[[link removed]]

PORTSIDE CULTURE

HAVING AN ASIAN BACHELORETTE IS A MILESTONE. IT’S ALSO ABOUT POWER.
 
[[link removed]]


 

Li Zhou
July 8, 2024
Vox
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed].]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ As the first Asian American lead in the franchise’s two-decade
history, Jenn Tran's casting makes a statement. _

, Disney/John Fleenor

 

Li Zhou [[link removed]] is a politics reporter
at Vox, where she covers Congress and elections. Previously, she was a
tech policy reporter at Politico and an editorial fellow at the
Atlantic.

_____

Jenn Tran, a physician assistant student from Miami, Florida, will
debut as the first Asian American Bachelorette
[[link removed].] in
the show’s 21st season premiere this week.

That’s a notable milestone, and it’s also one that sends a
significant message about power — and who’s allowed to have it.

Historically, Asian women have been portrayed in US pop culture as
hypersexualized and objects of desire
[[link removed]],
rather than fully realized human beings with their own wants,
interests, and demands. While one _Bachelorette_ casting is far from
sufficient to resolve these deep-seated tropes — and just how much
the show rejects them will depend on how it’s edited — choosing
Tran as the lead is a small step that pushes back against past
stereotypes.

“It’s an opportunity to have Jenn Tran be a voice, in terms of
being able to have agency in her own desires about love and
intimacy,” says Stephanie Young, a communication studies professor
at the University of Southern Indiana, who examines the intersection
of race and pop culture. “We get to hear _her_ speak, and these
men are going to be competing for _her_ affection and attention.”

Namely, by centering Tran as the star and key decision-maker, she’s
framed as an empowered participant on the show who is driving
relationships forward. As a lead, Tran will choose the men that she
prefers each episode and dole out roses, which allow contestants to
move on in the competition. And while there’s always producer
intervention to contend with, Tran will be involved in calling the
shots, a position that flips the script on how Asian women have
broadly been depicted in relationships.

PAST TROPES HAVE DISEMPOWERED ASIAN WOMEN — WITH DEVASTATING
CONSEQUENCES

Disempowering tropes of Asian women go as far back as the 1800s, when
the Page Act of 1875 barred the entry of immigrants coming to the US
for “immoral purposes” including prostitution. Though the text of
the law doesn’t specifically call out Chinese women, politicians
— including the bill’s architect
[[link removed]],
California Rep. Horace Page — did. In remarks at that time, Page
explicitly said the bill was meant to “end the danger of cheap
Chinese labor and immoral Chinese women,” echoing a racist
viewpoint popular among lawmakers of that era
[[link removed]].

In approving this law, the US government effectively solidified the
idea that Asian women were a threat to the country because of their
sexuality.

Since then, countless films and television shows have reaffirmed this
idea. Works created throughout the 19th and 20th centuries
like _Madame Butterfly_, _Memoirs of a Geisha_,and _Miss
Saigon _all featured Asian female characters who were diminutive,
self-sacrificing, and objectified.

Collectively, they helped calcify the most prevalent tropes now
assigned to Asian women, including the “lotus blossom,” which
portrays them as submissive and eager to please, and the “dragon
lady,” which portrays them as cunning figures who weaponize their
sexuality. “In both cases [Asian women are] the sex object,”
filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña previously told the Washington Post
[[link removed]].

These stereotypes were further entrenched following the US
military’s occupation of parts of Asia including Korea, Vietnam, the
Philippines, and Japan. In many of these places, sex work was one of
the only means that some women had to make a living. US soldiers’
interactions with sex workers — and the Hollywood depictions they
spawned — fueled the perceptions of Asian women as vehicles for
white male sexual gratification.

“Me so horny. Me love you long time,” a Vietnamese sex worker
infamously says to a group of US soldiers in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987
film _Full Metal Jacket_.

“I think these images tend to proliferate, especially in the
aftermath of World War II and the Cold War,” says Judy Tzu-Chun Wu
[[link removed]], a UC Irvine
professor of Asian American Studies.

In these depictions, Asian women are frequently robbed of their agency
in the romantic relationships they’re in. They’re dependent on the
choices of the men they encounter, and they’re shown as catering to
them rather than centering their own needs. In _Miss Saigon_, for
example, the Vietnamese lead waits for years for a white American
soldier to return for her, and ultimately kills herself so her son is
able to go to the United States.

Such objectification of Asian women has had real — and devastating
— consequences.

Specifically, it has contributed directly to violence against Asian
women, a problem that was thrown into stark relief during the pandemic
when six Asian women were killed
[[link removed]] by a
shooter in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time the shooter said he felt
compelled to kill the victims because he wanted to eliminate the
sexual temptation they represented. Recent instances of rape
[[link removed]] by
US servicemen stationed in Okinawa, Japan, have put this problem in
the spotlight as well.

Asian women are “objectified in ways that dehumanize,” says Young.
“If there’s any type of violence, it’s justified because
they’re not seen as human.”

That’s also evident in data from the National Network to End
Domestic Violence
[[link removed]] (NNEDV).
According to the NNEDV, “41 to 61 percent of Asian women report
experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner
during their lifetime,” a rate that “is significantly higher than
any other ethnic group.”

“We’re seen as vulnerable,” Helen Zia, an Asian
American activist previously told the New York Times
[[link removed]].
“You know — the object that won’t fight back.”

HOW MUCH CAN THIS SEASON OF _THE BACHELORETTE_ HELP?

Casting an Asian person as a reality show lead is not a panacea for
these issues, and any alterations _The Bachelorette _can make to
existing, racist narratives will hinge heavily on how producers treat
this season, and how they portray Tran.

In the past, after all, _The Bachelor_ franchise has faced heavy
criticism for failing its leads of color and engaging in problematic
storylines that harp on racial stereotypes.

For instance, Rachel Lindsay, the first Black Bachelorette
[[link removed]],
has called the show out for how it edited her season and has said she
felt like she was presented as an “angry Black female.”
Previously, the franchise was also criticized by audience members
[[link removed]] for
an absentee father storyline it emphasized during Matt James’s
season, when he was the first Black Bachelor.

This season, some concerns have already emerged. Tran’s rollout was
seen as anticlimactic by some fans
[[link removed]],
who felt the announcement of her as lead was overshadowed by the focus
on other contestants. Every season, the franchise typically announces
its next lead during the finale. In that episode, _The
Bachelor _seemed to invest far more screen time with other
contenders, like Daisy Kent, one of last season’s finalists. Fans
critical of the choice felt it made Tran’s debut feel like an
afterthought
[[link removed]],
and that it had them questioning whether the show was setting another
lead of color up for failure.

Viewer speculation that Tran was a third-choice pick for the show
— which she’s pushed back on
[[link removed]] — has only
added to these concerns. As has the noticeable dearth of Asian
American men
[[link removed]] cast
this season, something many viewers considered a missed opportunity.

The franchise’s historical failure to explicitly call out racism
among its fan base, and its contenders, has been scrutinized, too.
Last season, Rachel Nance, an ICU nurse of Black and Filipino
descent, described the vehement racism
[[link removed]] she
faced from some fans after she was chosen to advance in the
competition over another popular white contestant. While Nance brought
up fans’ comments during the airing of the “Women Tell All”
episode that season, host Jesse Palmer quickly pivoted to ask more
broadly about “hate” different women experienced rather than
dealing with her specific challenges.

Tran’s casting is one effort that could help change the narratives
around Asian women by featuring her as the main character on the show
and not someone who is there to simply acquiesce to another person’s
desires.

As Bachelorette, Tran will make decisions that reflect her own
interests and preferences. She’ll determine who gets time with her,
who gets sent home, and who could ultimately be a serious partner
outside the show. Since she’s the star, the show is set to be
oriented around her story — and not anyone else’s.

Although it’s still uncertain how the franchise will navigate her
time in the role, Tran’s casting as _The Bachelorette_, in and of
itself, marks some progress.

Here at Vox, we believe in helping everyone understand our complicated
world, so that we can all help to shape it. Our mission is to create
clear, accessible journalism to empower understanding and action.

If you share our vision, please consider supporting our work by
becoming a _Vox Member_. Your support ensures Vox a stable,
independent source of funding to underpin our journalism. If you are
not ready to become a Member, even small contributions are meaningful
in supporting a sustainable model for journalism.

Thank you for being part of our community.

Join for $5/month
[[link removed]]

* Asian Americans
[[link removed]]
* Asian representation
[[link removed]]
* Bachelorette
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed].]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit portside.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 



########################################################################

[link removed]

To unsubscribe from the xxxxxx list, click the following link:
[link removed]