Straight women are so pissed because of the franchaela lead story in s5 of Bridgerton, the same people who loved the gay boys in heated rivalry. Because of the highly deep internalised homophobia, lesbophobia and misogyny for women even in the queer world and media.
Oh what about the infertility storyline? Francesca is infertile. And lesbian women can be infertile too. But they don't care about that because 'oh but they're not meant to have kids so they don't matter'.
LIKE how can you say that and then also claim you're not homophobic?
Because heated rivalry was a male centric show about two hot men they could fetishesize, which somewhere catered to their needs. But if the same story for wlw couple on a mainstream show? they don't want that because oh, we're not interested because we're not attracted to them.
And because for SO LONG Bridgerton had been a hot historical straight romance show, but the moment they dare to say, queer people are not side mentions or side decorations, they deserve mainstream attention and storyline too —and they got so triggered by that. Because they're comfortable with Bridgerton as long as there's a hot male lead for them to fetishesize about, as long as there's a straight couple they can feel represented by. Using the books as an excuse when Bridgerton has NEVER ever accurately followed the books in the first place yet they only have a problem when two women dare to have the mainstream cameras on them?
Because they never cared about the books. They don't care about the infertility storyline because Francesca IS infertile while also being a lesbian. They just don't like the fact that she's a lesbian. That she isn't attracted to men. That there isn't a male lead for her like they've grown used to and comfortable watching their entire life.
Because women in general have internalised patriarchy in themselves from the society they grew up in, the society that told them that men were desirable objects and to be available for their desires while ALSO teaching that men were dangerous. That's why hot gay men were safe for them to fetishesize because they weren't dangerous while ALSO being men and male centric.
But when two women have a romantic main plot in a huge streamed show? then they get confused by it or resent it. Because they've never been trained to see women as desirable objects. Only as platonic figures or in a love interest for a desirable man.
Because for the first time it's not them or their needs that are being catered to. That it's not about them. And the social media and public response to it was proof of how deep misogyny and internalised hatred against women still run —even by the modern Bridgerton fans. Especially by them.
Yeah, they don't care about the book. They care that they're not being represented for once in their lives like they had been used too, used to seeing sapphic women on the sidelines as decoration and then getting mad that they were in the mainstream media where THEY (the straight women and people!) were supposed to be shown and loved yet again.
Equality starts to feel like oppression when you're so used to privilege.
Same with men in general with feminism and misogyny. That they refuse to believe that a feminine shy or soft aesthetic woman can actually be a lesbian or sapphic.
Getting confused because they thought the outcast, loud women who hate men can be the ONLY ones who are lesbians because otherwise is doesn't make sense to them?? doesn't make sense of how a woman cannot like and be devoted to them as men if she doesn't hate men or isn't an loud opinated woman?? They genuinely don't understand that which is AGAIN SO MUCH normalised homophobia, lesbophobia and misogyny against women in this fucked up world of people who are so "supportive."
