Susan J. Douglas

About the author: Susan J. Douglas is a contributing editor for In These Times, a national news and opinion magazine.

Feminists, male and female, find reality TV shows such as The Bachelor repulsive because they embody the patriarchal concept that men define womanhood. For example, the woman the bachelor finally chooses from a field of twenty-five contestants supposedly represents the ideal female to viewers, most of whom are young women. Typically, the women viewers identify with and root for their favorite contestant. They hope that the bachelor likes her too, and his choice validates their concept of womanhood. Whether the bachelor agrees with them or not, it is his choice—not theirs—that determines what kind of femininity ensures survival in a world run by...