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Die Bachelorette (2014)

Die Bachelorette (based on the American format The Bachelorette)takes the same format as Der Bachelor – but with the roles reversed. In Die Bachelorette a woman can therefore choose from a series of men.
Of the online questionnaires – totalling 147 – filled in by viewers between the ages of 16 and 67, those of fans up to the age of 26 (n=67) were likewise included in the study. They are on average 21.3 years old; 96 % are (young) women.

Results: The main motives for watching the show overlap with those from the study on Der Bachelor. Here too these are, on the one hand, the opportunity to immerse onself in the romantic setting, enjoy the dates, and take part in guessing which contestant will make it through to the next round. On the other hand, these fans are also media-critical, seeing through the process of the constructed and partly scripted show. There are significant differences in the way the contestants are judged: whereas particularly the young women often delight in vilifying the contestants presented as “bitchy” in Der Bachelor, the Die Bachelorette contestants, who often appear to be mates, are viewed less critically. Instead, the fans build up a parasocial relation with the men, believing that they are presented “authentically”. The voyeuristic aspect of how far the men go in terms of physical intimacy with the bachelorette on the dates is much less pronounced than it is with regard to the contestants of the preceding study. Some fans are also rather critical of the bachelorette herself, judging her to be too naive, sensitive and emotional.