History will be made during Jenn Tran’s stint as “Bachelorette” Can the show correct its blunders about diversity?

Bachelorette

On July 8, when The Bachelorette debuts, Jenn Tran, a Vietnamese American graduate student pursuing a career as a physician’s assistant, will make the decisions while 25 men vie for her affections and the last rose. Those who have watched the Bachelor franchise will recognize Tran. Earlier this year, the 26-year-old New Jersey native debuted during Joey Graziadei’s Bachelor season. He advanced to the final six but lost out. On March 26, she made her formal bachelorette announcement on The Bachelor’s “After the Final Rose” special.
When Tran was first cast in the series, she was thrilled about the historic opportunity. She said she was “so grateful and honored to be the first Asian Bachelorette in this franchise” and wanted “to see Asian representation on TV.” “Anytime Asians appeared in the media, it was usually as supporting characters or to conform to some stereotype, and I always felt like that put me in a box since I never saw myself on film. She stated, “I don’t see myself as a main character,” in the March special. She has since repeated this opinion on the press tour preceding her season debut.

In his official Bachelorette bio, Thomas Nguyen is the only suitor who identifies as Asian American for the forthcoming season

That is our responsibility. Before the season debut, Bachelor executive producer Bennett Graebner spoke with the Los Angeles Times, saying, “We didn’t do what we needed to do.” It’s just one of the numerous racial tensions and diversity issues that have dogged The Bachelor and Bachelorette since the programs’ premiere in the early 2000s. There is still a long way to go, even though Tran is Bachelor Nation’s most recent non-white lead after Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams, Michelle Young, and Charity Lawson, as well as Rachel Lindsay and Matt James, who were the first Black Bachelorette in 2017 and the first Black Bachelor in 2020, respectively. Matt James appears in a promotional photo for the television show “The Bachelor.” (Billy Kidd via Getty Images). Lindsay and James withdrew from the reality series after their seasons due to the numerous racial missteps on the show and the discussions that followed.
Producers of Bachelor are starting to openly own their past transgressions in terms of cultural sensitivity and racial diversity, after years of silence. “It’s not going to be perfect every time,” Graebner stated to the Los Angeles Times. As we proceed, errors will inevitably be made. Nonetheless, we won’t avoid having tough conversations. With Tran taking center stage as the new Bachelorette, the show will once again be scrutinized closely as it tries to make amends.

After all, fans of color have learned to have very low expectations from the “Bachelor” franchise

At this time, everyone is aware of the show’s dismal diversity history. Fans of color used to make dark jokes for years about how contestants of color would appear for a week or two but never really make a run at it. Following the filing of a class action lawsuit in 2012 (the show debuted in 2002), “The Bachelor” appeared to make a greater effort to diversify the dating pool in terms of race. After all, fans of color have learned to have very low expectations from the “Bachelor” franchise. At this time, everyone is aware of the show’s dismal diversity history. Fans of color used to make dark jokes for years about how contestants of color would appear for a week or two but never really make a run at it. Following the filing of a class action lawsuit in 2012 (the show debuted in 2002), “The Bachelor” appeared to make a greater effort to diversify the dating pool in terms of race.
I’ve been wondering for a while whether or not the “The Bachelor” franchise would have to decide between more progressive viewers who have been vocally calling for change from their problematic fave and conservative white viewers who want to see the show stay as it was in its heyday when everyone was an evangelical dental hygienist and black contestants never made it past week three. The show has been making surface-level changes to appease both parties for years, but it has never truly addressed the rot at the heart. It appears from the L.A. Times article that a decision has finally been made in the positive. Most likely.
“Those who are not interested in this new course cannot be persuaded to change their minds. We can alter the program,” Freeland stated to the L.A. Times. Even more bluntly, Graebner said, “Maybe Bachelor Nation isn’t for you if you don’t want to see a black love story, an Asian American love story, or an interracial love story.” It’s a wonderful gesture and one that a lot of Bachelor Nation fans have been waiting years to hear. However, these words mean nothing unless they are supported by deeds. We now stand by and give Jenn Tran our support. Hopefully, she gets the affection she deserves and doesn’t end up becoming the show’s scapegoat.