maryiofengland:

Harlots is wonderful and here’s why you should watch it:

• it centres around the experiences of 18th century women in the sex industry without fetishising them or acting condescendingly towards them
• it features gay women and they will almost definitely get together in the coming episodes (it’s not the kind of hinting that’s just queerbaiting, they’re legit setting up for these two women to fall in love and its going to be wonderful)
• there are multiple black characters who are legitimately important to the plot as opposed to just background characters (also one of them is gay). It’s set in the 18th century so it’s great that it’s acknowledging that there were plenty of non-white people in London 200+ years ago.
• the costumes (the whole aesthetic really) are absolutely beautiful
• it’s based on real historical sources such as Harris’ List of Covent Garden Ladies and there’s loads of fun things to pick up on for people who know a bit about this time period
• following on from the last point, it gives a largely accurate portrayal of what the sex industry was like in the 18th century
• it features a lot of platonic and familial female relationships as well as romantic ones
• there’s a dominatrix spy in it