“Bridgerton,” a series about the titular family where each season focuses on one of the eight siblings’ journey to find love, took the world by storm in 2020 with its bright and idealistic world of racial diversity, a rarity in period romances set in the Regency period. Adapted from a book series of the same name, many principal leads that were white in the book are portrayed as people of color in the show. Simon Basset and John Stirling are portrayed as Black men. The white Kate Sheffield became the Indian Kate Sharma.Â
Two years ago, in the finale of season 3, it was revealed that a future main love interest for one of the Bridgerton siblings was gender-swapped. Michael Stirling from the sixth book, “When He Was Wicked,” became Michaela Stirling, turning her intended match Francesca from a straight character to a queer character.
At the moment, it is not confirmed if Francesca is bisexual or a lesbian. In the show (as in the books), Francesca first gets married to John Stirling, and it is clear she has love for him. However, many lesbians identify Francesca as one of their own, because the way her love and connection with John and her potential attraction to men are written resemble compulsory heterosexuality. Francesca struggles to describe what kind of man she is attracted to when asked, and gets married to the first kind suitor who shares similar interests. Despite scenes demonstrating her care for John, Francesca is never sexually fulfilled by him. It is for these reasons that I also believe Francesca is meant to be a lesbian, but since her exact identity is not confirmed, I will refer to her as queer in this article.
This change in Francesca’s sexuality has created a split among the fanbase of the show and the books. While many viewers are excited to see a sapphic romance on screen in the future, others are upset at such a drastic change from the book, even though Bridgerton has taken many liberties from the books already.Â
There are also many who argue that the character Eloise Bridgerton should have been made queer instead of Francesca. This is because the show portrays Eloise as a feminist, who questions the restrictions of women in her society. She avoids the marriage mart, reads feminist literature, and laments how she cannot get the same education her brothers can.
It’s telling why certain viewers claim it is easier for them to see Eloise as a lesbian. She is uncomfortable with her position as a woman within the era. She dislikes the feminine gender roles frequently assigned to her. She has a deeper voice than other female characters in the show. She is gender non-conforming, or as gender non-conforming as a woman in a Regency-era romance can be, she dislikes children, and she holds contempt for other men (or at least, being forced to spend time with them). All of these traits, considered inherently unwomanly, are strongly associated with lesbians. These viewers cannot seem to accept that Francesca, a soft-spoken, sweet, and traditionally feminine character, could be queer.
This speaks to a broader issue in how people see lesbians. Even though lesbian representation has gone a long way in mainstream media, it is clear that many still mentally separate straight women from lesbians and put them into two separate categories. As proof, one need not look further than the reactions to Francesca being queer, particularly people who claim that her struggles with infertility are too important to be given to a lesbian character, as if lesbians cannot also struggle with a want to have children versus the inability to have them. It is clear that some women cannot seem to fathom the fact that lesbians are women too, and can experience womanhood just like them. The most disappointing part is that some of the detractors claim they still love diversity and queerness, while only accepting it as a possibility for the man-hating feminist they do not relate to and fits the stereotype of what they think a lesbian should be.
It’s also telling that, to my knowledge, when the male character Benedict Bridgerton was depicted as bisexual in the show, there was not as big of an uproar about changing his sexuality. The vitriol and disdain seems to be squarely focused on Francesca and Michaela. Male fancasts are frequently posted for “Michael Stirling,” particularly with white actors or light-skinned actors of color, even though John and Michaela are both dark-skinned Black characters.
“Bridgerton” is far from a perfect show, and even though I would prefer to see a queer subplot for Eloise alongside Francesca’s, ultimately I believe that the choice to make Francesca the queer sister was an interesting writing decision that did not fall back on cheap stereotypes about lesbians. Some viewers may try to boycott Francesca’s season because they got Michaela instead of Michael, but the many lesbians, including myself, who plan to tune in for the season will more than make up for it.