When I first found out that Logo would be doing its own sort of Bachelor-esque series called Finding Prince Charming, I was definitely intrigued. Let’s face it — The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are not jumping on the diversity bandwagon anytime soon, so if anyone was going to do an all-gay romance dating show, why not Logo? What I was hoping for was a more thoughtful approach to the traditional dating show, but, while Finding Prince Charming had the chance to be better than The Bachelor , it has failed thus far — especially when it comes to moving past contestant objectification.
On The Bachelor, the female contestants are pretty much always in bikinis or some other revealing outfit. Now, I know it’s hot in Southern California, where The Bachelor mansion is located, but do the camera angles have to drift over their perfectly tanned body parts? There are a lot of dates under waterfalls, on boats, snorkeling, doing tantric yoga, etc., and all of them involve being as naked as possible. Never forget the time the women on Ben Flajnik's Bachelor season had to ski down a hill in a bikini, which is definitely not the proper outfit for that activity.
Unfortunately, it seems like the dates on Finding Prince Charming are in the same boat. In Episode 4, Robert went on a date with three guys, and the premise was such that one was the appetizer, one was the dinner, and one was the dessert. Um, is it just me or is that pretty demeaning? Firstly, I know this is a dating show, but to divide up the date like that has to make its participants feel really crappy. If I were appetizers, I wouldn’t think I was good enough for the main event; if I were dinner, I would feel bad that I wouldn’t be ending the evening; and if I were dessert, I would feel like they thought I was not enough for a real meal, or something having to do with having sex. Either way, I wouldn’t feel great about the date or my chances of making it to the next round of dates. Oh, and the next date on the episode? Going to the gym, so it was all sweat and flexing and sexy working out.
I get it — sex sells, and no one wants to watch a show people just sit there and talk. They want hot tubs and bungee jumping and helicopter rides and yadda yadda, but I think that Finding Prince Charming, knowing the errors and missteps that The Bachelor has made (and continues to make) in being a show that’s fair to all viewers, could have adjusted their approach to make it not seem like a meat market. The men on Finding Prince Charming (as with the women on The Bachelor and the men on The Bachelorette) have feelings and thoughts, and reducing them down to biceps or breasts or some other body part is a true mistake — hopefully one that the next iteration of reality TV dating seeks to avoid, since unfortunately it doesn't seem like Finding Prince Charming will.
Images: Logo; Giphy
