The Bachelorette made a progressive move in selecting Clare Crawley as its oldest star

Los Angeles Times

Crawley, a The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor Winter Games alum who will turn 39 later this month during production of The Bachelorette, was reportedly chosen in response to the backlash over Peter Weber's Bachelor contestants being too young with an endless stream of petty fights and immature confrontations. A source tells E! News that the producers "knew they were losing viewership and needed to change it up." As Amy Kaufman, author of the book Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure, points out, Crawley's selection isn't just groundbreaking. "The fact that Clare has been named the bachelorette after all of this is, frankly, powerful," says Kaufman. "She is a 38-year-old woman who has unabashedly spoken about her intense desire to be married and have children. She has tried to find love and she has failed. But by casting her as the lead, the show has made — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — a progressive move. It’s a choice that flies in the face of societal expectations for straight women, positioning an unmarried woman in her late thirties not as desperate, but as desirable and worthy of love." Kaufman adds: "Before I get too carried away, I’ll pause to say: This is still The Bachelorette. Clare is conventionally attractive — thin and blond and curvy. She’s also white and heterosexual. And I’m willing to bet that the dudes who show up at the mansion in a bid for her heart won’t be sporting dad bods. In other words, The Bachelor franchise still has a very long way to go when it comes to accurately representing its viewership. But I’d also be lying if I didn’t say that for the first time since I started watching this show, I feel seen by it." ALSO: The Bachelor bosses finally realized the pitfalls of basing a season around contestants too young to rent a car.