#fuffyberry

Thank you so much for your kind message and sorry it took me so long to get back to you - travelling, then back to work and jetlag, not a good combination.

So, Regina being coded as possibly bisexual or pansexual. As with Emma, we can look at the outfits. Regina both challenges gender roles and conforms with  them by dressing and behaving in certain ways. She is rather versatile in her gender expression, but there is always power expressed through her swagger and her outfits. She appears in touch with her masculine side. (Let me stress that I am talking about possible queer coding, which makes use of stereotypes because it can’t use text.)

All of the above in and of itself doesn’t say much, so to me it’s mostly in her interactions with women. As the Evil Queen and as Mayor Regina, she often relies on sexual power play. She seems to have very good gaydar and she senses when she can use it on another woman. So apart from the interactions with Emma, the long stares, the desk sitting, getting in her personal space… To me the scene with the nurse really stands out.

Regina walks down the stairs seductively, she offers the nurse a single red rose. She leans in a little bit and talks to her in a very seductive and challenging way.

The nurse looks stoic, but then there is a little smirk suggesting she gives in and enjoys their little flirtatious encounter. 

As Regina walks away, the nurse checks her out and then smells the rose, which after that entire interaction looks very intimate to me. 

I can’t really think of a reason for this scene other than to establish Regina flirts with women other than Emma. It actually looks like they have a friends with benefits arrangement going to keep the nurse from spilling Regina’s secrets.

Then there is the scene where Emma meets the Evil Queen while she is wearing a glamour spell. So technically it is a scene with Emma, but Regina sees another woman.

She stares appreciatively at Emma’s chest and says “I suspect your night has just begun.”  Emma actually briefly looks her up and down as well.

Again, I thought this scene was very, very forward. It tells us Regina ‘reads’ hidden Emma as queer and that she will respond to sexual intimidation by another woman.

Then, there was the entire backstory with Maleficent and the way they acted in Storybrooke as well. They weren’t even trying to be subtle there. Starting their interaction off with a metaphor of Regina literally lighting Maleficent’s fire. Right.