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BACHELOR & BACHELORETTE Jenn Tran is making history as the first Asian American Bachlorette. |
During Women's History Month, a bit of Asian American history is being made in an unlikely source: the dating reality series The Bachelorette.
After 22 seasons, the producers of the popular Bachelor and Bachlorette television dating franchise will finally have an Asian American bachelorette find the man of her dreams. People of color, particularly Asian American, have been under-represented in the series.
Jenn Tran, a 26-year-old from Miami who is currently studying to be physician assistant, will be center of attention in next season's Bacholorette.
Tran, who was eliminated in week seven, in this just-concluded season of The Bachelor where Joey Graziadei had to make a selection from 32 women vying for attention.
“I’m looking for someone who has a really big personality,” Tran told host Jesse Palmer in a televised interview after the season's end. “I’m all about having fun, all about having that cheeky banter.”Tran added that in her journey she hopes that aside from getting a ring on her finger, “I hope that I find my person, someone that I truly feel is 100% my perfect match... I think I will know when I find him.”
In a social media post, Tran wrote: "FIRST ASIAN BACHELORETTE?! You have no idea how much this moment means to me. Growing up I never got to see anyone who looked like me lead their own love story on TV. To be able to inspire a generation of people to be proud of their culture is something I’m so grateful for. This opportunity to find love as the Bachelorette is so much bigger than myself and I am embracing that whole heartedly.
"I am so incredibly excited for this crazy adventure to find my person and I can’t wait for all of us to laugh and cry together."
It is not the first time that an Asian American has taken part in the realitiy show. In 2013, Filipino American Catherine Giudici became the first Asian woman to win the heart of Sean Lowe, The Bachelor, of the 17th season. The couple did find true love with each other and eventually married after the show. They are raising their three children. They recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary.
There have been a couple of Asian American men vying for the heart of the Bachlorette, only to be eliminated early in the series.
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BACHLORETTE Rachel Nance was one of the final three women for The Bachelor. |
Tran also wasn't the only Asian American in this season. In an embarassing social media post, reflecting the White-oriented casting, Tran was misidentified as Lea Cayanan, who is a Filipino from Hawaii. The error has been corrected but that mistake didn't help the franchise's efforts to be more representative of America.
Rachel Nance, who is Filipino and Black, finished in the toop three, higher than Tran.
The social media hate flared following an episode in which her family shared their Filipino traditions. But the Hawaii resident, 26, told NBC News that none of it has lessened the pride she feels about her dual cultures.
“Being a woman, you’re really put in a box and being a woman of color, you’re put in a smaller box and we just can’t win,” Nance said. “It was either I honor my family and I show what I was raised with, or do I not and hold back, and then I’m sad, and I’m not honoring my family.”
She picked her family, “and I think that’s all you can do — you just show who you are.”
“To continuously be silent, it was just going to perpetuate the same toxic cycle,” Nance continued. “I’m hoping by from what I shared, that people of color, Asian women, all of us — we won’t use discrimination and racism as a crutch, but as a catapult to push us in a direction, to chase our dreams, to take up space.”
Nance said Tran's selection as the next Bachlorette, will be a critical moment forAsian American women and the franchise, which has had a lackluster record with people of color.
“We have now this huge platform. From me sharing my story and her being the Bachelorette, it’s opening more doors and people can just kind of break through those barriers in Hollywood and reality TV,” Nance said. “People will have no choice but to accept.”
The social media hate flared following an episode in which her family shared their Filipino traditions. But the Hawaii resident, 26, told NBC News that none of it has lessened the pride she feels about her dual cultures.
“Being a woman, you’re really put in a box and being a woman of color, you’re put in a smaller box and we just can’t win,” Nance said. “It was either I honor my family and I show what I was raised with, or do I not and hold back, and then I’m sad, and I’m not honoring my family.”
She picked her family, “and I think that’s all you can do — you just show who you are.”
“To continuously be silent, it was just going to perpetuate the same toxic cycle,” Nance continued. “I’m hoping by from what I shared, that people of color, Asian women, all of us — we won’t use discrimination and racism as a crutch, but as a catapult to push us in a direction, to chase our dreams, to take up space.”
Nance said Tran's selection as the next Bachlorette, will be a critical moment forAsian American women and the franchise, which has had a lackluster record with people of color.
“We have now this huge platform. From me sharing my story and her being the Bachelorette, it’s opening more doors and people can just kind of break through those barriers in Hollywood and reality TV,” Nance said. “People will have no choice but to accept.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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