The Bachelor contestant Rachael Kirkconnell and the hypocrisy of girls will be girls
A white woman s racism? The forgivable acts of a girl. Black girls don t get that leeway.
Rachael Kirkconnell has become one of the early lead contenders to win this season of The Bachelor. Craig Sjodin / ABC; MSNBC
Feb. 16, 2021, 6:45 PM UTC
Earlier this summer amid the global re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement and a nationwide reckoning of anti-Black systemic racism, ABC named Matt James the first Black male lead of the network’s hit dating franchise “The Bachelor.”
Only a few days into the new season, a slew of allegations of racism against contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, a graphic designer from Cumming, Georgia, began snowballing on social media. The resulting mess that’s distracted from James’ historic season has sparked an overdue reckoning within the 19-year-old franchise itself. At the same time, it’s reinforced a “girls will be girls” mentality that e