When Jenn Tran, a physician assistant student from Miami, stepped into the spotlight as the lead of ABCs The Bachelorette, she wasnt just making history as an Asian American woman at the forefront of a major franchise she was breaking barriers that have long kept women like her on the sidelines. (Watch the video above.)

Yes, I am Asian American. Im so proud, and I want to embrace that, Tran said, reflecting on her role on the show. But thats not everything that I am. Im also just a girl trying to find love on this show.

Trans journey on The Bachelorette is not just about her own quest for love. Its also about representing Asian American women in a light that is often dismissed in mainstream media. Its nice to be able to finally be this main character and allow people to feel less alone in who they are, she told me.

Throughout the season, weve seen Tran cooking traditional Vietnamese food with her family, speaking Vietnamese on screen, and discussing how she wants to raise her future children with Buddhist values. I want people to see how we really are and what we really do when were at home, because thats the whole point, is to be able to normalize our culture, she said.

However, Tran has also faced challenges that come with being in the public eye, especially as an Asian woman. I definitely still dont really know how to navigate or how to directly address [fetishization], she said. It definitely makes me so uncomfortable when things like that happen.

Asian women have long been objectified and hypersexualized in U.S. pop culture, depicted as crude, reductive stereotypes in ways that overshadow their individuality and humanity. Some of that fetishization comes from, like, Oh, like, this Asian woman is just going to succumb to me and do whatever I want, Tran said.

But shes hopeful that her season will help shift perceptions. Just being in this position where I have the power is going to maybe take away some of that some of those preconceived notions that people have, she said.