The words “sex” and “fluid” have never been strange bedfellows; but they’re coming together more and more these days, in a new and woker way.
And the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise is catching up with the times: The ABC show aimed to bring one special couple together in romantic bliss will be exploring the sexual fluidity of one of its contestants.
Prior to the show hitting the airwaves, participant Demi Burnett announced herself as “queer” on social media.
Spoiler alert: I’m a queer queen 👸🏼💕🌈 #BachelorInParadise
— Demi Burnett (@demi_burnett) July 23, 2019
Season 6 will explore her love with another woman.
But she’s way too cool for labels, as she confided in a sit-down to openly-Christian, openly sex-havin’ Bachelorette star Hannah Brown during Monday’s debut. The episode took a special time out to cover Demi’s coming out:
“I have been kind of seeing someone. Of course — plot twist — it happens to be a woman. It’s not something that I need to label, so I feel like I don’t have to proclaim that I am gay, I am straight, I am bisexual, I am this. I just like who I like. It doesn’t matter who or what you are, it’s the person.”
Demi told Hannah she’s not in a committed relationship with the chick, but they “fell head over heels” in love.
Still, she needs to try out the buffet of bodypart lovin’ in order to know what she ultimately wants:
“It’s been really confusing. It’s this constant indecisiveness in me and I just feel like the only way for me to truly know what I want and how I want to love and who I want to love is if I try out Paradise.”
In a voiceover upon her arrival to the set, Demi noted the uniqueness of her plight. And plot:
“My situation is really unique. I’m fluid. I like both genders and ultimately I am trying to be open and figure out what I want.”
High five for Paradise!! We can’t wait to watch @demi_burnett’s Paradise journey unfold. #BachelorInParadise pic.twitter.com/veQn09FWdF
— Bachelor in Paradise (@BachParadise) July 26, 2019
The soap opera’s boiling over, as described by The Hollywood Reporter:
In the first week of episodes, Burnett finds herself romantically interested in Derek Peth, who called off an engagement with a contestant he met on season four of Paradise. By the end of Tuesday night’s episode, Burnett has yet to open up to him about her previous relationship, and the trailer for upcoming episodes indicates an emotional journey ahead for the pair.
The teasers for the rest of the season show Burnett kissing the unidentified woman she spoke to Brown about on the Paradise beach and crying to a friend while saying, “You can’t help who you love.” But Burnett has also been included among the teaser montage for the finale proposals and the show is promoting Burnett’s unfolding journey on its official Twitter account.
How will this play for the franchise’s audience? Does it really fit the demographic? My impression has always been that the program skews older — which is to say, less adventurous. But perhaps I’m wrong.
In the way of fluidity, the dating dynamo’s chasing after MTV’s Are You the One, which announced a newer, gayer format earlier this year (here). And for its first season, CBS’s Love Island — which debuted in July and wraps up Wednesday, August 7th — featured an openly bisexual partaker.
The world keeps getting more open-ended, as convention and category go the way of the dodo bird. These days more than ever, anything flies.
-ALEX
Relevant RedState links in this article: here.
See 3 more pieces from me:
Victoria’s Secret Grants Your Wish: Its New Underwear Angel Is A Man
An Elderly Man Walks Into The Hospital For A Bladder Procedure, Walks Out Circumcised – Accidentally
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