Mirror, Mirror on The Wall Who’s the Whitest of Them All?
It’s that time of year again when the nation plays the audience to more than 20 singles’ lives. Conveniently scheduled to coincide with the onslaught of university assessment due dates, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are the perfect procrastination pastimes.
The drama of the shows captures the audience’s devotion as they are promised juicy cocktail parties, saucy single dates and can even watch a couple immersed in a bath of melted chocolate. Mmm, tasty.
But reality television isn’t all (Vanessa) sunshine and rainbows.
Reality television is continually scrutinised for severely under-representing racial diversity. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have formed the basis of many arguments pertaining to this societal issue.
Casting procedures of reality television series such as The Bachelor and Bachelorette are exceptionally secretive. 2017 Bachelor Matthew Johnson shed light on the ambiguous process prior to his series airing. Johnson confirmed he had no involvement in the selection process. His only contribution was in the form of a checklist asking for someone who is funny, confident, smart and kind.
A spokesman for Network 10 claimed The Bachelor Australia is cast on the applicants’ merits and race is not a factor influencing the selection criteria. Production company Endemol Shine Australia supported Network 10’s statement as they declared race is not a contributing factor to our selection criteria, all eligible bachelors are considered regardless of their background.
Considering the above statements and statistical evidence of Australia’s population you’d expect approximately one-quarter of contestants to be of overseas heritage, right? Wrong.
Let’s begin with The Bachelor.
2019’s bachelor, Matt Agnew, was served an assortment of 28 bachelorettes predominantly comprised of white Australians with a sprinkling of racial diversity. Counteracting traditional reality television casting, the 2019 instalment was hailed a step in the right direction for diversity.
This celebration, however, was premature.
It was like The Bachelor casting executives had a quota system for diversity.
African? Vakoo. Tick.
Persian? Sogand. Tick.
Another Persian? Danush. Tick.
Brazilian? Mary. Tick.
Chinese? No luck finding an authentic Chinese girl so instead include a Chinese enthusiast referred to as “The China Girl.” Kirsten. Tick.
Vakoo described the season as the season of diversity and was happy to be one of the first black girls on the show. When asked about her inclusion as a form of tokenism, she felt assured her insertion was based on her personal characteristics and certainly not her ethnicity. Vakoo exited the mansion in episode six.
As for Kirsten, the self-proclaimed China Girl, her entire appearance on the show was coupled with a soundtrack of vaguely ethnic music. Shameless Podcast host Michelle Andrews felt the production represented China as if it were Neptune, an alien concept. Fellow Shameless host Zara McDonald concluded it’s as if Channel 10 couldn’t get a Chinese woman so they resorted to the next best thing, one who’s obsessed with the country.
Sogand was an original cast member and Danush was among seven intruders. Danush’s entrance sent shockwaves through the mansion as Sogand claimed she was Matt’s favourite Persian princess. Audiences identified Sogand’s defensive reaction to Danush’s entrance to be an indication of producers’ construction of hostility against related ethnicities. Yes, Sogand and Danush are fighting for the love of the same man, but so are multiple other women bizarrely not on Sogand’s radar.
This particular scene sent many to Twitter to question why two Persian women cause such controversy when there are 20 other white women competing.
Sogand attempted establishing dominance the best way she knew how: belly dancing.
Sogand’s dancing was coupled with shots of stunned expressions from prying bachelorettes, Matt awkwardly embracing Sogand’s cultural expression and Mary laughing.
The scene concluded with Mary stating, it’s just weird, I thought Abbie was crazy but holy crap that is like a Persian lap dance, yeah that bitch took the crown.
Mary, a woman of colour herself, criticising another’s cultural expression demonstrates ethnic opposition and undermines any beneficial progression. The indication of racial insecurity becomes clear. White is normal, while women of colour feel obliged to justify their ethnic disparities as a feature of individuality.
Copious hours of footage are available to producers and editors however they intentionally incorporate racial conflicts to be central to the shows’ narrative trajectories. Reality shows manipulate representations of actuality to become sources of racial tension negotiations. This format downplays structural aspects of racism suggesting the solution is the education of ignorant individuals.
Now onto The Bachelorette.
The only diversity here is hair length.
Niranga was the only contestant of colour. He was given marginal air time with his entrance part of a montage. You wouldn’t know but Niranga is an aircraft engineer, has represented Australia in multiple sports including rugby and cricket and has also assisted with the commencement of the NA-Sri Lanka Outreach charity.
But no, by all means, Channel 10, give all the airtime to a stage 10 clinger and a long-haired yahoo dressed as a lobster.
As viewers become increasingly aware of diversity, the pressure for producers to replicate this within casting decisions increases. People want to see people of similar backgrounds on their screens as it creates a sense of self and inclusiveness.
Diversity within these reality shows is far from impossible. Take a look at the US Bachelor for example. The 2020 contestants have already been announced and showcase a mixture of different backgrounds.
In 2011, close to three-quarters of people working within screen production and television were Anglo-Celtic. How can we expect diversity to be broadcast when behind the scenes decision-makers lack cultural diversity themselves?
Reality television producers and editors have been labelled manipulative puppet masters who poison powerless audiences with negative images of racial minorities.
The racial caricatures showcased throughout reality television aren’t entirely misconstrued but rather stem from cultural models and stereotypes already familiar to audiences. Although cast composition of ethnicities misrepresents the population, treatment of racial minorities injects fragments of reality. Broadcasted racial conflicts, therefore, reflect broader cultural beliefs.
It’s a hard pill to swallow but reality television does, in fact, reflect aspects of reality.
