First Dates row: the marker-drawn beard and the 'vulvoporters'

First Dates and the mystery of the drawn-on beard: sketch or delusion?

What does a woman with a beard drawn in marker and the so-called 'vulvoporters' have to do with the crisis of the media narrative? More than you might think. The appearance on Telecinco's dating show has unleashed a flood of reactions, from laughter to outrage. Some call it a comedy sketch; others, propaganda or deliberate provocation.

The episode nobody expected
During a recent broadcast of First Dates, a woman appeared with a beard drawn on with marker and began talking about so-called 'vulvoporters', a neologism which, according to her, refers to something like an intimate prosthesis or support. The sequence, which many took for a joke, was aired without any further context, fuelling the confusion. The show, which usually alternates between real dates and sought-out characters, did not clarify whether she was a genuine participant or an actress.

From humour to conspiracy
Reactions on social media and forums were not long in coming. While one camp sees it as an absurd gag, another insists it is theatre designed to irritate families at dinnertime, a ploy by the channel to keep its audience. Some have even drawn political parallels: certain viewers linked the character to Pablo Iglesias or Íñigo Errejón, fuelling the narrative that the show has become a vehicle for political satire or propaganda.

Among the most venomous comments, the media are accused of being "media terrorists" and the deportation of the participant is called for, a hyperbole that reflects the polarisation. Others, meanwhile, simply wonder whether the world has gone mad.

Strategy or coincidence?
The truth is that First Dates has struck a nerve. The episode, which could pass for a mere sketch, reveals just how far any television content can be read in political or social terms. The channel, for its part, has issued no clarification, letting the debate grow. In the end, the only thing that is clear is that, between the beard and the vulvoporters, someone is laughing. The question is at whom.