The latest series of Channel 4’s reality dating show Married at First Sight UK has sparked widespread criticism for normalising harmful behaviour. The charities Women’s Aid and Refuge have publicly condemned the show’s inclusion of a male participant with a history of domestic abuse accusations.
Social media backlash, however, has revealed another harmful behaviour – longstanding class biases among viewers. This is particularly evident in the way some viewers have described female participants Holly Ditchfield and Polly Sellman as “chavs”.
I research the intersection between gender and class in popular culture, so for me, the show’s reception raises a pressing question. Why do stereotypes of working-class women persist so stubbornly in the British television landscape, even as viewers become increasingly alert to other forms of mistreatment and misconduct?
