Here For All the Reasons: Why We Watch The Bachelor

The Bachelor franchise has been around for over two decades and amassed an army of fans across its four shows. While contestants battle to prove they’re here for the right reasons, Bachelor Nation is confronting their own question—Why are we here and why can’t we stop watching? Devout franchise fans Ilana Masad and Stevie Seibert Desjarlais pose the big questions to Bachelor Nation: Who are we? What does the franchise mean to us? And seriously, why on earth can we not stop watching? For years, fans of the Bachelor franchise have laughed with and at contestants; cried along with their heartbreaks; tuned in again and again each season despite feeling betrayed by producer and contestant decisions alike; and celebrated, alone and together, the love (or loveless) lives of perfect strangers on our television screens. And we wonder, really, why? With reality TV broadly characterized as “trash TV,” why are so many intelligent, funny, and critical people watching and discussing it? Here For All the Reasons seeks to answer this question, diving into the complex negotiations of gender, racial, and class politics that arise within the fandom. This anthology is a polyvocal exploration of Bachelor Nation for Bachelor Nation. So, will you accept our rose and join the chat? Contributors include: Iftin Abshir • AN • Joy Alicia • Samantha Allen • Stevie Seibert Desjarlais • Claire Fallon • Ness Ilene Garza • Sarah Gerard • Emma Gray • Carolyn Huynh • Alana Hope Levinson • Jeanna Kadlec • Erin Kayata • Shir Kehila • Ilana Masad • Jessica Masterson • Tamara MC, PhD • Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez • Julia Moser • Milo R. Muise • Zainab Omaki • Renée Reizman • Emma Rohloff • Samantha Paige Rosen • Adriane Stoner • Courtney Tenz • Chrissy Tolley • Alisa Ungar-Sargon • Sophie Vershbow • Serena Zets