Is Reality Television Finally Becoming More Accountable?

In 2017, ABC’s The Bachelor named Rachel Lindsay its first Black Bachelorette; four years later, it named Matt James its first Black Bachelor. The casting choices were largely in response to viewers who, empowered by the magnification of systemic racism in the United States, demanded real change from a network.

This attention to representation is a massive improvement from the early years of reality television. TV networks had yet to fully understand the genre’s societal position, and the forces of accountability culture had yet to gain the hold they have now. And the type of content deemed acceptable at the time underscores that reality.

In late 2007, FOX’s now defunct Reality Channel aired a reality game show called Battle of the Bods. Like most things from the early 2000s, the show, which was based on a British show called Hot Tub Ranking, didn’t age well. Each episode required five female contestants to stand before a panel of men who rated them from most to least attractive based on various physical attributes. The female players all won a cash prize if they successfully arranged themselves in the same order that the men had ranked them.

In addition to the misogyny inherent in the show’s premise, most episodes were riddled with sexist and racist comments and acts. For example, Battle of the Bods host, Olivia Lee, regularly parceled out jokes at the women’s expense, making comments like “Oh, a girl with brains. That’s a first” and “She’s got a slutty face; I respect that.” In one episode, Lee commands the women to drop their silk robes and turn so that their backs face the men. As one contestant clad in black negligee slowly gyrates for the audience, we hear one male judge claim, “I would pay the child support for 18 years for that.”

Racially charged tropes and covert racial bias were also on display as women of color were consistently ranked lower than their white co-stars in the male-decided lineup. One Black contestant was called “nappy-headed” by a fellow participant, while an Asian contestant was told to “go back to the nail salon.”

It’s likely producers urged these contestants to make such comments. As Josie Goldberg, an actress and real estate agent who appeared as a contestant on a 2009 episode of Battle of the Bods, recalled to the FBomb, “during that time, there were only about three or four casting directors in charge of casting all of the reality TV shows, who would always encourage us to be controversial or play this role because it would make us more bookable for other acting jobs in the future.”

Yet, whether producers influenced those comments or not, participants still agreed to say them, and they were still allowed past the editing room floor and on air.

Endemol Shine Group, the television company behind Battle of the Bods as well as Fear Factor, The Biggest Loser, and The Voice, has been at the forefront of the rise of reality TV, a genre that has reached record numbers of engagement in the past 10 years. Similar to ABC, their clumsy attempts into the early forays of reality television have been righted as the company strove for increased diversity and “real representation” in the latest season of their show MasterChef.

But current attempts to do better don’t erase the impact the early age of reality television has had on viewers. Dr. Steven Stein, a clinical psychologist and leading expert in emotional intelligence, has consulted on a bevy of reality television shows like Big Brother and The Real Housewives of Toronto. Stein underscores the fact that the nature of content portrayed on reality television is more than just watching human interaction: It has an innate ability to influence public opinion.

While that power may have been detrimental in the past, it also has the potential to create positive change, and Stein says that he has “seen a lot of changes having worked in reality TV for about 15 years or so.”

“Shows I’ve worked on, like Big Brother Canada, help push the envelope and educate our audience,” Stein told the FBomb. For example, we’ve dealt with issues such as ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, bullying, gender identity issues, and more. Including these issues via entertainment creates much more acceptance of people as individuals than any amount of lecturing, debating, or protesting.”

Shows are also becoming much more accountable, according to Stein. “We’re seeing much less (or no) tolerance for racism, more representation of different groups and cultures as participants, and more openness to different relationships,” he said. “On shows I work on there is no tolerance of violence or even threats of violence. Also, romantic relationships (showmances) are consensual.”

Reality television is no longer an untapped territory teetering on the fine line of entertainment and influence. It’s inextricable from current affairs, our daily existence, and the subconscious ways that we view others. We have entered into an arena where now more than ever before, our viewership is our currency and we must continue to shape the content that in turn shapes us.