Top 10 Most Feminist Moments on The Bachelor

While we were used to seeing Demi be outrageously bold on Colton’s season of “The Bachelor,” we saw a much more vulnerable side of her on season 6 of BIP. On the show, Burnett grappled with her feelings for fellow contestant Derek and non-Bachelor contestant Kristian Haggerty, who she had begun seeing before the show and who was invited to Paradise after making a surprise arrival. While Demi was not the first Bachelor contestant to identify as bisexual, her time on BIP was unprecedented, as it was not only the first time that a contestant’s sexuality played such a major role in a season’s storyline, but was also the first time in the 17-years of the franchise that a same-sex couple was featured, and got engaged, on the show.

After Bachelorette Hannah Brown went on a nude bungee jumping date, the season’s villain Luke P didn’t hesitate to confront Hannah over his issues with her taking part in an activity that required her to be naked with another man. However, Luke’s fellow contestant, and fan-favorite, Tyler C was quick to jump to the defence of the Bachelorette, claiming that Luke had double standards and was being hypocritical, since earlier in the season he had also partaken in a near-nude activity during a Speedo competition. Hannah also stood up for herself against Luke, claiming that she could make her own decisions about what she does with her body- but more on that later!

While most contestants give up their pre-show careers to appear on The Bachelor, season 14 contestant Ali Fedotowsky did the opposite. While appearing on Jake Pavelka's season, Fedotowsky left the show to return to her account manager job at Facebook after finding out that she had misunderstood the terms of her leave of absence. This shocked fans of the show as it is not often that contestants choose their career over love. However, her time at Facebook didn’t last long as Ali ultimately quit her job at the social networking service to return to the franchise as the Bachelorette.

On season 11 of the 'The Bachelorette', viewers were surprised to find out Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe and contestant Nick Viall were intimate after a one-on-one date in Ireland. While it is not unusual for leads to be intimate with a contestant, it is rare for it to happen outside the confines of a fantasy suite. After the episode of Kaitlyn and Nick's intimate date aired, Bristowe received an onslaught of hate from viewers, prompting host Chris Harrison to defend her by reading some of the hateful remarks at the Men Tell All in an effort to put an end to the slut-shaming.

While this heated confrontation between Rachel, contestant DeMario, and DeMario's ex-girlfriend is not outwardly feminist, the grace with which Rachel handles DeMario's deceptive behavior was definitely empowering for all women. Fan favorite Rachel Lindsay is beloved by Bachelor Nation for being one of the most empowered women to grace our screens as the Bachelorette - and this is a perfect example of why. As an attorney, there wasn't a better Bachelorette to deal with DeMario’s outward lies, as she was able to call out his nonsense, take a look at the situation from an unemotional perspective, and eloquently tell DeMario to "get the f*** out" - and she did all this without blaming or discrediting the other woman!

On season 22 of The Bachelor, contestant Becca Kufrin faced one of the most heartbreaking and painful breakups of Bachelor Nation history after Arie Luyendyk Jr. broke up with her a mere two months after proposing to her at the final rose ceremony to pursue the runner up, Lauren Burnham. Although the breakup and the reunion between the two on After The Final Rose were both incredibly hard to watch, the show ended with high spirits as Bachelor producers brought out Becca’s friends from the series to support her and praise her strength. For a show that often pits women against each other, this was a rare moment of female solidarity.

It is not uncommon for contestants on The Bachelor and Bachelorette to share their stories of hardship with the lead on one-on-one dates, often including tales of divorce and past relationships. However, on season 23 of The Bachelor, contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes opened up about her heartbreaking and harrowing story of sexual assault. The show did not sugarcoat or glamorize Caelynn's story but instead, let her tell it, uninterrupted, in an effort to shed light on this prevalent issue on college campuses. As a result, Caelynn’s conversation with Bachelor Colton showed the reality of how sexual assault is treated - or often not treated at all - in the medical world and the great lengths survivors have to go through to get justice.

It is quite common for The Bachelor franchise to have single parents as contestants on the show. So, when they cast single mother Emily Maynard as the Bachelorette, fans knew that she was gonna take finding love seriously. However, her single parenting life came into criticism from the season’s villain Kalon McMahon when he pretty much called her daughter "baggage". Maynard was reasonably infuriated and called him out, while also sticking up for single moms everywhere. As well, Emily called out the hypocrisy of Kalon’s comments as he was, in fact, raised by a single mother.

If you thought we were done talking about Luke P, you’d be wrong. After a whole season of Luke's problematic behavior, and to the delight of fans everywhere, Bachelorette Hannah Brown finally sent Luke P home. The send-off came after he shamed her for being intimate with other contestants on the show; to which Hannah offered the now-iconic line: ["I’ve had sex and Jesus still loves me"]. As a series with a high percentage of Christian viewers, Hannah B showed that you can be religious and sex-positive at the same time, and created a conversation within Bachelor Nation around the shame women face when they are open about their personal lives.

While on season 18 of The Bachelor, it was contestant Clare Crawley who stood up to problematic lead Juan Pablo after he allegedly made a crude comment to her while on a date - implying that he didn’t love her but loved “hooking up” with her. After breaking up with Clare at the final rose ceremony, Clare confronted the Bachelor about his behavior and she offered her most iconic line: [“I would never want my children having a father like you”.] In March 2020, over 6 years after her first appearance on The Bachelor, 39-year-old Clare was announced as the lead on the 16th season of The Bachelorette and will become the oldest franchise lead in the show’s history - a choice that has been celebrated by Bachelor Nation.