Bridgerton Fans Accuse the Show of Misogyny: Does It Make Sense? Yes And No

Bridgerton takes a subgenre called Regency Romance and turns it into a powerful statement. At the same time, it violates all the canons of the genre, and it is the greatest advantage of the modern golden age of serial production: viewers want to see old stories told in new ways, and platforms are willing to pay their best writers any amount of money to realize their wildest ideas.

The showrunner and screenwriter of the series, Chris Van Dusen, made a very important decision: he mixed the two-hundred-year-old costume story with relevant modern issues.

Almost Every Aspect of Bridgerton is Modernized, Except One

The screen world of Bridgerton is not good old England at all, but the modern world, simply transferred to the 19th century. Ladies and gentlemen dance to orchestral versions of Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Maroon 5 songs. The characters communicate with each other in a made-up version of English that seems to imitate a pastiche of the period but actually has almost nothing to do with it.

It would seem that in a show where everything has been modernized, the same approach should be applied to the aspect of attitude towards women. But that doesn't happen. Some fans see the position of women in Bridgerton as misogyny, which in fact was in full swing during this period.

“I expected the gender roles and rampant misogyny to be toned down a little or at least glossed over like how it is in other period dramas, but no, it’s there glaring in your face.” Reddit user pocketwatch145 wrote.

Misogyny in Bridgerton Is Obvious…

In Bridgerton, viewers see men exploring their sexuality and even going to prostitutes, while the young women are getting married not even knowing the basics of sex education and how a man and a woman have children.

At the same time, even the show's creators seem undecided about the social norms and behavior of women: in the second season, the Viscount flirts with Edwina, but does not dare to propose to her, after which she declares that no one will pay attention to her anymore. But in the first season, Daphne used an affair with a high-born gentleman only to attract other suitors.

In one scene, a girl who simply walks out into the garden with a man unaccompanied finds herself compromised, but in another scene, the unmarried woman in a nightgown communicates with a man alone at night.

…But It is Used to Reflect on Past And Present Problems

These remarks seem logical and justified, except for the fact that Bridgerton uses misogyny not only as a background and convention of the time in which the series is set, but as a tool to reflect not only on the poor position of women in the past, but also on modern problems.

The bride market, as we quickly learn, is literally a market without any romanticization, and the series hits all the major issues related to gender. There is also reproductive terrorism and domestic violence – all important and significant problems of our time.

Perhaps the most unexpected issue that Bridgerton proposes to discuss is the issue of sex education. Two major storylines of the first season are directly related to the fact that a 21-year-old young woman does not know how, why and where children come from. And these stories are invented in a very witty way, which only emphasizes the seriousness of the problem.