Before I begin, I want to say that I have not watched season 2 of Bridgerton – but through social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Twitter, I have seen the conversations surrounding the new season.
South Asian representation, when available in mainstream culture, always presents as a person who is nerdy or whose entire personality revolves around being smart and awkward. We rarely see south Asian characters who are popular or even considered attractive. Stereotypical characters like Ravi from “Jessie” and even Devi Vishwakumar from Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” present characters that uphold this narrative that south Asian characters are undesirable and awkward. In the case of Devi, we are given a more multidimensional character in the show, yet she has still presented awkwardly.
From what I have seen in the show, Anthony’s attraction to Kate was not met with skepticism regarding her race and skin tone. In movies and tv shows, especially in the west, when the main character starts to have feelings for a south Indian person, particularly a darker-skinned south Indian, this is met with surprise. Their beauty and feminity are put into question through the eyes of western standards.
https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdukGnCH/
In addition to this, many scenes in the show portrayed the culture as beautiful without taking away from their cultural accuracy for aesthetics. The part where Kate is applying oil to Edwina’s hair and where her mom and sister are helping Edwina prep for her wedding the night before are all parts of South Asian culture that have never been shown before.
I hope there are more examples of South Asian representation in the future, especially those who portray south Asian charters as multidimensional.