Working in the fashion industry can be quite hectic—most days I feel like I can’t catch my breath until nine at night with a glass of wine in my hand, and on the really bad days, I like to turn to some bad television like The Real Housewives of Atlanta or The Bachelor to take my mind of things. One of the reasons I like watching these kinds of shows is because they have nothing to do with fashion. And though I know that most of it is probably scripted, it’s a nice time for me to relax and not think; just mindlessly watch television time.
Recently when I saw the trailer for Fox’s new dating show Coupled, I prematurely put it on my ‘must watch’ list. The spin of the show drew me in, because it’s the women choosing the men, and it sounded intriguing enough for me to watch a couple more trailers and see who would be on the show. But as I tried to mindlessly watch, I realized that Coupled had the same issue that I noticed with The Bachelor: little to no diversity. There’s six women, all who fit into sample sizes, modelesque, and for whatever reason, it doesn’t feel good to continue to support the very things I advocate about more times than I can count.
Using two black women is not diversity. And using no curvy women at all is definitely not a sign of diversity either. As I preach every day in my writing about inclusivity and its importance on all platforms, it’s now made me feel guilty for holding onto these shows that continue to promote discrimination, even if it is subtly and not intentionally harmful. I’m not saying that you can’t enjoy designers that don’t carry curvy sizes, or only watch television shows that have a wide range of women being represented, but it does start to make me think deeper about the things that I support and why. Breaking up isn’t easy, especially with things as personal as the things you watch. But if I’m going to talk to the talk, I have to walk the walk fully at some point. Bye rose ceremonies. It was painful, but necessary.