#sb asks

The reality is that Bridgerton has tried to be more diverse than most shows, but they do not have to check every single box or else the show is not “progressive” enough. That’s not how it works.

It’s not “unprogressive” to keep the most oppressed woman due to her gender and class in the eight book series a woman. Again taking rep away from women(and marginalized women at that) to give to a (white) man that way you can see two (white) dudes fucking on screen does not make you “progressive.” Trying most surely does not make you a good ally(seriously where are you people when we are actually getting bad rep?).

Just because you see Black people in a period piece that’s highly popular, in a place where you feel we don’t “belong,” that doesn’t mean that we have to give up our space to fit you inside it.

(Mind you this is a place that we created because if Shonda hadn’t adapted these books added the diversity this series would’ve never done the numbers it has. Bridgerton is a sensation because of racial diversity that isn’t steeped in racism and race. It’s neither here nor there, but we constantly create our own, everyone wants to eat off our plates, and then leave us with scraps after they’ve had their fill).

This whole discourse is just incredibly bizarre, but the thing I find the most disturbing about it is the fact that even if you want to say Sophie should be a man, Benedict doesn’t like men.

I mean this literally should be a non-issue since he has shown 0 interest in men for two seasons and he’s had plenty of opportunities to fuck them if he wanted too.

Now if the show turns around and makes him bi this season(doubtful, but I’ll humor the weirdos) he still clearly likes women too so why Sophie should get the boot is beyond me, but not surprising considering the state of fandoms.

Silently off topic, but kinda related since it comes from the same place of using the lack of prominent LGBT+ rep to justify keeping a Black woman from being Sophie.

Which brings me people who think that Masali Baduza(suspected Sophie) can’t possibly be Sophie and instead insist that she’s either related to the Stirlings(the family Francesca marrys into) or that shes a gender bent Michael.

For issue #1 people claim that Masali and Victor Ali(the man who they suspect is John Stirling) “look alike” therefore she must be playing his sister. Victor Ali and Masali don’t look alike outside of both being dark skinned Black people(the people saying they do look hella suspect🙃).

And while Masali isn’t a household name she did have her own show(Noughts + Crosses) so she’s too big to just be playing someone’s sisters on Bridgerton. Not to mention the secrecy for a side character seems extremely unwarranted.

Now for issue #2, people are using a casting call(cause at least they know that it makes no sense for Masali to be a side character) that allegedly went out two years back to say she’s gender-bent Michael.

If you believe in the casting call(a similar one went out for Kate calling for a Indian actress when she was being cast so it is on brand) it says that the actress cast will be the lead for season four. Francesca’s story most surely isn’t going to be next up(skipping over both Eloise and Benedict? Be real) and it’s also another gendered issue to where if you make Michael into a woman you are changing up the story so much you might as well created an OC.

There is plenty of evidence that suggest Benedict’s season is next, Sophie has been cast, she’ll be in s3, and even if you don’t want to believe the casting call right now, that Masali is playing her, but instead of seeing what’s right in front of them people want to say that it just can’t be.

Overall I feel like people are doing a whole lot of talking and “advocating” for nothing cause they are butthurt that Sophie doesn’t look how they want her to look.

It’s still hurtful though to see that people would rather want Sophie to be a man and take away everything she stands for than see her being played by a Black woman, but again fandoms are unfortunately weird like that.

Let me end this by saying that while my rants my sound like I have gone crazy or am trying to start some bs, I have been suffering in silence since Bridgerton came out nearly three and a half years ago so this is me breaking my silence.

Again this isn’t really about erasing Sophie. It’s about keeping Sophie from being played by a Black woman which is fucking nuts considering that a Black woman is producing this crap.

First it was how Sophie couldn’t be non-white because it would be problematic. Then after Simone was cast as Kate it was how the show had no East Asian representation or Latina rep and had “too many Black people”(where are the Black people besides Lady Danbury and Will 🙃)so Sophie could be non-white, but she should not be Black.

Now that it truly seems like a Black girl it’s how Sophie should be a man cause the show has no LGBT+ rep.

And yeah everyone deserves rep, but the fact that people have continually said that their has been enough rep for Black people as a way to silence us and push their own representation at the expense of Black people is disgusting.

I can not reiterate this enough, the one thing this shitty ass fandom has been consistent in is saying that a Black woman shouldn’t play Sophie Beckett.