Bachlorette: Jonathon, we hardly got to know you

Jon Hamilton revealed too much, too soon to Bachelorette Jojo Fletcher.

ALAS, the kilt didn't help Jonathan Hamilton in his quest to win the heart of this season's Bachelorette, Jojo Fletcher.

The Vancouver bachelor, whose bio looked awesome on paper, wasn't able to translate his accomplishments into social attractiveness during his brief stint on last night's (May 23) premiere. In fact, Jonathan might be credited with one of the most awkward introductions:

Jonathan's initial strategy was sound. Showing up in a kilt did separate him from the 20 other look-alikes. Right away, he wanted to attack the Asian male stereotype (AMS), but in doing so, he also reinforced it. Whether or not that was intentional or if he was prodded by producers, we can't say.

Jon is of Chinese and Scottish descent so showing up in a kilt kind of makes sense. But that was not the embarrassing part. What made us cringe is when he told JoJo that luckily he was "Scottish below the waist," and that he was going commando. Uh, bro - too much, too soon. It was certainly an off-kilt-er comment that probably made Jojo think, "see you later!"

RELATED: Asian bro to compete in The Bachelorette

In the end, Jonathan was sent packing. The only saving grace is that he was not alone. Also saying their goodbyes were Jake (not Pavelka), Coley Knust, Sal DeJulio, Nick S., and Peter.

Poor Jonathan. We hardly got to know you. As the morning-after quarterback, my advice would be: Be yourself and embrace your Asianess.

I don't want to put so much weight on the shoulders of those AAPI men like Jonathan who, for one reason or another, are put in a position to "represent." It's not fair to them and it's definitely not fair to all of us as we're all unique individuals. But the truth of the matter is, when nonAsians see us, they still fall back on the AMS and other stereotypes like the Dragon Lady, the Tiger Mom, the martial artist and so on.

RELATED: AAPI influence growing in U.S.

Perhaps our only hope is that mainstream media, the purveyors of pop culture, will recognize the market potential of the AAPI community and thus open up more opportunities for more individual AAPI men and women in front of the camera and behind the camera, in front of the computer screen, in print and on stage. The more diverse we present ourselves - without cutting our connections to each other - we begin to chip away at all the stereotypes with which we're saddled.

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Bachelorette producers choose safety over diversity

Caila Quinn was greeted with roses when she returned home after getting rejected by The Bachelor.

THE CHOICE of the next Bachelorette may have been more of a surprise than bachelor Ben Higgins' final choice. Apparently, at the last minute last night (March 14), the producers changed their mind and went with Jojo Fletcher as the next Bachelorette instead of Filipina/American Caila Quinn. If she was picked to be the star of the Bachelorette, she would have been the first non-white to be in the title role in that popular television franchise.

That's too bad. It would have been a more interesting show if the producers had a bit more creativity and chose the road less taken. Caila's selection could have opened the doors to new diversity possibilities in casting. Now we're stuck with another ho-hum show.

Quinn was all set to be The Bachelorette. Filming had already started in her hometown. When articles began to appear that Caila was supposed to be the next Bachelorette, apparently that got runner-up JoJo Fletcher's fans started a Twitter campaign that seems to have affected the producer's choice.

RELATED: Is the next Bachelorette going to be Asian/American?

Reality Steve, the blogger who broke the story that Caila was the next Bachelorette a couple weeks back, said the hometown filming was a "red herring" to mislead fans. It's a strategy the show employed in previous Bachelor/ette picks. His "scoop" was picked up by Us magazine and other tabloids.

“They led her to believe it was her, she was convinced it was her, they shot her intro package that day in Ohio, then they told her at pretty much the last minute, ‘We decided to go with JoJo,'” said the blogger.

Perhaps the producers think they can get away with passing Jojo Fletcher off as a person of color. “My mom is Persian, and my Dad was born and raised in Tennessee. I’m proud of my mother’s background despite what social opinions are. It’s important for me to stand up to people stereotyping Iranians.” I hate to break it to her and to the producers, but Iranians/Persians are biologically and technically Caucasian. Heaven forbid if you commit a major faux pas - as I once did - and refer to an Iranian as Arabian. You would be corrected very quickly.

When it was thought that Caila was to be the next Bachelorette, one of the most interesting articles about her possible selection was by NPR's Akemi Johnson, titled, What It Would Mean to Have 'Hapa' Bachelorette. I encourage readers to read it anyway to get an idea why we're spending this much ink on this show. It’s a deep dive into the representation of people of color in our culture, on television, and The Bachelor/ette specifically.

Johnson's article makes a clear case as to why diversity is more than just casting a person of color. It’s about how that person is portrayed to the audience and what stereotypes the editors and producers choose to reinforce or dismantle.

"If The Bachelor is our modern-day fairy tale, then who becomes its princes and princesses does matter," wrote Salon TV critic Sonia Saraiya in another good article on the topic.

Oh, in case you were wondering, Higgins' final pick was Lauren Bushnell (yawn!).

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