(OPINION) Former Bachelorette star Josh Seiter has called for the franchise to cast a transgender lead on its next season.
Seiter, 37, who came out as a transgender woman in May, told DailyMail.com that it was important for the dating franchise to reflect the diversity of modern America.
‘America is changing. It’s not just a bunch of middle-aged cis white people anymore, and the LGBTQIA community makes up a large portion of our country now. Yet we’ve seen zero representation for trans women and men on the franchise,’ Seiter explained.
The Chicago native, who uses she/her pronouns, said she was pleased to see the franchise become more inclusive with the casting of Jenn Tran as the first Asian Bachelorette, and Grant Ellis as the second Black Bachelor, but feels the network still hasn’t gone far enough.
‘How is the show a staple of Americana and our broader culture if they are leaving out the same individuals that make this country so unique and vibrant? I mean, it’s good they’ve decided to finally cast an Asian woman and Black man as leads recently, but where are the trans women and trans men on the show?’ Seiter asked.
‘There’s so many young trans individuals who don’t see any representation when they turn on the television and I think that’s a shame,’ she continued.
‘Shows with cultural influence like The Bachelor can do so much to make young trans people feel seen and heard, but they have yet to do it.’
Seiter, who currently works as an OnlyFans creator, also stressed the high suicide rates among transgender people as a reason that more representation was so desperately needed.
‘It’s no wonder suicide rates are so high among trans individuals when all we ever see are heteronormative cis narratives in entertainment,’ Josh said.
‘We need to start normalizing being transgender and one way we can do that is by portraying our stories on television.’
Seiter also said that she would be interested in stepping into the role as the franchise’s first ever transgender Bachelorette.
‘I’m not saying I need to be the first female trans lead, although, given the fact my Instagram is one of the most popular pages online and has millions of hits per week, we know the ratings would go up if I was cast in that role,’ she boasted.
‘[The franchise] has so much power, and with that power should come a certain responsibility to represent ALL people in their storylines; not just average-looking white people with questionable plastic surgery. We can see that on Botched.’
Seiter then stressed that she wanted the transgender community to be an inspiration for the young children across the country.
‘At the end of the day, I want to live in an America where an eight-year-old child assigned male at birth who is struggling feels safe enough to tell his parents that he wants to change his gender.
But that won’t happen until we stop hiding our trans population on television and start sharing the spotlight with them,’ she said.
Seiter announced her plans to transition to a woman back in May.
While fans were initially supportive of the 38-year-old’s decision, some have since questioned her intentions and accused the reality star of ‘trolling’ for attention.
Seiter, who was caught up in a death hoax last year, raised eyebrows in her gender journey by refusing to shave her body hair and claiming that she felt ‘more feminine’ when she wasn’t wearing a wig.
