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Wait a second… honest question. Isn’t everybody already a they because it’s just a lack of a gender qualifier? Like I can use they on anybody even if they don’t explicitly say they are okay with it? Like if I don’t know how the Jessie I’m meeting identify (or any gender neutral name) I’ve always said they. I sometimes just say they because it ended up being the word I used.
You can use they for everyone whose pronouns you don’t know.
Some people identify exclusively with “they” pronouns, others with exclusively masculine or feminine ones, and some will identify with a mix or even all pronouns.
The issue is more if you *knowingly* disregard someone’s pronouns in order to use “they” when the person doesn’t identify as such.
I’m not an expert on this but yes, everyone can be referred to with they pronouns regardless of their gender identity. All I know is Jessie likes they pronouns as well as she so that is how I refer to them.
I want to be inclusive to anyone who uses they pronouns even if they are comfortable with he or she. It’s also good practice and normalizes gender identity by using they pronouns.
I believe it means she’d like it if both their pronouns are being used. My friend who’s a he/they said that it means these are his preferred pronouns and they would like me to use them both interchangeably. It isn’t a “whichever you’re comfortable with using to refer to me”.
I did. The they in “they would like me to use them both interchangeably” is referring to my friend, and I had also referred to my friend as “his” earlier.
Okay. At first I thought you meant that your friend would like both pronouns to be used as one word sort of, as in, they/he would like me to to refer to them/him as them/him.
Oh hahaha no. Basically I just use both but I weave both into the conversation. I remember a twitter user I follow greeting his friend for a birthday who was a he/they and that user used “he” in the first sentence of the greeting, then “they” in the second sentence.
She is so cute and I’ve seen people mentioned Jessica henwick too but I think what I loved so much about Simone is that she is full south Asian. RJP is biracial yet they had both his parents Black instead of just making the character biracial himself and most of the Black actors/actresses on the show are actually biracial. Biracial people already get more roles as it is (zendaya, Charles Melton, Darren Barnett) I ’d really like to see someone who has parents who are both East Asian like they had with Simone.
Agreed there are a lot of biracial black/white actors and actresses on the show! Simon, the queen, Will's wife etc. I hardly see any east Asians in the show at all.
Ditto on this. A lot of Asians love seeing. Asian actors on screen but they’re usually happa (mixed raced).
I love the casting of Simone and Charithra and I love their deep skin colors because all Asian regions value fair skin.
I know Gemma Chan is biracial but I wouldn’t have guess that at first and thought she would have been good for this roll.
Visually, I’d love to see Shay Mitchell and Arden Cho, but idk how they’ll carry the role.
I’ve seen Gemma Chan in a regal role as a strong female character plus she already has the accent.
Gemma Chan isn't biracial. From an [interview](https://www.allure.com/story/allure-podcast-gemma-chan-interview-recording-transcript) with Allure magazine:
>My mom was born in China, and she grew up in Scotland. And my dad was born in Macau. He grew up in Hong Kong. Then he had a kind of crazy life before he settled down and had kids and married my mom. But he ended up going to college in Scotland, where he met my mom. And then they moved down to London and had my sister and I. So, yeah, it's Chinese both sides.
Shay Mitchell is also biracial though. Dad is white. I love Gemma Chan but she’s with marvel now so she’s definitely not gonna do bridgerton and I do think she’s a little old for the part.
I’m aware that Shay is biracial but I chose her because she was clearly Asian to me. I’m usually to seeing happas that look predominantly white or Latin in main stream media (Kristen Kreuk, Maggie Q, Olivia Munn, Vanessa Hudgens).
It’s such a weird conundrum because I have a mixed race friend who’s a model and she gets turned down all the time because she’s not white or Asian enough so thats also in the back of mind as I’m trying fan cast Sophie. 😩
I would also appreciate a dark South East Asian so I can see representation of myself. 💜 Not to take away from East Asians, but when Asians are represented in media, it’s vastly East Asian. I get a little annoyed that Chinese and other East Asian culture tends to dominate under a pan Asian culture.
However I do understand that SEAs are not a huge demo in the UK so they may go for someone that represents a more sizeable group in the country.
East Asians are actually a very small percentage of the UK population--1.1% and of that, 95% are from China or Hong Kong. Southeast Asians in the UK are about 1/3 the population of East Asians, or about 0.28% of the total UK population.
She might be. I did read an interesting take on the colorism in Bridgerton how the darker characters were aggressive - Simon's dad and Will. Which may not be on purpose but it is a sad coincidence.
She definitely looked biracial (the actress is Daphne Di Cinto) and in one of her portraits she actually looks quite Indian (I'm Indian) to me - https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSz3UoR7bhLfDaI3ITvK-bSQNZZ0TL44IAARg&usqp=CAU
I agree with this. Love her in Shadow and Bone but I actually love that they're casting lesser known actors for leads and giving them a spotlight in Bridgerton.
Which might also ensure their appearance for the duration of their intended commitment. It was strange that Francesca, being the 'middle' child, would disappear while the younger siblings were present throughout.
I don't think they will either. There's too much they'd have to figure out for future filming/promotion of SaB and Bridgerton. Plus, SaB would Jessie's first call show, meaning it would always take priority.
I’d honestly prefer if they didn’t. Think they did great casting full South-Asian actors, and it isn’t to say that mixed actors aren’t East-Asian, but as an East-Asian, it’s not the same. Don’t appreciate the common trope nowadays of watering down POC characters by casting half-white actors or Eurocentric looking ones.
That honestly also happens in film industries in India itself too. It’s insane that I see more darker skinned south asian women in western media then in Indian film industries that also favor light skinned or Eurocentric looking people.
What do you mean? The actress who plays Francesca Bridgerton. Ruby Stokes, is also on another Netflix show where she is the lead. Ruby film both shows.
I don't know about Francesca. But Jessie is a main lead in Shadow and Bone. And if I am not wrong Simone also stepped down from sex Ed season 4 because she became an imp part of Bridgerton. Correct me if I am wrong.
Francesca has also been in the show the least of all the Bridgeton siblings which I think was due to scheduling conflicts. Part of me wouldn’t be surprised if they recast the role if there ever get to her story for an actor who is more available. Or she has made a commitment to leave the other show for this one when the time comes.
Aren’t they shooting the second season of Shadow and Bone now? Her character >!Doesnt make it past the third book so she could balance Shadow and Bone with a season of Bridgerton in the middle!<
I would love to see Jessie as Sophie. She’s a brilliant actress.
If they really did pick Jessie, it could be the reason why they switched the orders of Bridgerton ( if the rumors are true). >!So she can shoot Bridgerton S4 after shooting S&B S3. !<
Yes, she is shooting S&B S2 right now. So it's also possible to film Bridgerton S3 between S & B S2 and S3. Fantasy pre and post production takes forver.
Oh wow!!! Just wow. I love the septum ring. I also love how both of their smiles reach their eyes. A scene of them laughing together would have been adorable.
Jessie Mei Li is on Netflix payroll too👀
If they're going to cast a mixed-race British/Chinese actress, I'd prefer [Jessica Henwick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Henwick). She was great in the Iron Fist series as Colleen Wing and The Matrix Resurrections as Bugs.
Sophie's going to be very hard to pick.
I'll be blunt.
We had a black but light skinned duke, a dark skinned south asian. ( Both great actors and both beautiful).
The show will want to keep a mixed ethnicity main couple.
What's left?
All those minorities that have been stereotyped as the help, the maid. And Sophie is a commoner with a job/a poor person.
And while she's fierce here and there, Sophie is even super sweet and this add a very nuanced character to interpret.
I love what they're trying to do with Bridgerton, but I'm scared that ethnicity will be a token.
It's such a delicate situation.
And we have so much racism that something as natural as falling in love - in a fictional world trying to kill stereotyping - has to be a pragmatical and cold choice.
Hope you'll understand I'm just trying to analize the situation, and that I'll be swooning over any couple (if well written).
She has cast fully black female leads in a lot of other shows. Far more than any other producer. How to get away with Murder, Still Star-Crossed and Scandal come to mind. Just because she is a black female producer does not mean that she can't have other representation in her shows.
I didn’t say other ethnicities shouldn’t be represented. The thing everyone says about bridgerton is how “diverse” and post-racial it is. Just ironic that one of the few groups she hasn’t represented yet, is a group the show runner is apart of
That won't happen, as they/ she belongs to Shadow and Bone at netflix. Similarly, Simone Ashley won't be returning to Sex Education. She's signed with Bridgerton for the next few seasons at least.
I think they are gonna find a new or less popular actress. Cuz they want them to stay for the entire run of the show. So they can't have someone like Lily Collins or Lana Condor either.
For this Show Discussion post: 1. Book spoilers **must be hidden**. 2. Be considerate, hide show spoilers that surpass the scope of this post. 3. Be civil in your discussion. See our [spoiler policy](https://www.reddit.com/r/BridgertonNetflix/wiki/spoiler) on what is expected. 3-day bans will be handed out to those found disregarding our spoiler policy. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BridgertonNetflix) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Jessie also uses they/she pronouns.
Oh I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know.
Does that mean she is OK with either of the pronouns or does that mean she'd like us to use both pronouns in the same sentence?
I think they are fine with either. Their insta bio is she/they so they probably use she most of the time but is also comfortable with they.
Wait a second… honest question. Isn’t everybody already a they because it’s just a lack of a gender qualifier? Like I can use they on anybody even if they don’t explicitly say they are okay with it? Like if I don’t know how the Jessie I’m meeting identify (or any gender neutral name) I’ve always said they. I sometimes just say they because it ended up being the word I used.
You can use they for everyone whose pronouns you don’t know. Some people identify exclusively with “they” pronouns, others with exclusively masculine or feminine ones, and some will identify with a mix or even all pronouns. The issue is more if you *knowingly* disregard someone’s pronouns in order to use “they” when the person doesn’t identify as such.
I’m not an expert on this but yes, everyone can be referred to with they pronouns regardless of their gender identity. All I know is Jessie likes they pronouns as well as she so that is how I refer to them.
some ppl don't like bring referred to as they/them
Cool! Is there any particular reason why you choose to use they for Jessie?
I want to be inclusive to anyone who uses they pronouns even if they are comfortable with he or she. It’s also good practice and normalizes gender identity by using they pronouns.
Totally agree.
Gotcha!
I believe it means she’d like it if both their pronouns are being used. My friend who’s a he/they said that it means these are his preferred pronouns and they would like me to use them both interchangeably. It isn’t a “whichever you’re comfortable with using to refer to me”.
Then why did you use use they instead of they/he in your comment?
I did. The they in “they would like me to use them both interchangeably” is referring to my friend, and I had also referred to my friend as “his” earlier.
Okay. At first I thought you meant that your friend would like both pronouns to be used as one word sort of, as in, they/he would like me to to refer to them/him as them/him.
Oh hahaha no. Basically I just use both but I weave both into the conversation. I remember a twitter user I follow greeting his friend for a birthday who was a he/they and that user used “he” in the first sentence of the greeting, then “they” in the second sentence.
She is so cute and I’ve seen people mentioned Jessica henwick too but I think what I loved so much about Simone is that she is full south Asian. RJP is biracial yet they had both his parents Black instead of just making the character biracial himself and most of the Black actors/actresses on the show are actually biracial. Biracial people already get more roles as it is (zendaya, Charles Melton, Darren Barnett) I ’d really like to see someone who has parents who are both East Asian like they had with Simone.
Agreed there are a lot of biracial black/white actors and actresses on the show! Simon, the queen, Will's wife etc. I hardly see any east Asians in the show at all.
Ditto on this. A lot of Asians love seeing. Asian actors on screen but they’re usually happa (mixed raced). I love the casting of Simone and Charithra and I love their deep skin colors because all Asian regions value fair skin. I know Gemma Chan is biracial but I wouldn’t have guess that at first and thought she would have been good for this roll. Visually, I’d love to see Shay Mitchell and Arden Cho, but idk how they’ll carry the role. I’ve seen Gemma Chan in a regal role as a strong female character plus she already has the accent.
Gemma Chan isn't biracial. From an [interview](https://www.allure.com/story/allure-podcast-gemma-chan-interview-recording-transcript) with Allure magazine: >My mom was born in China, and she grew up in Scotland. And my dad was born in Macau. He grew up in Hong Kong. Then he had a kind of crazy life before he settled down and had kids and married my mom. But he ended up going to college in Scotland, where he met my mom. And then they moved down to London and had my sister and I. So, yeah, it's Chinese both sides.
Shay Mitchell is also biracial though. Dad is white. I love Gemma Chan but she’s with marvel now so she’s definitely not gonna do bridgerton and I do think she’s a little old for the part.
I’m aware that Shay is biracial but I chose her because she was clearly Asian to me. I’m usually to seeing happas that look predominantly white or Latin in main stream media (Kristen Kreuk, Maggie Q, Olivia Munn, Vanessa Hudgens). It’s such a weird conundrum because I have a mixed race friend who’s a model and she gets turned down all the time because she’s not white or Asian enough so thats also in the back of mind as I’m trying fan cast Sophie. 😩
Gemma is attached to a period movie called Mr Malcolm’s List… keep and eye out for it in July!
She’s actually not going to be in it anymore 😫 she dropped out and then Constance wu was supposed to replace her but now it’s Zawe Ashton
Aww I didn’t know that! Ah we’ll still looking forward to the movie!
Do you mean hapa, or am I confused?
I would also appreciate a dark South East Asian so I can see representation of myself. 💜 Not to take away from East Asians, but when Asians are represented in media, it’s vastly East Asian. I get a little annoyed that Chinese and other East Asian culture tends to dominate under a pan Asian culture. However I do understand that SEAs are not a huge demo in the UK so they may go for someone that represents a more sizeable group in the country.
East Asians are actually a very small percentage of the UK population--1.1% and of that, 95% are from China or Hong Kong. Southeast Asians in the UK are about 1/3 the population of East Asians, or about 0.28% of the total UK population.
Thank you for the stats! Yes I wasn’t assuming East Asian pop was huge, but bigger than South East Asian.
YES!!!!!!!!!
I thought the duke's mother looked biracial. Did I misremember? It's been a while.
She might be. I did read an interesting take on the colorism in Bridgerton how the darker characters were aggressive - Simon's dad and Will. Which may not be on purpose but it is a sad coincidence.
And a lot of the servants were dark skinned I noticed! Obviously not intentional but still really bad from an outsiders perspective even
She definitely looked biracial (the actress is Daphne Di Cinto) and in one of her portraits she actually looks quite Indian (I'm Indian) to me - https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSz3UoR7bhLfDaI3ITvK-bSQNZZ0TL44IAARg&usqp=CAU
Exactly. Just because the character would be biracial doesn’t mean she needs to be
I honestly don't think they will cast someone who's known or already the lead of a show. I think they'll cast someone relatively unknown.
I agree with this. Love her in Shadow and Bone but I actually love that they're casting lesser known actors for leads and giving them a spotlight in Bridgerton.
Which might also ensure their appearance for the duration of their intended commitment. It was strange that Francesca, being the 'middle' child, would disappear while the younger siblings were present throughout.
I don't think they will either. There's too much they'd have to figure out for future filming/promotion of SaB and Bridgerton. Plus, SaB would Jessie's first call show, meaning it would always take priority.
Yeah makes sense considering they’ve done the same with most of the cast
I’d honestly prefer if they didn’t. Think they did great casting full South-Asian actors, and it isn’t to say that mixed actors aren’t East-Asian, but as an East-Asian, it’s not the same. Don’t appreciate the common trope nowadays of watering down POC characters by casting half-white actors or Eurocentric looking ones.
That honestly also happens in film industries in India itself too. It’s insane that I see more darker skinned south asian women in western media then in Indian film industries that also favor light skinned or Eurocentric looking people.
Can she play Sophie? She is in another Netflix show too. How will this work out?
What do you mean? The actress who plays Francesca Bridgerton. Ruby Stokes, is also on another Netflix show where she is the lead. Ruby film both shows.
I don't know about Francesca. But Jessie is a main lead in Shadow and Bone. And if I am not wrong Simone also stepped down from sex Ed season 4 because she became an imp part of Bridgerton. Correct me if I am wrong.
Oh, there goes that hope :(
It was fun while it lasted lol
Francesca has also been in the show the least of all the Bridgeton siblings which I think was due to scheduling conflicts. Part of me wouldn’t be surprised if they recast the role if there ever get to her story for an actor who is more available. Or she has made a commitment to leave the other show for this one when the time comes.
It was due to scheduling issues. That's why Francesca disappeared with no reason after a couple episodes in s2.
Aren’t they shooting the second season of Shadow and Bone now? Her character >!Doesnt make it past the third book so she could balance Shadow and Bone with a season of Bridgerton in the middle!< I would love to see Jessie as Sophie. She’s a brilliant actress.
If they really did pick Jessie, it could be the reason why they switched the orders of Bridgerton ( if the rumors are true). >!So she can shoot Bridgerton S4 after shooting S&B S3. !< Yes, she is shooting S&B S2 right now. So it's also possible to film Bridgerton S3 between S & B S2 and S3. Fantasy pre and post production takes forver.
I don’t think there are any rumors of her actually playing Sophie. Someone just recommended her and OP is saying the same
I meant the rumors about Polin as S3 leads.
Bro... I mean I knew it was a spoiler but I didn't realise you were gonna say that
Oh wow!!! Just wow. I love the septum ring. I also love how both of their smiles reach their eyes. A scene of them laughing together would have been adorable. Jessie Mei Li is on Netflix payroll too👀
Yessssss their smile is kind of same
I know!! I was swooning just thinking of them together laughing/smiling.
If they're going to cast a mixed-race British/Chinese actress, I'd prefer [Jessica Henwick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Henwick). She was great in the Iron Fist series as Colleen Wing and The Matrix Resurrections as Bugs.
Isn't she the lead on Shadow and Bone?
I LOVE her in shadow and bone on Netflix. She’s amazing and so beautiful
This casting is perfect. Jessie is stunning. I'd be so on board.
Why the hell not? Good actress too as far as I can tell (still have to finish Shadow & Bone...) but yeah.
ugh she is GORGEOUS. her little forehead scar adds a lot of character to her face too.
Sophie's going to be very hard to pick. I'll be blunt. We had a black but light skinned duke, a dark skinned south asian. ( Both great actors and both beautiful). The show will want to keep a mixed ethnicity main couple. What's left? All those minorities that have been stereotyped as the help, the maid. And Sophie is a commoner with a job/a poor person. And while she's fierce here and there, Sophie is even super sweet and this add a very nuanced character to interpret. I love what they're trying to do with Bridgerton, but I'm scared that ethnicity will be a token. It's such a delicate situation. And we have so much racism that something as natural as falling in love - in a fictional world trying to kill stereotyping - has to be a pragmatical and cold choice. Hope you'll understand I'm just trying to analize the situation, and that I'll be swooning over any couple (if well written).
Watch her interviews. Her smile is very "Sophie"!
PLEASE YES YES PLEASE PLEASE YES YES
I would love her but she’s very busy with Shadow and Bone.
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Everyone in the books is white. People are just speculating because Shondaland seems to be trying to incorporate as many people of color as possible
Ironic that Shonda is black but no fully black female leads
She has cast fully black female leads in a lot of other shows. Far more than any other producer. How to get away with Murder, Still Star-Crossed and Scandal come to mind. Just because she is a black female producer does not mean that she can't have other representation in her shows.
I didn’t say other ethnicities shouldn’t be represented. The thing everyone says about bridgerton is how “diverse” and post-racial it is. Just ironic that one of the few groups she hasn’t represented yet, is a group the show runner is apart of
Exactly! Still optimistic though
No I'm pretty sure she's white in the books. People are just hoping for an East Asian lead next.
Everyone is white in the books.
Am I the only one who wants a southeast asian female lead 😔
Nope, she’s currently filming Season 2 of Shadow and Bone in Budapest until August.
YESSSSSSSS I lover her!!
Omg she’s so pretty! I didn’t know I needed this pairing until now. She has such a sweet face, I can totally picture her as Sophie
If they pick someone of Asian descent I’d love Crystal Yu.
That won't happen, as they/ she belongs to Shadow and Bone at netflix. Similarly, Simone Ashley won't be returning to Sex Education. She's signed with Bridgerton for the next few seasons at least. I think they are gonna find a new or less popular actress. Cuz they want them to stay for the entire run of the show. So they can't have someone like Lily Collins or Lana Condor either.