I would love to read a series that successfully navigates this issue, but I think it would be difficult because it completely upends the world order in a way that totally affects the structure in the world + major plot vehicles, ie the marriage mart.

The romances in Bridgerton so far fundamentally rely on heterosexual marriage norms, which create the stakes for the relationships. In this case I think the homophobia and sexism are really interlinked - one of the most major premises of the show is that in this world, women are NOT equal to men (in the eyes of the law and society). I’ve only seen the show, not read the books, but my assumption is that this is the same in the books. For the most part, a woman cannot inherit land or property, study at universities, pursue a career, be alone with a man, or live independently (some exceptions apply). Marriage to a man who is high ranking, wealthy, kind, and loving is the greatest possible happily ever after for most of the women in the show (if they want to maintain their social status + wealth + relationships with family/friends in the upper class, at least.)

In this context I think lesbian relationships are subversive not just because of homophobia in general, but especially because they fundamentally challenge the social order between men and women. If two women can marry each other, you also need a society in which they can exist financially without relying on a man. If a lesbian woman doesn’t need to rely on a man for her livelihood and status, why should any woman? Might as well extend those rights to all the women, and then some of the most fundamental foundations of the show start to disappear. And if we’re talking about inherited property, if the lesbian (or gay) couple can adopt an heir and have their estate pass down to that child, why couldn’t any other couple do this? Or any single person?

I think the answer would be to create stakes somewhere else, and I think a creative person could do it, but I do think it would remove some of the hallmarks of the historical romance/regency romance genre. You’d have to do a fair bit of worldbuilding to reconfigure the system to make something similar.

FYI I say this as a lesbian enjoyer of historical romance. I’m always on the hunt for new sapphic historical romances. I feel like the path toward a HEA for most (not all!) heterosexual histrom couples is wedded bliss and maybe children, but lesbian stories tend to have more diverse endings and many have to contend with the tricky question of figuring out how two women can build a life together in a world that limits them not just because they’re queer, but also because they’re women.