The gritty representation of the social issues in Freeform’s ‘The Bold Type’ has brought it wide acclaim from critics and viewers alike. The show focuses on three millennial working women Kat, Jane and Sutton, located in New York City who all work at Scarlet (a global magazine publication) while fighting against unjust systemic structures and navigating through complex personal issues. While the show received its face share of laud and applaud, it also faced backlash on accounts of queer and black representation.
It might be worth noting that the show was originally named ‘Issues’, perhaps as a wordplay on ‘Magazine Issues’ and the social issues it touches upon, however, it was later renamed to The Bold Type as an explicit callout to its female audience.
For the brevity of the blog (it’s not nearly as brief as I intended it to be), I will focus solely on the representation of queer characters Kat & Adena. I will also make the argument that the show could benefit from a diverse writers’ room, collaborative approaches to LGBTQ storylines and analysis into the inclusivity of networks and studios.
LGTBQ Representation: The Good
In the first two seasons, the show explores queer sexuality through the lens of Kat and Adena’s relationship. At the beginning of Season 1 Kat believes she’s heterosexual but upon falling in love with lesbian Muslim Adena (a photographer being profiled by the magazine), she comes out at bisexual to her friends Jane and Sutton. The show also depicts the various issues experienced by the lesbian Muslim Adena who is deported and then denied to leave Iran on the account of carrying a vibrator in her luggage.
As mentioned in Anamrija Horvat’s article: Crossing the Borders of Queer TV: Depictions of migration and (im)mobility in contemporary LGBTQ television, The Bold Type contradicts conceptualisations of queer identity as synonymous only with the white national majority. Further, the state (US) interjects not by its own but thanks to the Chief Editor’s connections with the Department of State. Instead of seeing the prevalent homonationalist attitudes (Jasbir Puar, 2007), we see ‘selective solidarity’ that extends only to those in places of power and privilege.
Further, Adena’s immobility to cross borders is not related to her queerness as seen in shows such as Years and Years but due to the moral policing on women’s freedom in Iran. This shines a light on the intersectionality between two identities–one of gender and the other of sexuality. As the aftermath of this episode, Adena also goes on receive even more death threats due to her openly queer muslim identity, a scene representative of the incessant cyberbullying the queer muslim community has to endure on a regular basis.
Adena also embraces the hijab while noting that, “I choose to wear the hijab. It doesn’t oppress me but liberates me from society’s expectations…”, Adena then goes on to talk about the rigid constructs of gender perceptions by saying that she doesn’t like being put in a box.
Critique of the LGBTQ representation in The Bold Type
Unexpectedly, Aisha Dee, the actor who plays Kat Edison came out with a statement on the ever lacking diversity and inclusion in the entertainment world. Through an Instagram post, she pointed out the duality of a progressive show such as ‘The Bold Type’ which failed to bring BIPOC writers until the second season and only had one black director in-charge of a mere two episodes out of the forty-eight shot. This is true for a plethora of shows, notably Transparent (Michael Goddard & Christopher Hogg, 2020).
She also pointed out that she felt like a ‘burden’ to the hairstylists on set who weren’t trained to style textured hair. Further, she explained her disappointment with the storyline for her character who goes on to have an affair with a far-right conservative lawyer who works on the behest of oil companies only to serve as a ‘redemption story’ for someone who is complicit in the oppression of many.
It is not unusual to find similar instances in the queer TV of today. While networks and studios rainbow wash themselves for Pride Month and heavily invest in queer storylines to appease audiences, they often lack a real-world sensitivity towards matters of gender, race, sexuality and identity. Freeform’s parent company, Disney, has a history of censoring queer characters in non-western regions. Netflix on the other hand is known to collaborate with comedians such as Dave Chapelle who mock trans movements while simultaneously creating originals such as Orange Is The New Black.
At the end of the day, the entertainment and SVOD industry needs to take a big, hard look at the mirror–maybe even create a representation checklist if you will–and equalise representation both in front of and behind the camera. It’s only the right (and politically left) thing to do.
References:
Instagram. (n.d.). http://Www.instagram.com. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCrq65djxDf/
Kat & Adena | 01×01 – part three | The Bold Type (all scenes). (n.d.). http://Www.youtube.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://youtu.be/bIlK6vz3jKU
The Bold Type | Official Trailer | Freeform. (n.d.). http://Www.youtube.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://youtu.be/q9Evo8pJTV0
Goddard, E. and introduced by M., & Hogg, C. (2020). Introduction: Trans TV dossier, III: Trans TV re-evaluated, part 2. Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, 15(3), 255–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749602020937566
Horvat, A. (2020). Crossing the Borders of Queer TV: Depictions of migration and (im)mobility in contemporary LGBTQ television. Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, 15(3), 280–301. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749602020934091
Written by Ridhima Chatterjee
Digital Audiovisual Media Class Blog 
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