“The Bachelor" has gone too far this season with the virgin-shaming of former “Bachelorette" contestant Colton Underwood. This is season 23 of “The Bachelor", and its main plot surrounding Colton is his virginity as a 27-year-old man. What should not be the most interesting characteristic of this human has become his entire identity in this franchise, and is heightened on his tenure as the presiding Bachelor. I refuse to believe that his lack of sexual activity was the most intriguing angle they could choose from. Truthfully, is that even that fascinating? The fact that the entire premise of this season rides on the idea that Colton is a virgin proves how rare virginity really is. Does that automatically give “The Bachelor" permission to exploit this characteristic, especially for ratings? I think not.

If you really think about it, saving sex is not that big of a deal. It does not define you in any way, shape, or form. Why on earth would it be the central topic surrounding every aspect of “The Bachelor" this season? It is almost as if the show is not about whether Colton will find love, but whether Colton will lose his virginity along the way. This premise is disappointing because the show is resting his ability to find love on the hopes he loses his virginity. What does it matter? Why do we all care whether this man loses his virginity to the pool of women waiting to date him, or worse, just deflower him?

The virgin shaming trend unfortunately trickles down to the contestants,too. The first woman to walk out of the limo, Texan Demi, met Colton with this brilliant opening line: “I have not dated a virgin since I was 12, but I’m excited to give it another shot,". According to Demi, Colton’s virginity is concerning.

That wasn’t the only awkward moment of the night. Another contestant, Caitlin from Toronto, approached Colton with a red balloon, popped said balloon, and followed with, “Now that I popped your cherry, we don't need to talk about virginity anymore." If only that was the case, Caitlin.

Yet another contestant, Katie from California, made a crack at Colton’s virginity with a deck of cards. As I am sure you have already predicted, she stole Colton’s “V card". Ladies, come on. I was hoping for a lot more creativity and a lot less virgin shaming.

I find it difficult to believe that the only characteristic worthy of drawing attention to on this poor man is his virginity. During the premiere, the outrageous discussion of Colton’s virginity was taken to an extreme when the host, Chris Harrison, began asking random fans of the show what they thought about Colton’s virginity. Am I missing something? What does that have to do with the premise of this show? He is just a man looking for his soulmate in a pool of gorgeous women. So what if he is a virgin. I have got some news for the producers of “The Bachelor": a person’s sex life in no way represents the type of human being they are. I do not care about this man’s virginity, so what is with all of the virgin shaming? That cannot be this his main selling point.

This year’s production of  “The Bachelor" is treating Colton’s virginity as a joke. The show is transforming into some sort of game where Colton’s lack of sexual experience lurks at every twist and turn. In some ways, this show’s representation of Colton’s virginity reflects society’s mentality. Society seems to have lost the meaning in the value of virginity. The production team of “The Bachelor" had an ideal opportunity to frame Colton’s still in-tact virginity as more of a virtue and less of a joke.

Jamie has been writing ever since... well ever since she could physically write. She loved the control of it. The power to create anything and everything and the power to take it all away. She loved how it made her feel. She still does. She has a slightly unhealthy infatuation with Frida Kahlo (But she is not a bandwagon). She doesn't have her hair the same color for very long, only partially due to the fact that she fears commitment. She lives by the words of Ernest Hemingway: "Destroyed but not Defeated" from one of her favorite books, The Old Man and the Sea. She is passionate about dissolving the stigma surrounding mental health issues and hopes to be an advocate for those suffering from a mental illness.