You stand in a ridiculously expensive dress, spotlights beaming down on you as a microphone digs into your side. A flood of camera men are perched opposite you, waiting for you to break down in the stress filled moment and provide them with some of those TV-golden tears. He struts into the room, attractiveness radiating from him as he stops beside a pile of roses on a table. This is it, everything your life depends on is on the line. Ben calls the first name…

…and it isn’t yours. Your heart shatters into smaller and smaller pieces as he calls other girl after other girl up to hear that perfect question, and get that perfect red rose. Why is he not calling you up? Did you not flirt enough with him today? Does he not like the dress you are wearing? Has your hair gone flat? Did you forget to reapply your makeup?

Chris Harrison walks into the camera’s view. You hear those dreadful words, “Ladies, this is the final rose tonight.” You stare at the only other girl without a rose, knowing you are way prettier than her. One of you is going home, how will you ever survive if it is you?

I am obsessed with The Bachelor, I am not ashamed to admit it. I am proud to announce I knew Lauren B. was the one for Ben the second she came on screen, and spent the entire season patting myself on the back for my fantastic psychic abilities. However, I am also obsessed with women’s rights, as I imagine every woman should be.

So the question is, how can someone support equal rights while watching a man sit there and pick and chose girls like they are inanimate objects for the sake of reality TV?

The answer is simple. Feminism is not judging women for their actions, but supporting them. The entire basis of feminism revolves around the principle of women supporting each other. It does not matter if you agree and would replicate said decision, but you cannot diminish her and her beliefs on the basis of her actions not being woman enough for you.

These women have not been blindsided, they filled out an application and went to casting calls. They were completely aware of the nature of this dating game, and the fact that it is a game with other players and a final winner. Contestants know they are signing up for months in a spotlight filled with uncomfortable dresses and meaningless camera drama. These women have had no severe injustice forced upon them, this is a well informed decision that they make to place themselves in these conditions.

Because really, how dare a young woman take advantage of an opportunity to see the world? How dare she place herself in a situation where she is forced to live in a mansion and make life long friends? How dare she search for love in an unconventional way?

Yes, The Bachelor is about a bunch of girls  allowing some guy to pick them off based on their looks. But at the same time, it is about a bunch of women confident enough in themselves to know that their worth does not depend on some guy’s opinion of them.

So I will continue to pursue equal rights at my feminism filled all girl school, and I will love The Bachelor all the same.