The Bachie premier is out, and ooh boy was it cringe. I’ll be honest – I’ve actually never really watched The Bachelor before, so a lot of this was kinda unfamiliar to me. Despite that, it took all of 2.5 seconds for me to be completely hooked.
One thing I do know about this show though, is that The Bachelor has always had a problem with non-white girls.
I mean, most seasons are so sparkling white that they could be a cleaning product ad, and we kinda just dealt with it because you know, we shouldn’t be unrealistic about or prospects as non-white women or whatever.
Well, this season of The Bachelor has not one, but two dark skinned women, and for some reason that’s being praised as very progressive. And maybe to an extent, it is. We also have two Persian women on the show, which is nice (Sogand, I love you). But it’s not lost upon me the way they represented our dark-skinned beauties Vakoo and Mary.
is that… a black woman… on the bachelor? #TheBachelorAU pic.twitter.com/sVcMK1fhJv
— 𝐂 (@claudiastrn2tlk) 31 July 2019
Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love Vakoo. They tried to make her look crazy while practising her hellos, but honestly? Same. If you’ve never practised your intros then you have way more confidence than I ever will.
Plus, she’s super extra on the show with her red carpet and model walk, and yeah it’s overdone but she knows where her strength lies and by God is she going to use it.
Mary on the other hand barely made an impression and comes off kinda shallow and bitchy, and it’s like c’mon guys. We’re done with the token bitchy brown girl thing. Why do we need to constantly push this image of catty ethnic girl vs sweet, innocent romantic white girls? And yeah, I know we have some crazy white chicks here too, but it’s different because they aren’t the only representation of their race on the show.
Watching Vakoo try and grab Matt’s attention by showing him her passion without putting another woman down #TheBachelorAU pic.twitter.com/5MJWnfWfXF
— Monique Myintoo (@aumonique_) 31 July 2019
I feel like the show made Vakoo and Mary look kinda kooky, and it’s like pls no. Why are you tryna make them look crazy. Can we have one sympathetic and likeable non-white girl that isn’t gently unhinged? No shade Vakoo, you’re a queen but just not the average black/brown gal, ya know?
And then, oh god, don’t even get me started on Kristen. I swear, where did they find this girl? Jk, I know, China. I heard the first 173 times.
The whole time Kristen spoke about China, she didn’t even make ONE China pun. It’s like she’s purposely China make me hate her.
Okay, I really want to fight Kristen. Or maybe I want to fight the Bachie producers/writers/casting people over Kristen. Not just for casting her, but for the ridiculous Chinese stock music they inappropriately play every time someone even thinks of China. I get that she’s def a joke and not meant to be taken seriously because she’s clearly an idiot, but seriously?! This is the Asian representation we get?! Where’s that meme of white people going to China to find themselves spiritually?
Oh, here it is.
“Sometimes my friends refer me as the China girl” #TheBachelorAU pic.twitter.com/3v4k5CbZ6S
— Ingrid (@ingridatkins) 31 July 2019
Considering the fact that Asian people make up a considerable chunk of Australia’s population, and Chinese people top that percentage, it’s actually ridiculous that we don’t have a Chinese (or even Asian) bachie contestant.
This season of The Bachelor might be the most diverse yet, but please do better. We know you’ve come a long way, but we still much more to go.
Image Sources: Network Ten, Facebook: The Bachelor Memes, Twitter: @ingridatkins, @claudiastrn2tlk.
