--- description: The Bachelorette season that premieres May 18 is its eleventh—but the idea is a half-century old title: The Surprisingly Feminist Roots of 'The Bachelorette' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04dfe01c7ad62499/6987ef35cd6848576909df84/dating-game.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Surprisingly Feminist Roots of _The Bachelorette_ ## Video: What One Woman Learned From Taking a Year Off From Her Marriage [Watch (HLS stream): What One Woman Learned From Taking a Year Off From Her Marriage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B3QCkNPd.m3u8) (3:53)  _Published 2015-04-01. Robin Rinaldi did what many women dream of but few actually do: she took a year off from her marriage, made an agreement with her husband that they would both sleep with other people for a set period of time, and threw caution to the wind._  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. May 18, 2015 11:00 PM CUT  Host Jim Lange with dancers Ellen Friedman and Anita Mann, on the Nov. 19, 1965, premiere of 'The Dating Game' Host Jim Lange with dancers Ellen Friedman and Anita Mann, on the Nov. 19, 1965, premiere of 'The Dating Game'ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. May 18, 2015 11:00 PM CUT The season of _The Bachelorette_ that kicks off on Monday night is the show’s 11th—but its precursor is much older. It was 50 years ago, in late 1965, that ABC premiered a show they called, simply, _The Dating Game_. The concept was straightforward: a female contestant is presented with a bunch of suitors, and she chooses which one wins. The stakes were far lower than they are on _The Bachelorette_—the winner got to go on a date on ABC’s dime—but the concept was quite similar. And, at the time, such a premise was strange enough to merit this [dismissive review](http://time.com/vault/issue/1965-12-31/page/44/ "undefined") from TIME: --- > “” --- But, while the magazine wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the prospect of such televised foolishness, it’s worth noting that it traced the show’s roots to a more substantial cultural moment. The 1962 book _Sex and the Single Girl_ (which became a 1964 movie and led to a 1965 follow-up, _Sex and the Office_) by Helen Gurley Brown was a sensation when it was published, and not long before _The Dating Game_‘s premiere its author had been named editor of _Cosmopolitan._ Today, aspects of the book’s “big idea” may seem retrograde—its career-girl subject is still focused on men, and her version of leaning in often relies on her feminine wiles—but it was progressive in acknowledging that marriage no longer had to be the first priority for a young woman. She could have jobs, have boyfriends, do what she wanted to do, the way a young man had long been able to—and she could still find a husband later, if she decided that was right for her. “It’s not a study on how to get married,” [Brown was quoted saying,](http://time.com/vault/issue/1965-03-26/page/52/ "undefined") “but how to stay single in superlative style.” So while _The Dating Game_ may have been silly, TIME posited that its format and just-for-fun attitude owed a debt to the groundbreaking book. A full 50 years later, it’s ironic that the highest-profile descendant of that 1960s lark is the one most focused on marriage. _The Bachelorette_ has been taken to task for its attitude toward women and their sexuality—for example, when [a contestant last season was called a slut](http://time.com/3060344/bachelorette-andi-dorfman-slut-shaming/ "undefined") for sleeping with a candidate whom she later rejected—where _The Dating Game_ was part of a seismic shift in the opposite direction. As Season 11 gets underway, it’s clear that TIME’s 1965 reviewer was more correct than he or she could have known: if the big idea in question went to television and died, it’s now rolling over in its grave. ### Here’s What a Bachelorette Looked Like in 1950  Caption from LIFE. Bride's four showers. With this practical haul Peggy Cross is set to keep house. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Cleaning mitt that looks like strange tribal headdress was the first gift Peggy opened at her cleaning shower. Friends competed with fancy wrappings. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Peggy wearing one of her gifts. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Peggy testing out her new vacuum cleaner. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Headshot of the bride-to-be. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Peggy trying on clothes from one of her showers. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Shower guests signing a book. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Peggy and Fiance Steve, bringing home all but the bacon from the kitchen shower, need only an apartment and groceries to set up housekeeping. 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