Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette is in full swing, and already, the guys have been asked to lose their clothes and compete in a physical challenge, with the prize being time with Charity.
It’s not really different from other seasons, and viewers have complained about certain things like this in the past, too.
And while it seems that The Bachelorette viewers are used to this type of male objectification now, we just wanted to point out that the show is still doing it despite the outcry in prior years.
It all went down during Charity’s first group date, which took place at the beach, so it makes sense that the guys were in swimwear, but for some, it was a little too much — or, should we say, not enough.
The men were asked to strip down to a colorful Speedo swimsuit and wear nothing else but a matching headband and wristbands, leaving them mostly naked on the beach.
Then, the guys played a grueling match of dodgeball while nearly nude in an effort to win Charity’s attention.
Aaron S. was clearly not comfortable baring it all for The Bachelorette group date
One of the most notable quotes from the latest episode of The Bachelorette came from Aaron S., who shared his surprise at what the guys were asked to do.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this when Yosef had a daughter at home,” Aaron said in a moment that is now making the rounds on social media.
Aaron was referring to Yosef from a few years ago as he was competing for Tayshia Adams and Clare Crawley’s hearts on Season 16.
This isn’t the first time since Yosef was on the show that the guys have played dodgeball, either. In fact, they’ve done it a few times over the years, and there’s really no reason that they couldn’t compete on the beach in at least a pair of shorts or shorts and a T-shirt.
Last season, when Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey were looking for love, Cassidy Timbrooks spoke out about the way the men were objectified.
In her Instagram Stories, Cassidy took aim last year. She wrote, “Watching ‘ette and listen. I like a little eye candy as much as the next person but I can’t help but continue to be really uncomfy about the way mens bodies are just blatantly objectified.”
Then, too, it was an episode where the men stripped down to Speedos and showed off literally everything that the tiny swimwear didn’t cover.
The Bachelorette viewers are conflicted about strip dodgeball
The Bachelorette fans aren’t big on the strip dodgeball games in the past and have been very vocal about it. This year, there were still complaints, though not as much outrage as in prior years.
Maybe we’ve just reached the point of acceptance, as it’s pretty clear that those who pull the Bachelor Nation strings aren’t really worried about what is offensive and what is not.
There was this complaint, where a viewer asked what people would think if they asked the women to do the same, and to that, we just want to remind them of the lingerie pillow fight on The Bachelor.
Another viewer remembered Yosef and shared how he thought the former The Bachelorette contestant would think of the dodgeball game.
In fact, a lot of viewers mentioned Yosef while clutching their pearls and peeking at the very competitive game of dodgeball the guys played.
This fan of The Bachelorette summed it up pretty easily, writing, “I love when the guys do dodgeball, but I hate when they make them wear the tiny outfits.”
Despite plenty of vocal The Bachelorette fans, it looks like strip dodgeball is here to stay, and Yosef will just have to make sure his young daughter is not watching the show from home.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 9/8c on ABC.