Australian reality television has faced its fair share of diversity problems over the years. To date, we have only seen one person of colour front The Bachelor or The Bachelorette series. It’s also never delved into an LGBTQI+ storyline, with the exception of course of the “queer-bating” the franchise attempted in its spin-off Bachelor In Paradise, which in turn, was also met with sexist comments by the male contestants which fueled the tired, offensive straight male trope of fetishising bisexual women, claiming they exist for the pure enjoyment of male entertainment.
One of the country’s most beloved reality franchises, A Farmer Wants A Wife, made its premiere on July 26 and upon its return after a four-year hiatus, it seems the series hasn’t evolved to reflect the very real diversity we see in Australia every day. Instead, the franchise not only has five white males looking for love, but not a single person of colour was cast in the hopes of winning a farmers heart.
Frankly, it’s unacceptable in 2020.
And while it was slated as this year’s wholesome dating show to tune into, many viewers thought the same, taking to Twitter to air their frustration at the lack of diversity it represents. Many even coined a new name: “A Farmer Wants A ‘White’ Wife”.
It’s not just the series all-white casting that fans took issue with either, but the exclusively straight relationships being pursued and represented on the show. Many posed the question of whether it was time to portray queer relationships to the mainstream.
This argument is by no means new in the reality television world. A lack of diversity in franchises such as The Bachelor and A Farmer Wants A Wife have been rampant for years. And even when these series attempt to depict Australia’s multiculturalism it’s still often solely one-dimensional, more so a way of “ticking a box” to portray different faces without actually delving into the cultural importance of having such people shown on the screen.
Earlier this year, when Big Brother returned, it, too, faced its own problems with diversity. It’s first three evictees – Fijian-Australian Laura Coriakula, Chinese-Australian Allan Liang and Korean Soobong Hwang – were all-non white contestants. They were also the only three cast in the season.
While Allan told HuffPost Australia it was simply “coincidence” and “bad luck”, others like Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Idato put it down to complex issues of casting.
“I think what people see when they criticise that is that people in the house are making a subconsciously racist decision to eject everyone who’s non-white,” he said on The Televisionaries podcast, adding “What I think is actually happening happens on a more complex level – it’s not the house that’s the problem … the problem lies in the casting.”
The same can be said of The Bachelor, which has admittedly made some attempts to portray non-white contestants. In 2017, Matty J’s season cast one person of colour, Elora Murger, from Tahiti. But while that was somewhat progressive, it took three steps back by choosing to promote her time and time again as “exotic”.
But while we do see a lack of representation, current Bachelor In Paradise contestant Niranga Amarasinghe previously told news.com.au that he doesn’t believe “the Bachelor franchise is purposely trying to do this” but feels that cultural barriers people of colour face could be at play when auditioning for such shows.
“From experience, there are less POC auditioning for reality TV,” he told the publication. “For the ones who do and are successful, there is another hurdle an individual has to conquer to actually make it to the filming stage. They have to convince their families they are happy for them to go on reality TV. POC individuals can have very strict cultural backgrounds which don’t always allow this kind of public display.”
marie claire Australia Digital Writer Sukriti Wahi adds on Niranga’s perspective.
“When I watch shows like Bachelor In Paradise and the like, I am definitely frustrated by the lack of representation, but it also doesn’t surprise me. As a first-generation Indian-Australian, I’m inclined to agree with Niranga’s perspective – I think it’s highly possible that there are fewer POC applying for these shows than we think, due to stricter cultural backgrounds and family expectations that would keep them from doing so. I, personally, do not think that applying for a show like BiP would be broadly encouraged amongst the Indian community, for example. We have Indian Matchmaking for that [laughs].”
“I’d almost say that more than the disparity in casting – which, don’t get me wrong, is something to be discussed and changed – the thing that irks me is, when POC do get cast, how they are portrayed onscreen,” she adds. “They are often stereotyped or relegated to being ‘side characters’ who offer commentary and wisecracks, and never get ‘leading roles’ or ‘frontrunner’ positions on these shows. Or, on the flipside, they are given barely any screen time at all, much like Niranga on the current season of BiP.”
It’s not all Australian reality that has this issue though, with favourites Masterchef and The Voice regularly casting diverse groups for its seasons. In the past, HuffPost Australia laid it out as “they can cook and sing for us”, but when it comes to personal experience and dating, we’re unwilling to listen.
If the complex issue lies in the casting, perhaps it could be put down to another lack of diversity Australia faces behind the camera – with a disproportionate portrayal of modern Australia also plaguing writers, executive and production rooms.
It begs the question: why in 2020 when reality series are pegged as real representations of Australia, can they not paint an accurate portrayal of what our country looks like?
It’s time that we proudly own and portray the rich multicultural landscape our country has to offer.
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