Why Does The Bachelor Application Ask For Height & Weight?

Want to know how to get on The Bachelor? Well, your friends can nominate you, like they did for Rachel Lindsay, the new Bachelorette. You can also simply apply yourself, or you can attend a cattle call casting event where you stand in line for hours. Oh, and one more thing: you'd better be ready to provide your height and weight.

The Bachelor and Bachelorette application packets, which are both available online, ask a lot of questions. They want to know if you've ever filed bankruptcy. They ask for special talents and specifics on pets. They also ask for height and weight. Now, why would the casting department need these details? Gee, let's think.

Bachelor Nation isn't known for its diversity — of any sort. The recent reveal that Rachel Lindsay would be the Bachelorette made history because, after over a decade on air, the show had finally selected a Black lead. Racial diversity aside, the shows also have little to no body diversity. Each year, when the show gathers 25 women to woo one lucky (and probably white) suitor, the casting department checks out the height and weight of each individual contestant. There's a reason that, in almost all of the 21 seasons of The Bachelor, all the women have all fit under the "slim and trim" category. That reason is likely because anyone who doesn't fit under that umbrella — anyone over a size 12, say — is weeded out via the application.

Our Tinder profiles don't list weight. My LinkedIn profile doesn't list my weight. So, why does this particular job application ask for your mass? And you read that correctly: It is a job application. It's 2017 — it's about time we get rob that number of its importance, so maybe we don't fill out that section of the application? Or, better yet, don't ask that question in the first place.