There are many lenses with which one can view Producer Shonda Rimes’ Netflix drama Bridgerton. But, what could be worrying, or rather discomforting for many women watching the show, is the stereotypical portrayal of all female characters. In a time when viewers are glued to OTT platforms, and as a subculture, they tend to practice what they watch, we try to decode a few stereotypes from the show for our readers.
Women of colour
Bridgerton attempts to blur the divide between the white and the people of colour. However, what cannot go unnoticed, is the character sketches of the women of colour in the show. Marina Thompson is a female character among the dozens of white ladies, who is mysteriously expecting a baby without a wedlock in the show. She’s shown in a pitiful light, mostly locked inside a room, threatened for having consensual sex with a solider and punished by being paraded in a shabby street where the poor make a living by doing substandard jobs. The life or background of Lady Danbury (who takes care of the Duke of Hastings) is never explored in a larger than life period drama.
The fat lady - the gossip monger (Spoiler alert)
Bridgerton doesn’t spare its white women too. If you’ve remotely studied mass communication or journalism, you’d be able to identify Lady Whistledown, town’s scandalous newsletter writer in the first episode. She wears yellow (a colour associated with yellow journalism), she’s pleasantly plum (fat being the stereotype) and has an inquisitive personality, which may or may not be harmful after-all.
The gift of virginity
Bridgerton glorifies the idea of virginity in the 1800s. But we have to remember, the people watching it are in 2021. Daphne, the female lead is caught in the act with the Duke, who obliges to marry her out of sheer societal pressure (even though they mutually love each other). The most unfortunate part is the consummation of their marriage, where an innocent and ill informed Daphne doesn’t know the anatomy of the act. The Duke (quite innocently) informs her in the middle of the act that “this will hurt a bit”, and she obliges. Meanwhile, the men continue to visit brothels, keep multiple relationships in the town. The women live in the bubble of protecting their virginity until marriage.
If you’ve watched the show and have more perspective and opinion on the show, do tweet to us @AsianVoiceNews.
