Do First Impressions Count? A Gendered Comparative Analysis of Self-Presentations by Contestants in the Bachelor and Bachelorette South Africa

Abstract

The study of social role expectations for men and women has been instrumental in a better understanding of intersex dynamics. Although much research has focused on behavioral similarities and differences in formal contexts, qualitative research that helps us to understand gendered differences in informal contexts remains underappreciated. In particular, the area of romance presents a fruitful social context in which to comparatively study gendered manifestations of strategic self-presentation. Using the first episodes of the first seasons of the Bachelor and Bachelorette South Africa reality television franchise, this study compares 28 self-presentation tactics used by 17 male and 24 female contestants. Textual analysis suggests minor similarities in how self-presentation is used by men compared to women and stark differences that support social role theory’s supposition of different behavioral expectations for the two genders. That is, men seem to use more self-presentation tactics and with greater intensity compared to women to successfully make a good first impression. The men’s self-presentation efforts conform to social role expectations for men in romantic contexts.