After 22 Seasons The Bachelor Sends the message that white men are the only desirable candidates

via imdb

The 22nd season of The Bachelor premiered on Tuesday and the main topic to stir up excitement is that Bachelor Colton Underwood still holds his v-card. Yes, you heard it first! After twenty two seasons of clones - erm, I mean very diverse looking white man after white man with dark hair and either blue or brown eyes, *THIS* is most shocking news in the series history. A VIRGIN.

via tenor

This is not an accident. The Bachelor continues to have some of the highest viewer ratings, trending on almost every social media platform, and watched by average citizens and celebrities alike. They are careful and selective about who is chosen as The Bachelor(ette) and their matches. The series deliberately sends the message that white men are the only desirable candidate when it comes to finding “everlasting,” fairy tale love. This also goes for the Bachelorette. Fourteen seasons in, and the sought/fought/and most cried after individual just ~happens~ to be white??

via latimes

Well what about Rachel Lindsay?! She was black! Well of course she was! However, for her to even be considered for the coveted role, she had to be one of the most educated Bacherolettes yet-- an over-achieving attorney. Well, couldn’t she have been a TV personality or an actress like some of the other Bachelorettes? Why, of course not! As a person of color, especially a WOMAN of color, it is engrained in us u that we must possess characteristics and talents beyond what is expected of the average individual to get a chance at obtaining what others are simply given. Papa Pope said it best: “You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have.”

Don’t believe me? Michelle Obama, the first black First Lady who was also the most educated First Lady with TWO Ivy League degrees, was continuously put down during her husband’s Presidency simply due to her race. I don’t remember Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara Bush or Melania Trump going through that. But I digress… (because I emotionally can’t go there right now).

This romantic white savior B.S. isn’t just on reality shows. Just look at PEOPLE magazine. After 33 covers, they finally named a third non-white man as their Sexiest Man Alive. But I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret… Sprinkling a little bit of chocolate here and there, does NOT make a program or project inclusive. We DESERVE more Latinx, Asian, Ingenious and Middle Eastern individuals to be celebrated as much as the European-decent default. This includes positively highlighting sexual and gender-identifying individuals as THEY chose to represented. Because that’s exactly how our world is represented. And I for one would like to see in entertainment what I see with my own eyes, in the real world.