Jake: The Pussy Bachelor

I've been watching the Bachelor since I was in 10th grade. This could be a significant factor in my current single status, but that is a different post. I didn't see every season--but I've probably watched about half. And I think something really awesome has happened: they've picked a decently intelligent, sensitive, and decidedly feminine guy to be the bachelor.

To understand the significance of this, it's important to look back at the progression of bachelors. When the Bachelor started, one requirement was that the bachelor be rich and/or famous. They've had a NFL football player, Andrew Firestone of the Firestone tire fortune (HUGE lol), Charlie O'Connell (Jerry's older brother), and the infamous Dr. Stork. But as time went on, the Bachelor became a little more...normal. The emphasis was taken off of their careers and muscles and onto their cuddly personalities. There was Andy Baldwin, the naval officer, followed by Brad Womack, a restaurant owner. And then how could we forget Jason--a lovable real estate agent? Slowly and surely, the bachelors have become less the rich, stacked and famous and more like the average Joe. Now, we have Jake, an airplane pilot (everyone knows they don't get paid like they used to...) who was made famous on the Bachelorette because he was so...Nice. After being booted by Jillian, he whined, tears in his eyes, that "Nice guys finish last". In fact, he was probably the most cuddly, and almost downright pitiful contestants they've ever had on the show. And then he became THE BACHELOR!

A lot of people get up in arms about the amount of "reality" that is in the bachelor. I think it's interesting just to accept that ABC is constructing the show out of thin air. This way, it could be taken as a somewhat accurate reflection of what people expect the 'ideal' relationship to be, or what the 'ideal' man should be. Afterall, ABC does all of it's reality tweaking for our benefit, right? They certainly, make every effort to pick bachelors that fulfill the their viewer's fantasies about what makes an appealing man.

So, in those terms, I think this girly version of the Bachelor that we have in Jake is really interesting. He's smarter than bachelors of the past--and from last night's episodes seems serious about not wanting to play games: he booted two girls, one for witholding her kisses as bait, the other for baiting him with tears and drama to get him to pay attention to her. Jake is no non-sense in choosing his mate, fitting into the stereotype of the role women play in the dating market. And he is significantly more afraid, or at least willing to show his fear, than bachelors of the past: it took him twenty minutes to bungee jump, his hands shaking and clutching his date as strong as she was clutching him. All of this adds up to the girliest ideal man in Bachelor history--I love him!