I love reality TV, like really love reality TV. From Keeping Up the Kardashians to Love Island to Selling Sunset there’s very few reality TV shows that I don’t like. Over lockdown with more time on my hands I started watching Bravo’s Below Deck and I was instantly hooked!
Below Deck follows the lives of the crew on luxury yachts (also known as “yachties”). Each season sees a mostly new crew (with the exception of Captain Lee) on a new boat with new guests and of course new drama. I was pleasantly surprised by the good relationships between the crew, yes there were fights but that is to be expected when working and living together in close quarters. However, this changed in the most recent season which saw one of the most toxic boys vs girls environment.
“A sad fact is reality TV thrives on women competing with each other”
Often it is female cast members of any show (reality or not) that are accused of being “divas” and “drama queens”. A sad fact is reality TV thrives on women competing with each other. Shows like Love Island encourage both women to fight for the attention of a man. In spite of this, I was able to enjoy Below Deck as the majority of the seasons portrayed healthy working relationships and friendships between men and women (particularly women). It was refreshing and enjoyable.
A Change of Dynamic
This changed in season seven of the show which saw Captain Lee and Chief Stewardess (head of the interior)Kate Chastain (who has been on the show since season two) on motor yacht Valor. Ashton Pienaar, a deckhand from the previous season, was back as bosun (head of the exterior) and was determined to be a good boss but also have fun and allow “Smashton” (his alter ego for when he’s drunk) to run free. The boy squad was then made up of Kevin Dobson (chef), Brian de Saint Pern (Lead Deckhand), and Tanner Sterback (deckhand). In the first couple of episodes, the problems were not evident straight away. Kevin was a bit controlling and precious of his galley but Below Deck constantly reiterates that yacht chefs are a bit “crazy”. The interior and exterior crew got along well, really it was no different than any other season.
“Their fragile masculinity is completely obvious and completely inexcusable”
Then deckhand Abbi Murphy left to get married and was replaced by Rhylee Gerber. Immediately there was a shift in dynamic. Ashton warned the rest of the deck crew that Rhylee is difficult to work with. From the moment Rylee entered the crews the boys entered an alliance mostly against her and chief stewardess Kate. The boys pushed back against Rhylee, refusing to involve her in anything because she wasn’t “one of the boys”. As the season went on they conspired to get rid of her, repeatedly calling her a “cancer on the boat”. Season seven is not the first one with a women deckhand, from season two onward there has been a woman on deck and it has never been a problem before. The bro club on deck were intimidated by a woman being good at her job. Their fragile masculinity is completely obvious and completely inexcusable.
Toxic Masculinity
Brain’s toxic masculinity is evident through his relationship with stewardess Courtney Skippon. Any moment she disagrees with him or questions his actions on a night out he branded her disloyal and untrustworthy. In confessionals, Brain reiterates that he values loyalty above all else and Courtney was proving that she wasn’t loyal. What Brain was actually showing is his controlling tendencies. This is a tell-tale sign of a controlling and manipulative relationship.
“spoiled” = a woman who expects better; “delusional” = a woman who doesn’t agree with you; “ridiculous” = a woman who voices her opinion; “asinine” = a woman in general; “snowflake” = a woman with normal emotions. What did I miss? https://t.co/mL0aDmPZEK
— Courtney Skippon (@courtneyskippon) February 12, 2020
Tensions Rising
Tensions reached a boiling point in episodes 12 and 13. Kate, Ashton, and Kevin were already feuding with the boys refusing to acknowledge the work she does on the boat and that she is a higher rank than them. In the taxi on the way back to the boat, Kate simply asks Ashton how his mother is (this is after he kissed her without consent). Ashton responded very rationally by going to attack Kate and then punching a window. Kevin also swore repeatedly at Kate. The next day when Kate had left the boat the boys couldn’t put together what happened and once again refused to accept responsibility for their actions.
“For too long society and reality TV has indulged “lad” culture”
This was a consistent problem throughout this season. The boys downplayed the work the girls did, repeatedly said they were throwing temper problems, and horrifically refused to admit they were ever in the wrong. The season ended with Kevin kicking sand in Kate’s eyes on purpose. The actions of the men on season seven of Below Deck are inexcusable. The misogynistic behaviour and bully-boy tactics should have been dealt with sooner. What is shocking, disappointing but not surprising, is that in the reunion the boys still believed that they also deserved an apology from the girls. Ashton is still denying that he is misogynistic.
As much as I love Captain Lee, he should have stopped this behaviour sooner. He often witnessed the fallout from crew nights out. In the reunion, he expressed his anger towards the boys but this should have been seen in the main part of the season.
This is where the problem lies, for too long society and reality TV has indulged “lad” culture, allowing misogynistic and downright disgusting behaviour to continue and never show the consequences of those actions because sadly normally there isn’t. This needs to change now.
Orla McAndrew
Feature image courtesy of Edward Weston on Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Orla McAndrew
Orla McAndrew is a co-founder of Empoword Journalism and also a features and Instagram editor. As a freelance writer she has written for Stylist Magazine, The Yorkshire Evening Post, The Indiependent, The Hysteria Collective and SmallScreen. Currently she is an intern at Screen Yorkshire, and in September she was be starting her English Literature degree at the University of York.