“Michael not Michaela!”

 

With the new season of Bridgerton airing during the later days of March, with the second half releasing later in February, fans have already been speculating where the story’s narrative will focus on. Some people have speculated the next season will focus on Eloise Bridgerton; one of the younger daughters, and also referred to as the rake of her family due to her dreams of not wanting to settle down. Her narrative focuses on a feminist approach during the time even though I’d argue some of her feminist methods can come off as performative. Others have speculated the other youngest daughter, Francesca will be focused on within the next couple seasons as well. In the books as well as the tv show, Francesca marries John Stirling who ends up sadly passing away, and she ends up marrying his cousin she was introduced to, Michael Stirling. Francesca’s storyline focuses on her wishes to become a mother, but she struggles with infertility. The show has a different approach to the book in which John’s cousin isn’t Michael, but instead a Michaela. Therefore, a future Bridgerton season will focus not only on its first sapphic relationship, but first sapphic relationship placed front and center.

Michaela Stirling was introduced at the end of season three back in 2023 and has even had more screen time in the recent season, preluding her importance for future season. The gender bending of John’s cousin faced a multitude of backlash from fans as they claimed the show was being to “woke” — which is ironic within itself as the show has colorblind casting and prides itself on the spotlight its POC characters getting to have nuanced stories, given first priority and not relying on negative stereotypes (their Queen, Queen Charlotte is even portrayed by a black woman and her right hand woman is even black as well, so racial diversity isn’t new to the show, however queer diversity is still finding its footing as Benedict is canonically bisexual, and the show Queen Charlotte explored a narrative between two men). The outrage of fans became centered around how the fertility issues featured in Francesca’s story then wouldn’t make sense because the relationship wasn’t centered around a man or a woman anymore. 

I don’t understand the backlash mainly because the tv show of Bridgerton hasn’t stayed 100% canon to the book series, and there’s still a way to discuss the issues of fertility with the added layer of both Francesca and Michaela not being able to conceive children biologically. The center of the heated arguments could also be because Michaela is a black woman as I feel like the concept of these two wouldn’t be so heated had John and Michaela been white like they potentially are in the books. By treating an issue like fertility so one sided, only between a man and a woman and not considering the infertility that present itself in fem presenting people or sapphic relationships ignores the needs for people of the whole who struggle with infertility. You can’t cut off the needs or validity of queer couples to favor and upright heterosexual relationships. 

Some fans even expressed that Francesca shouldn’t have been the sibling to be in a sapphic relationship, and claimed that Eloise would’ve fit the mold better because of how she perceives marriage and being in a relationship. It speaks to societies of expectations of who fits the mold for being gay and not; the bias of not being able to see past stereotypes of lesbians/sapphic individuals clouds their perceptions of what it means to actually represent an identity of queerness or being in a homosexual relationship. Francesca is more on the quiet side and both her and John have been described slightly as neurodivergent — they both connect and are able to express themselves through the music they hear around them.

From a representational standpoint, it’s rare in the media that interracial sapphic couples are rare. To see a life celebrated in a show as popular as Bridgerton is important for the future of media representation and what intersectional lens and lives are celebrated and given the space to be complex and diverse. With creator and writer, Shonda Rhimes returning back to the chair for season four, I believe she’ll treat this sensitive topic with respect both in terms of Michaela and Francesca, but also topics around infertility.