• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
instagram icon facebook icon pinterest icon email icon telephone icon

We are accepting clients in our Philadelphia area offices and virtually.

search icon
therapy for women center logo

therapyforwomencenter.com

Therapy for Women

  • Therapists
  • Services
    • In-Person Therapy
    • Virtual Therapy
    • Low Cost Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • Nutrition
    • Psychiatry
    • EMDR
    • All Services
  • Specialties
    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Eating Disorders
    • OCD
    • Trauma
    • Grief
    • Substance Use
    • Women’s Issues
    • LGBTQ+
    • Teens
    • All Specialties
  • About
    • FAQ & Rates
    • Our Story
    • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Get Started
instagram icon facebook icon pinterest icon email icon email icon
  • Therapists
  • Services
    • In-Person Therapy
    • Virtual Therapy
    • Low Cost Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • Nutrition
    • Psychiatry
    • EMDR
  • Specialties
    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Eating Disorders
    • OCD
    • Trauma
    • Grief
    • Substance Use
    • Women’s Issues
    • LGBTQ+
    • Teens
  • About
    • FAQ & Rates
    • Our Story
    • Locations
    • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Get Started
Home / Therapy for Women

A Sex Therapist Answers: Why Am I Horny for Bridgerton?

Published on 5/6/22 , Updated 8/22/24
by Therapy For Women Center

Why is everyone so horny for Bridgerton?

When I was a tweenager, going to the movies was one of the main highlights of my social life. Every weekend, my best friend and I would choose which movie we would like to spend our money on. Her parents would drop us off if mine picked us up. Once or twice, we would sneak into a second movie, believing it was the most scandalous thing we could do.

I was a tween in the early aughts–the height of the chick flick genre. I saw them all. And, I was a voracious reader at that time, devouring my older sister’s chick lit during the week, and watching pretty women fall in love with pretty, and often problematic, men on the weekends. Somewhere along the way into my teenage years and early 20s, it became uncool to believe in romance. It got to the point in college where I’d convinced myself that romance made me uncomfortable. Give me sex and situationships and I could pretend with the rest of them that, “I like you but I don’t want a girlfriend,” was enough for me.

The Something Changed

Halfway through graduate school, a friend of mine recommended that I try reading a contemporary romance novel for fun. She wanted my opinion on the neurodivergent main character exploring sexuality. I went into it with a purpose and came out with a renewed love for romance and reading.

I’m not sure why I was so reluctant to dive into Bridgerton. But, I allowed season one and all of its fanfare to pass without a second thought. It was never even on my queue. Fast forward to season two’s premiere and I finally stopped trying to be too cool for historical romance. What started as a, “Fine, I’ll give it a shot,” response to my sister begging me to watch it, turned into a weekend binge of seasons one and two, barely leaving my bed between episodes. I came out of a haze on Monday morning, feeling like I had experienced a fever dream of gentlemen and ladies brushing noses and sneaking longing glances. So, what is it about Bridgerton that gets us going? Why do the stories and characters draw us in?

Yearning. Anticipation. Tension.

After becoming a romance connoisseur, I learned there are several tropes and everyone has their feelings on their favorite trope. Season two dropped and it pictured an exquisite “enemies to lovers” story. Not only enemies to lovers, but forbidden. Eight episodes filled with heavy breathing, a brush of hands, grazing noses, getting so close to satisfaction and having to teeter on the edge and wait! What is it about yearning, anticipation, and tension that is so sexy?

Sexual tension is everything leading up to the act of sex (whatever sex might look like for you). It often happens when we desire someone but we do not act on those desires. It can often feel like butterflies or a spark. In my sex therapy circles, we sometimes refer to it as “a tingle.”

Feeling seen and understood can create safety and increases sexual chemistry.

So much of Bridgerton season two relies on eye contact, one of the key signs of sexual attraction, a window to the soul. While holding eye contact can feel and be very vulnerable during intimate moments, it can trigger the release of the pleasure hormone, dopamine, creating excitement and happiness. Watching Kate and Anthony engage in moments of longing felt like being part of it.

The use of camera angles and choreography made it easy to imagine being on the other end of a look of desire and need. Since Bridgerton season two aired March, I’ve assigned several clients the homework of watching Bridgerton and paying attention to signs of arousal. One of my clients, (whom I received permission to use a conversation we participated in during one session) stated that watching Kanthony interact made her realize that she wanted to feel desired and respected.

We discussed how Anthony respected Kate but made it known that she was on his mind, infiltrating his thoughts. We dove in further, dissecting how frustrating and difficult it can be to exist in a world where men aren’t taught or given permission to voice their desire and need for a woman in a way that is respectful and hot. This opened up a larger discussion on how women are not taught to prioritize their pleasure and desire, but that’s a conversation for another blog post.

Bridgerton was created for a woman’s gaze.

Something our culture and society hasn’t prioritized for women historically. This is my theory on why Bridgerton made everyone so horny and excited. It mixed erotica with romantic context and created something enjoyable but relatable. Most people long to be seen, heard, and accepted for the parts of them that are incredible, and also the parts that are flawed.


Looking for a therapist or unsure where to begin? Get started on our booking page.

Therapy for Women Center offers therapy services in PA, NJ, and 42 states online. Get in touch here and find us in-person:

  • Center City, Philadelphia
  • Old City, Philadelphia
  • Main Line, Pennsylvania
  • Collingswood, New Jersey
Share This Post:

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts
Important Things to Know About Sex Therapy
You Deserve Pleasure: Virginity is a Social Construct
How to Overcome Stigma, Reclaim Pleasure and Use Toys with Partners

Primary Sidebar

therapy for women center office - old city, philadelphia
About Therapy for Women

We believe in doing therapy differently. As a holistic therapy practice in Philadelphia and online, we match you with a therapist that not only specializes in, but truly understands, what you are going through. LEARN MORE.

Connect With Us
instagram icon facebook icon pinterest icon email icon email icon
Categories
Anxiety Depression Eating Disorders LGBTQ+ OCD Grief Therapy for Teens Therapy for Women Trauma
Resources
Get Started Services Specialties Therapists Locations

Is therapy right for you?

Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll walk you through the process! Download our FREE workbook, 15 Things To Know Before Starting Therapy.

Success! Go check your email! 
About Therapy for Women

Therapy for Women is a team of therapists dedicated to helping you break free from negative patterns and live the life you always wanted. Serving Philadelphia and 42 states online.

therapy for women couch illustration
Our Practice
About
Therapists
Services
Specialties
Modalities
Careers
Client Login
Locations
location-iconlocation-iconOld City
123 Chestnut St #402
Philadelphia, PA 19106
location-iconlocation-iconCenter City
2133 Arch St #303
Philadelphia, PA 19103
location-iconlocation-iconMain Line
33 Rock Hill Road #100
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
location-iconlocation-iconCollingswood
900 Haddon Avenue #414
Collingswood, NJ 08108
Info & Rates
Rates & Insurance
FAQ
Blog
Podcast
Connect
Book Appointment
Contact Us
Book a Call
Events
instagram icon facebook icon pinterest icon

[email protected]

•

215-847-6749

back to top arrow
Back to Top
© THERAPY FOR WOMEN CENTER 2025 • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Site by Wallflower