Interracial romances and colorblindness in Shondaland’s Bridgerton

Bibliographic Data

ID11268852
AuthorsStephanie L Hanu (0000-0003-1363-7732, University of Georgia, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume46
Issue3
Pages447-461
Publication date2024-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/01634437231198440
OpenAlexW4387217713
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited22

Previous literature has considered Shondaland and portrayals of interracial romances for depicting post-racial and post-feminist utopias. Given mass media’s ability to create/reproduce ideologies, Shondaland’s most popular and most recent installment, Bridgerton, offers an opportunity for assessing narratives related to race and gender. The current study considers these narratives in Bridgerton, as well as the role of colorblind casting techniques for constructing those narratives. The current study uses a critical race theory approach, incorporating Black feminist thought and intersectionality. Season one of Bridgerton reveals three themes as they relate to race and gender, (1) romance, love, and who is worthy of love, (2) the body and historical context, and (3) dark corrupting light. Specifically, Black women are depicted in various positions of power that minimize racism and yet are simultaneously depicted in positions of oppression that serve to naturalize oppression of Black women, offering support for Bonilla-Silva’s colorblind racism in media

Art · Black feminism · Black women · Context (archaeology · Ideology · Intersectionality · Literature · Narrative · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Psychoanalysis · Race (biology · Racism · Romance · Sociology · Australian History and Society · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Psychology