“Bridgerton” is a 2020 Netflix show that follows the fictional Bridgerton siblings as they seek love in Regency-era London. The first season features plots relating to maternal mortality, consent, sex education, and much, much more. Laura D. Lindberg, Principal Research Scientist for the Guttmacher Institute, talks to us about the sexual and reproductive health issues that Bridgerton explores, and the ways in which sex education today may be just as hard to access as it was in 1813 London. 

Issues of maternal mortality arise a few times in Bridgerton; The Duke’s mother dies after giving birth to him, while Eloise expresses anxiety to Daphne when remembering their mother’s close brush with death after giving birth to their youngest sibling. Girls and women are seen carrying the emotional weight of pregnancy and childbirth, as both were a necessary social role at the time and yet carried a very large health risk. 

Gender roles are also starkly explored, as gender constrained and shaped the paths that both men and women took in the show. Throughout the season, Eloise rejects her “coming out” as a debutante while proclaiming value in education and writing. Early marriage in Bridgerton underscores the ways in which women and girls could protect their virginity, while men and boys were encouraged to engage in sexual promiscuity. And, after the death of the family’s father, Anthony, the eldest son, takes over as head of the household and must make increasingly intense decisions for the Bridgerton family’s future-- which often puts him in conflict with his mother. 

Daphne has grown up protected in her class-defined bubble and it has kept her far from any kind of comprehensive sex education. When it becomes clear she is uninformed, she seeks knowledge about sex and marriage from her lady’s maid. Daphne becomes increasingly angry with her mother as she realizes her mother sent her out into the world without important information about sex and marriage. The Duke takes advantage of the fact that Daphne does not understand the way sex works, depending on the withdrawal method to not get her pregnant. Ultimately, Daphne discovers the Duke’s insistence that he cannot have children is a philosophical one instead of a physiological one, leading Daphne to sexually assault the Duke and engage in reproductive coercion. 

Bridgerton reminds us that self-managed abortion has been around for a very long time. Out of desperation, Marina unsuccessfully attempts to induce a self-managed abortion by mixing herbs into a tea. Thankfully, in the U.S. and around the world today, self-managed medication abortion is much safer and more effective. Still, it is a reminder that pregnant people want and deserve to have complete autonomy over decision-making about their bodies. 

Today, while some things differ from Regency-era London, access to sex education is still shockingly lacking for young people around the U.S. There has been no expansion in how many teens receive formal sex education in 25 years. When teens do get sex ed, it’s often abstinence-only, without any information

For more information check outThe Nocturnists: https://thenocturnists.org/

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