"We shall do what women do: we shall talk!": The Gendered Role of Gossip as Power in Bridgerton
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2024-06-15
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en
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The Netflix-series Bridgerton (season one (2020) and two (2022)) portrays a world in which London’s high society in the Regency period is under the spell of a gossip sheet written by the anonymous Lady Whistledown. The spread of gossip by a female writer as well as the general usage by women and the effect it can have on their reputation gives gossip a gendered dimension. Power plays a role in this dynamic and is analysed through the works of Michel Foucault and his conceptualisation of discourse. The feminist dimension to this debate is addressed through Denise Thompson’s approach as well as Judith Butler’s work on gender. Gossip is furthermore understood according to various sociological studies, like those of Janet K. L. McKeown and Alexander Rysman. This thesis demonstrates that gossip is used to exercise power through the perpetuation of the dominant patriarchal discourse through the policing of women with the threat of gossip on the one hand, and the creation of opposing counterdiscourses by women on the other.
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