Australian social services minister Tanya Plibersek has called out Married at First Sight, the nation’s most popular reality-TV show, for platforming coercive control.
In a social media post video, Plibersek points out the controlling behaviour in a clip from the show where one of the male contestants agrees with a suggestion that he wishes for his romantic partner to be “obedient” like a dog.
The clip shows contestant Tyson Gordon sitting with host Laura Byrne, who asks him about his attitude to controlling behaviour, saying: “If you want someone who is obedient, yes, it’s controlling. And you want a dog.”
Tyson responds, saying “maybe that’s what I want”, before backtracking and saying: “I don’t want a dog. I want to be the man of the house. I want to be a leader… I’m sure every female wants that.”
Earlier in the show, Tyson makes more of these types of comments, saying he wants his romantic partner to be “submissive”.
The show MAFS regularly attracts more than 2 million viewers across the country, and Plibersek, who has been leading the government’s push against domestic violence, has urged parents to keep their children from watching the series, which she says is normalising unhealthy relationship dynamics.
“When men who idolise ‘submissive’ and ‘obedient’ women are normalised on prime-time TV, it means coercive control is given a national platform,” Plibersek said on the Instagram post.
“Obedience is not a relationship preference. It’s about exerting power and control over women. We know that exerting power and control too often leads to violence.”
Referencing the Labor government’s efforts to delay access to social media to children, Plibersek said the show’s footage of coercive control viewpoints is “not entertaining, it’s incredibly dangerous.”
“This is the exact kind of cultural messaging we’re trying to change. Messaging which encourages control and dehumanises women, which is supercharged by algorithms peddling misogyny for profit.”
“Please don’t expose your kids to this stuff. And let’s continue to call out this behaviour for what it is – the harmful need to exert control over women dressed up as a normal part of a relationship.”
Producers on the show, as well as some of the comments on Plibersek’s post, argue that the show isn’t platforming Tyson’s views when other contestants are shown calling him out on it. Plibersek has said the problematic content can still be used online to radicalise young boys and easily taken out of context.
This isn’t the first time MAFS has received criticism for platforming domestic violence behaviours. Last season, contestant Paul Antoine allegedly punched a hole in the wall of his shared apartment with romantic partner Carina Mirabile, prompting an investigation, which has since been closed.