Those who grew up devouring reality dating shows—like The Bachelor, Flavor of Love, and Parental Control—might find it hard to imagine any of those programs throwing a queer prom, like the one seen recently on season eight of MTV’s Are You the One? Sure, a few specifically queer reality dating shows have popped up on TV over the years, like Bravo’s Boy Meets Boy and MTV’s A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. But for the most part, mainstream dating shows have tended to ignore the queer community—or included it only through exploitative gimmicks, the sort seemingly designed to amuse straight people rather than to help LGBTQ+ contestants actually find love.
How Reality Dating Shows Finally Got More Queer
