Every week, millions of people tune into Channel Nine to watch Married At First Sight. The reality show, which positions itself as “Australia’s largest relationship experiment”, is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon that draws people in with a carefully crafted combination of drama, division, and the (very) occasional true love story.
MAFS is a bit like TV Teflon. Each year, viewers swear they will never watch another season and lament that none of the brides and grooms are there for the “right reasons”. And yet, every year, the audience flocks to the trainwreck, unable to look away or give up the guilty pleasure of watching people whose chaotic love lives make us feel better about our own.
This, of course, creates an insidious game of cat and mouse between the network and the viewer, leaving Channel Nine with no choice but to continue to up the drama ante year after year to keep fans in a stranglehold. It means that over the last few years, we’ve seen alarming situations play out on air, from a groom punching a wall after learning about his “wife’s” past dalliance, another groom using his bride’s toothbrush to clean the toilet, a bride sharing a nude photo of a castmate and of course, the infamous “muzzle your woman” remark – all in the name of chasing ratings.
With all of this and so much more in its questionable arsenal of memorable television moments, it seems strange to suggest that this season, Channel Nine has gone too far, but that is exactly what I think they have done by casting intruder groom Tyson.
Who is Tyson?
Tyson is a 30-year-old ex-army soldier who wasted no time in telling producers and the viewing public that he doesn’t want a partner with “green hair or ‘woke’ ideals.” He also doesn’t want someone who is “overweight” or who doesn’t think that Donald Trump is great. The Gold Coast native’s list of requirements for his partner doesn’t stop there, either. They also need to be younger than him, have a significantly lower “body count” than his (and, no, that does not refer to casualties of war), be “submissive”, and be up for having five kids because, according to Tyson, it’s “not that hard” or “that much work”.
Oh! And if his poor bride ever wanted a break from rearing her five children while trying to stay at what Tyson deems an ideal weight and simultaneously espousing the virtues of the current U.S. president? Well, too bad! Because if she wanted to have a night out with the girls, Tyson says, “she knows where the door is.”
Another charming opinion that Tyson holds? He’s not a fan of gay men, an admission that could prove to be very problematic with the arrival of fellow intruders and same-sex couple Sam and Chris, who deserve to take part in the experiment without worrying about discrimination from their castmates.
Why is casting Tyson problematic?
When we give someone like Tyson an audience of millions, we are essentially telling people that this narrow-minded and, quite frankly, dangerous rhetoric is ok. We are telling people that it is ok to be bigoted and to promote borderline incel-ideals, and that it ok to treat women as vessels for a man’s desires rather than as a person in her own right.
And, when we allow someone to go on Australia’s most-watched TV show and say that Donald Trump – a man whose “leadership” has resulted in the murder of U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents (among many, many other atrocities) – is “doing a great job”, we reinforce an incredibly damaging message instead of publicly condemning it.
There have been suggestions that perhaps Tyson is a “production plant” – an actor dropped into the experiment to cause discourse and, as a result, boost ratings. I would argue that this would be, at best, extremely misguided on Channel Nine’s behalf and, at worst, staggeringly irresponsible.
Social media is already enough of a hotbed of hatred and intolerance, do we really need to pluck people from the worst corners of the web and place them smack bang in the centre of what is supposed to be escapist viewing? Do we really need to give men like Tyson the chance to have their voice amplified when the groups he opposes are constantly having theirs diminished?
And, in a country like Australia, where violence against women is so endemic, do we REALLY have to allow a man to go on national television and demand a “submissive” woman?
While everyone has a right to their own opinions, I really have to question Channel Nine’s decision to platform Tyson with the world in its current state. I’d argue that we need ‘woke’ people more than ever to fight for the rights of those who cannot fight themselves and to set an example for future generations about acceptance, kindess and inclusion.
While I am not suggesting that these types of people are necessarily applying for MAFS, I am suggesting that production companies have a responsibility to think about the consequences of giving people with extreme ideologies a stage on which to stand.
After all, surely no amount of ratings success is worth promoting ideals that harm so many and benefit so few.
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