And God Said, Let There Be Lesbians!
Written by Daphne Bryant
Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton is a sneaky little show that grew on me when I least expected it. While I typically shy away from period pieces and extremely steamy plots, Season 2 starring Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley stole my heart. There is just something undeniably charming about watching real-life chemistry on-screen—platonic, romantic or otherwise. In my opinion, the color-blind and color-conscious casting, though controversial, is another perk. Most film and TV that is set in the Regency-era and centers aristocracy have majority white ensembles, but Bridgerton exists in a sort of“ racial utopia” where anyone from any background can be anything: a Duke, a Duchess, a Queen, etc., Plus, the set design and costumes are truly immersive and beyond beautiful!
All this being said, I would be doing my queer readers a disservice if I didn’t at least mention that Bridgerton is one of the straighter shows on Netflix right now. Up until recently, the only queer representation we had came from Benedict (Luke Thompson), one of the iconic Bridgerton siblings and the current lead for Season 4. After a couple very gay sex scenes in earlier seasons, Bridgerton confirmed that Benedict is indeed bisexual, and I am hopeful that, even though he will likely end up with his new, gorgeous love interest Sophie (Yerin Ha), that the writers will have the courage to explore his sexuality even more in Part 2. And while we’re at it, give the burgeoning lesbian storyline its due diligence too!
That’s right, I said lesbians! As it turns out, there’s another fruity Bridgerton sibling, and it’s not who Reddit users predicted it might be. Eloise (Claudia Jessie), the eldest sister is a devoted feminist who cannot stand most men (or women for that matter), wants out of high-society, and prefers to consume her thoughts with expansive literature; she’s been largely interpreted by viewers as sapphic. I’ll admit that there’s something a bit futch-y about her, sure, and her entire Season 3 enemies to friends arc with Cressida (Jessica Madsen) definitely reeked of homoerotic, but just because Eloise doesn’t want to play into the huss and fuss of traditional matchmatching doesn’t mean she’s queer. In fact, the idea is overdone. It’s tired. Instead of going down such a stereotypical route, Bridgerton has made one of the younger siblings, the hyperfeminine and gentle Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) a scissor sister.
Even before it was officially announced, some viewers, after watching early episodes of Season 3, did suspect that Francesca might be asexual or gay. Francesca’s entire subplot that season essentially revolves around her struggle to find an intense spark/a passionate and all-consuming love (and if you couldn’t tell, this is sort of a Bridgerton thing: all relationships have to be fervid). She’s a natural introvert and does not want to be dramatically courted, and for this reason, when she finally does meet someone she likes, John (Victor Alli), the ton and her family are thrown off by their quiet and unassuming relationship. Nevertheless, the two get married, and I remember watching the finale thinking that’s it, another season with no girl-kissing: then Michaela (Masali Baduza) showed up.
As soon as Michaela introduced herself to Francesca, saying her name, fans lost their minds. It is important to understand the context, to understand that the showrunners have done a massive gender swap here: in the original epilogue, John unfortunately dies and Francesca goes on to find love with John’s cousin, Michael Stirling, now introduced in the live-action as Michaela. There’s a whole scene in the Season 3 finale devoted to Francesca’s immediate and shocking attraction to her, and I knew right then and there that they were going for it: we were getting lesbian Bridgerton.
Unlike race, queer sexuality in the Bridgerton world seems to be more taboo. For example, Benedict has all of his MLM encounters in the privacy of homes or brothels, and doesn’t talk all that openly about his attraction to men. There are many aristocratic couples of color, but no public gay or lesbian couples. For some reason, the world of Bridgerton seems just as homophobic as the horde of viewers watching at home.
The moment it was announced that Francesca and Michaela would eventually fall in love, lesbians and lesbophobes took to social media to express either their excitement or their disappointment, respectively. From the jump, people opposed to the change from Michael to Michaela have made up every excuse in the book as to why this storyline makes no sense and/or will suck. Naysayers claim it’ll be impossible for the show to carry out an infertility narrative with two women (how ignorant), or that it’s disrespectful to John and Francesca’s deep and profound love for Francesca to be attracted to Michaela so early on (mind you, in the books John is only mentioned in one chapter, so how deep and profound can their love really be). Meanwhile, the same people condemning lesbianism in Bridgerton are the same women thirsting over the men of Heated Rivalry and talking about how hot it is to see two men doing it. The hypocrisy always amazes me!
Hate is also directed specifically at Michaela as a character, who will be a Bridgerton sibling’s first female Black love interest, and I don’t think I need to explain how much the Internet hates female, Black love interests. Every time a Black girl gets casted alongside a white lead, I literally brace myself for cyber warfare. No matter how qualified they are for the role (Halle Bailey), or how much the OG creators love them for the role (Leah Sava Jeffries), there’s always going to be some insecure prick online preaching about how wrong for the role they are. Hell, even fellow Black women are taking to TikTok to complain about Michaela being too masculine, asserting that her dominance fulfills harmful tropes about Black women in relationships. I mean, at this point all of you are just delusional!
Michaela is every bit as feminine as Francesca, donning fanciful dresses, gorgeous updos and stunning makeup; just because she is more bold and forthcoming than the literal most introverted person on the show doesn’t mean she’s masc. If and when they get together, it will be a relationship between two femmes.
Personally, I’ll be sat when their season rolls around and we finally get to hyper focus on what it means to be lesbian lovers at this time in history. I’m ready for a change and more than enthusiastic about Franchaela; bring on the romance!
