“Bridgerton” Does Sex Scenes Right

Finally a show with sex scenes catered to women and focused on women’s pleasure.

*Spoilers ahead!*

If you watch TV on any network or platform other than ABC, Fox, or NBC, you are well acquainted with sex scenes. It’s nearly impossible to watch any episode from the first season of Game of Thrones without a brazen brothel scene.

It isn’t just HBO either, tons of shows include very explicit sexual material. It is the meta now. Even when I was watching The Queen’s Gambit, I was surprised at the lack of sex scenes. Not that the show needed sex scenes, far from it. But we’ve become so used to it as viewers that a show with adult themes must also include sex.

The goal of sex scenes should either be to move the plot forward or to be arousing (sometimes both). However, few shows do this well. Most scenes are unnecessary, rarely moving the plot forward while only appealing to the male gaze. I can probably count on two hands how many sex scenes have actually made me blush and eye my nightstand. Simply put, having sex scenes does not equate to having good sex scenes.

But Bridgerton, oh my. That miniseries was designed for me to eat my words because the sex was so spicy and so spot-on (of course not including the non-consensual sex scene). Sure some of it was unnecessary, but I’m fairly certain the show writer's goal was simply to provide socially-distanced homebodies some softcore porn with fancy dresses and palaces.

Well, they certainly managed.

Sex scenes are rarely designed for women to enjoy

Although there are a plethora of sex scenes to choose from, most sex scenes are ultimately designed for the male gaze. This isn’t unusual when it comes to the sex industry, women have been long been complaining that “mainstream pornography is directed towards the consumption of the heterosexual, cisgender male viewer.” Ultimately sex in movies is an extension of the broader sex industry.

The message: women’s sexual gratification isn’t worth it.

But if shows like Bridgerton or movies like Ammonite tell us anything it’s women want sex scenes, they just want them done right. A lot of existing sex scenes focus only on the exploitation of the female body and the sexual acts are aggressive, fast, and rarely focusing on a women’s pleasure.

But recently, there has been a subtle shift in sex scenes.

Ammonite created their realistic sex scene by allowing Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan to choreograph it themselves. Unsurprisingly, women creating a sex scene about women yielded a successful sapphic scene where women’s pleasure was centered and authentic. Bridgerton hired two “intimacy coordinators”, Elizabeth Talbot and Enric Ortuno, to help create the beautiful scenes on film.

Elizabeth Talbot’s personal page states “Lizzy has been researching and advocating for safer intimacy on stage with regards to nudity, simulated sex and sexual violence.” Whereas, Enric Ortuno “is the founder and co-director of Moving Body Arts Ltd and holds an MA in Movement Studies by the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.” Bridgerton’s use of professionals to create steamy sex scenes shines through and easily stands above the genre of sex scenes.

Bridgerton focuses on women’s pleasure in the bedroom and out of it

Bridgerton flips the typical sex scene on its head. Almost all of the sex scenes are focused on female pleasure. The camera focuses on Daphne’s face, Daphne’s point of view, and her pleasure. Even the verbal foreplay is centered around Daphne’s enjoyment, specifically when Simon seductively explains to Daphne how to pleasure herself in private.

The sexual acts Daphne and Simon engage in aren’t designed to show the most flesh possible, they are designed to showcase acts that would provide both participants with pleasure. Even Simon’s polite request for Daphne to touch herself before and during sex increases the realism of these scenes. A major sex study in 2017 stated that only 18% of women said vaginal penetration was enough to orgasm. A lot of women also need clitoral stimulation to climax, which Simon clearly understands and encourages.

Even the sex scenes between Sienna and Anthony (the Viscount) were arousing. From the sexual positions to the naked afterplay to the quick roughness, the scenes were successful. Again, showing that you don’t need to have long drawn-out sex scenes to create arousing sex scenes. Although short (and not necessary), they still focused on mutual pleasure, not just the male gaze.

It was unbelievably refreshing to watch a show with sex scenes I could relate to. Arousing sex scenes depicting situations where more than the male participant could get off. Now I’m not saying every show should have as much sex as Bridgerton, far from it. But I do think if a show is going to include sex, the industry needs to depart from sex scenes designed solely for the male gaze.

As Bridgerton shows, sex scenes designed to cater to women (as well as men) are successful. The internet has been buzzing over the blush-worthy scenes for days. My friend Sky texted me about how Bridgerton occupied conversation between her, her mother, and grandmother.

For far too long, women’s sexuality has been under lock and key. Sex and sexual desire has been viewed as natural for men but shameful for women. If the craze around Bridgerton tells us anything, it's that women too have fantasies, desire lust, and want to be visually engaged in sex scenes.

If this topic interests you, check out my interview with Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator behind Bridgerton’s sex scenes.

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