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The Bachelorette Full Season Trailer Has Hannah Defending Herself For Having Had Sex. Let's Talk About That.

Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
A dramatic first episode gave way to a dramatic full trailer for Hannah's Bachelorette season. A lot goes down over the next few weeks based on the premiere night preview. But something that stood out was Hannah admitting to having had sex, and saying she was being judged by one of her contestants. At least, that's what it sounded like. But let's break that trailer down, because Bachelor franchise promos are not always exactly true to what happens.
In the scene in question, Hannah is upset and angry. She says, "I believe that sex was made for a man and a woman in marriage. But I am having physical relationships. And honestly like, I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me. How dare I be judged by a man?"
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It isn't immediately clear if she's saying she had sex on the show with a contestant, or just that she's been intimate before in past relationships. Honestly, it doesn't really matter. This show has always had an oddly chaste relationship with sex, considering that it's a series about falling in love and getting engaged. Still, rather than letting sex be part of the process, as it is in real life, the series reserves a whole episode (the Fantasy Suites) as the "approved" time to get it on with your final three contestants. Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe once hooked up before Fantasy Suites with Nick Viall and she was absolutely raked across the coals for it by viewers. At the time, she was even encouraged to apologize to the other men who were still competing for her heart.
In many ways, the show has come a long way since Kaitlyn's season. But when it comes to sex, it doesn't always appropriately handle the topic. Colton's season was all about his virginity, and it was brought up at almost every turn. During the After The Final Rose special for his season, Chris Harrison even asked Colton if he and winner Cassie had done the deed. There was a — no-joke — six person panel at the taping discussing Colton's sex habits (or lack thereof).
But just like Colton wasn't ashamed of his virginity (no matter how many awkward jokes and edits the show made at his expense), Hannah is seemingly not ashamed of not being a virgin. After the trailer aired, fans on Twitter immediately quoted Hannah's line, "I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me." Good for you, girl. It's not clear which man Hannah felt was judging her supposedly for this having of sex, but it's clear that she'll put him in his place.
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Still, as empowering as that clip was, some fans were upset with the way Hannah phrased her comment about sex, particularly, the way she chose to say, "I believe that sex was made for a man and a woman in marriage." To some, it seemed to disclude LGBTQ couples. But without further context, we can't really jump to conclusions about what that means. While Hannah is openly religious, but that doesn't mean she prescribes to any prejudices against the LGBTQ community.
It's entirely possible that Hannah's comment was unintentionally exclusionary, considering it seems to be uttered as a heated defense of her own, personal past. It seems that she used to believe that sex was only something to be shared between her and her husband after they were married, but now, she's clearly changed her mind on that subject — she'd have to, since she's now opening up about having physical relationships with a man or men in her past.
And if it's not a conversation about a pre-Bachelorette hookup and a sexual encounter does take place on the show, here's hoping the fans can behave themselves this time. We don't need another Kaitlyn situation with loads of shaming tweets and comments.
As for the mystery man who judged Hannah? He'd better watch out, because if there's one thing the premiere confirmed, Hannah will stand up for herself, always. Our girl is not playing around.
We will update this post with the full trailer when it becomes available.

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