The Bachelor isn’t known for its racial diversity (or any other kind of diversity), but given that the franchise currently has its first Asian American lead in Bachelorette Jenn Tran, it would be nice to see more representation on screen. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with a race-blind approach to dating, but it’s also true that many people enjoy having relationships with others who can relate to their cultural background, and Tran called it “unfortunate” that her pool of men didn’t include more people like her.
“I can’t really speak to the casting process and the decisions that were made, but it is unfortunate that there weren’t a lot of Asian men this season,” she told Glamour. She was happy to connect with Thomas N. over their shared heritage, and explained why having similar experiences is often a plus for minorities. “It’s not every day that you get to bond with somebody on your immigrant parents and you get to connect with somebody on that level because not everybody can understand that. That was a really special conversation for me because [Thomas] really understood where I was coming from, and my family means everything to me…being a child of immigrant parents is something that not everybody can understand. And so, having that conversation with Thomas N. really meant the world.”
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She’s also seizing this opportunity to show that Asian-American women can be desirable in a mainstream way, rather than being exoticized as we so often see in media. “Growing up, I never really felt like I was anybody’s first choice because I was unique in my own way, and I didn’t always see it as a strength or a superpower,” Jenn Tran admitted. “But I’ve come to a point in my life now where I’m so proud of who I am and where I come from, and I’m excited to be able to share that with everybody.”
