black men. Read more »
image of model with long, bright orange hair with a pixelated-looking face

The Lie That Feeds Our Ugly Fascination with Makeover Shows

by Dara Mathis
February 19, 2020 at 9:00am
How do you produce a show that purports to make women more beautiful—presenting them as undesirable as is—and still manage to preach self-love? Read more »
photo of a woman and man embracing and kissing in a field with colorful trash bags over their heads

On “90 Day Fiancé,” Love Is a Form of Capital

by Jordan McDonald
November 11, 2019 at 8:49am
90 Day Fiancé exposes the attitudes and practices that have foreground America’s history of anti-immigrant sentiment, nativism, racism, and xenophobia. Read more »
Queer Eye's Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, and Antoni Porowski sit on a couch together and look up at a screen.

In Favor of Straight White Viewers, “Queer Eye” Lives in the Middle Ground

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
August 20, 2019 at 3:42pm
Many straight women love and enjoy Queer Eye. Does it hold the same weight with queer women? Read more »

Reality Check: What Gets Left on “Queer Eye’s” Cutting-Room Floor?

by Li Sian Goh
March 15, 2019 at 9:00am
Narratives outside of those constructed and aired by Netflix suggest much more meaningful interactions took place during filming. Read more »
The Bachelor Vietnam

On Our Radar—Feminist News Roundup: Queer Love on “The Bachelor”

by Bitch HQ
October 17, 2018 at 3:00am
Finally, the queer love story we all deserve. Read more »
Dbag-thumb-arie.jpg

Douchebag Decree: “The Bachelor” Is Bad

by Dahlia Balcazar
March 9, 2018 at 1:30pm
There is no decency to be found in reality TV. Read more »
Amara La Negra, a dark-skinned Afro Latinx woman in afro, faces forward with her fist raised

Amara Y Mas: Race, Ethnicity, and Afro-Latinx Womanhood

by Jamila Brown
February 15, 2018 at 9:36am
What if we tore down the house that narrows our vision of Latinx identity? Read more »
Carmen and Antwane on MTV's Catfish

Bait and Switch: The 7 Best Episodes of “Catfish”

by Evette Dionne
February 7, 2018 at 3:10pm
What a mess. I couldn’t stop watching if I tried. Read more »

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