One of Netflix’s biggest hit reality series, Love is Blind has become one of America's favorite TV shows. Netflix has reported that it’s been one of the most watched programs for several weeks. It’s become a social media watercooler topic with it trending on Twitter, videos of the couples popping up all over social media, and everyone (even celebrities) sharing their love for the series.
Love is Blind is a unique social experiment in that it allows singles to get to know each other without the distractions and barriers of appearances, friend and family influence, and social media and Google. The Love is Blind contestants spend days getting to know each other before they ever meet face to face. They talk through isolated pods. Once they decide they want to get engaged, they meet in person and have about 3 to 4 weeks to decide if they want to marry. Love is Blind isn’t the first series to attempt this type of experiment, but it’s garnering the most attention for it.
Love is Blind is a very interesting series to watch for its unique blend of drama, social commentary, and characters. It’s easy to see why it’s joined the pop culture conversation and will probably be a staple of Netflix’s brand for a while. Despite the many strengths of Love is Blind, the series could be a lot better if it actually challenged itself to be more inclusive. Love is Blind has the opportunity to cast a very diverse and inclusive group of contestants because the whole premise of the series is not letting physical attraction stop you from finding love. However, all the contestants featured and shown fall into the conventionally attractive category. No one is overweight, no one has bad skin, and very few are different races.
Love is Blind could have been a way to really test whether these contestants could look past their standards of beauty and love people who weren’t their ideal body type, race, or even had a physical disability or body scars. They could have even thrown in someone with huge glaring face tattoos. The series could have really diversified the racial dating pool by adding more black men, and adding Asian men and women in general. Netflix has an international reach and a legion of fans of all genders, appearances, sexualities, and races. Those viewers would have loved to see more representation, especially since dating shows like The Bachelor tend to be so homogenize with the types of contestants featured on the series.
Love is Blind had the ability to challenge norms by going beyond the stereotypical looking cast. The series could have shown that someone can fall in love with someone who weighs more than a size 12, or that people with physical disabilities are just as attractive and deserving of love as anyone, or race shouldn’t stop someone from getting to know someone else (though they did prove this with Cameron and Lauren’s story). Even if these unconventional cast members got rejected in the end, it would have still been compelling television, because it would have brought up questions of shallow standards and norms and actually answered the question: “Is love blind?” Instead the show proved that yes, love is blind - if you fit into the standards of beauty.
Love is Blind season 1 is currently available to stream on Netflix.