To watch The Undateables?

[Ifyourawizardwhydouwearglasses]

It's on catch up.

Is it interesting, well done, and raising awareness of disabilities?

Or is it voyeuristic crap?

Love any dating shows but I don't want to be just be sitting here seething in an hour.

Did anyone watch it?

It's an awful show. It takes advantage of vulnerable people. I'm all for promoting various health conditions that don't get much air time. Maybe showing positive aspects along with education.
This program is just nasty

In what way do you think it takes advantage of vulnerable people?

How is it nasty? Have you actually watched it?

'Maybe showing positive aspects along with education.'

I think it does this.

I can't see it in anyway being "nasty"

They help them find relationships with other people with or without disabilities. They tell you more about their disabilities and how it effects them personally.

If it was so nasty I very much doubt people would go on there tbh

I think it puts stress and anxiety unnecessarily on to people that suffer from anxiety all for the entertainment of others. It's title shows the whole nasty thinking of its makers. I think it is pity inducing and manipulative.

Not all the participants on the show suffer from anxiety.

I think, from what I've seen, that the interesting thing about the show is how conditioned/socialised we are to be in relationships/married. Some are so desperate for this that it is more important than the person they meet. It's interesting to see this conditioning in such a pure form.

That statement is more patronising than anything I've seen in the show. I think it's a basic human instinct to want a sexual/romantic relationship.

You think romance is a basic human instinct?

Human beings are sexual beings whose instinct is to find a mate.

I can only think of one participant who suffered from anxiety as one of their actual health issues, off the top of my head, and that was a man with autism who was anxious about change of any type. But no one was forcing him into anything (although his Mum was extremely encouraging as obviously desperate for a bit of a break from being his entire world for about 30 years).

And it's great to have a programme that shows that people with disabilities want love, relationships, children, dates, etc etc exactly like anyone else (most people, that is) and have every right to find it. In the past there was a lot of discrimination against people with disabilities having relationships at all. That's nasty.

I don't think any of them were desperate for a relationship with just anyone.

To find a mate. Not a mate for life though, not just one mate.
We are all products of our society. I was just saying that some of the cast are less inhibited about saying this.
I'm just wondering if this would be better without the cameras rolling.

Lovearead, I'm surprised you would need a TV show made for entertainment to tell you that disabled people are same as able bodied people. Wanting the same things.
If you need that then I'm not surprised you like this show.

Well yes we’ve all been influenced by films, books and images of romance. What harm? People with physical disabilities or other special needs have as much right to experience the highs and lows of romance as any of us. It makes our lives more interesting!

Shaine the Poet lives very near me and i get ridiculously excited whenever I see him. So far I have not inspired him to write any poetry sadly.

Sqoosh, I was thinking more about historic affects of religion, societal pressures, governmental pressure, etc. they do harm, but are accepted as normal. I was just saying that you can see the socialisation very vividly in this programme.
All people have a right to do what they want. I'm not sure you need to point out that disabled people have the right. Why not just say humans instead.

Now King, I hardly think you're in a position to lecture people seeing as you declared that all participants in this show suffered from anxiety.

I think the title has a horrible undertone to it that people with disabilities are undatable. The fact is that there are a lot of people who don't have disabilities who could be undatable by virtue of the fact they are arseholes/have bad hygiene/are unpleasant/have bad social skills, and yet no-one would make a programme about those.

and how many of the people on that show actually find love? So they go on a few dates, sometimes they have a relationship for a few months, but out of all the series, afaik none of the participants are yet in a long-term relationship are they? in fact most are now single again since they appeared on the show.

So it smacks a bit of a reality tv show combined with a social experiment. the message is "come on our show and we'll show you what it's like to go on a date, and then we'll set you free back into the world where you may never have another one."

Ds has tourettes (non verbal). He doesn't seem to have any major problems dating. His girlfriend is lovely, he is happy and settled at uni. I haven't seen the programme so have no idea if the parents are arming their children with the coping strategies required to negotiate the world. That would be my concern, along with the usual circus show, exploitation fears, although my dds (both having differences) assure me that this isn't the case. They don't have any problems dating either.

I have mild Cerebral Palsy but I will not watch this show as I hate the name of it.

So the conclusion is - no disabled person should be able to choose whether or not they go onto a dating programme, where they may or may not meet someone (which is generally how dating programmes work)?

Squoosh, I've not seen all the shows but I've seen some. The cast I saw expressed their anxieties connected to their disability, connected to the date. Add an anxiety inducing camera and crew all for the entertainment of the viewer. I don't thinks it's healthy. The title of show really is repulsive. The show tries to other the cast as "undateables". It tries to induce pity in my opinion, with that being the role of the interviewer.
We'll have to agree to disagree. It's not for me. I believe it's out of order.

nobody said that did they? but:

firstly the programme is called the undatables. As such the implication in the title is that the people who feature on it are undatable, that in itself implies rejection.

Secondly the programme centres entirely around people with disabilities, again, emphasis on the title undatable.
Would you put someone with a disability on to a mainstream dating show? probably not - why? because the reality is that they would be unlikely to be picked by people who don't have disabilities.

I have no issue with awareness being raised of the fact that it can be difficult to date if you have a disability. There are in fact dating agencies for people with disabilities and there is also a charity who provides sexual services for people with severe disabilities who are unlikely to ever find a sexual relationship.

What I have an issue with is people being put on national television under the banner of "undatable," with their disabilities attached, being given a date (most likely pre-arranged, maybe even paid in some instances)
for everyone to oooh and aaah at and say "oh aren't they lovely," but with no real outcome.

Everyone loved the poet, not enough to want to date him though eh?

Yes, the programme is centered around one of these dating agencies.