Intersexuality in “Borgia: Faith and Fear” Period Drama
The Netflix series, “Borgia: Faith and Fear,” first aired in 2011 as a period drama that narrates the early 16th century papacy of Pope Alexander VI. Historical texts following the reign of Pope Alexander VI, also known as Rodrigo Borgia, famously illustrate the Borgia family as scandalous, foreign, and deviant from cultural norms. From incest to murder to infidelity, the popularized Netflix series amplifies the accusations following Pope Alexander VI’s reign in a thrilling period drama. The series addresses modern hot topics, such as religion and sexuality, set in the early Italian Renaissance but represented through a modern cinematographic lens.
In season two episode eight, the series takes a bold step in its representation of an intersex duchess, Joan of France (Disclaimer: henceforward, I will use the personal pronouns they/them/theirs for Joan of France, since they do not specify gender identification in the show aside from physically presenting as a woman). The scene, saturated in both Renaissance and modern socio-cultural motifs, has thought provoking and problematic elements. In this article, I look at the show’s depiction of intersexuality through the characterization of the intersex duchess. I will make the case for the Borgia show’s exemplification of intersexuality as both forward-thinking with humanitarian recognition of physical differences and problemetically reminiscent of sexual binarization and marginalization.
Joan of France, Duchess of Berry, comes to the forefront of the show when her husband, King Louis XII of France, requests an annulment, in order to marry the dowager Queen Anne. King Louis XII sends Cesare Borgia, the Pope’s son, and Cardinal Della Rovere as papal legates to convince Joan to agree to the annulment on the ground that the marriage was not consummated due to Joan’s ‘physical deformity.’
The characterization of Joan in the episode breaks stereotypes in some ways while also reinforcing problematic binary constructs. When the viewer first meets Joan, they are represented as a dignified woman of power and status — seated on a throne-like chair with a regal disposition. Moreover, when Cesare and the Cardinal begin to present Joan with false evidence, Joan responds with confidence and authority. Joan both challenges their claims and asserts themself, self-advocating and maintaining composure during several difficult moments — such as when the men demand to see Joan’s ‘physical deformity.’ The representation of Joan as a strong, powerful woman, regardless of their physical sex, challenges stereotypes surrounding intersex individuals. Rather than being shown as ‘deviant’ or ‘othered’ (as society might render them) the show presents Joan a dignified, dynamic individual — even including insight into Joan’s affection for her husband, religious conviction, familial pride, and self-struggle with their intersexuality.
However, Joan’s characterization conforms in many ways to the Renaissance ideal of a perfect woman, conflicting with more moderns notions of gender and sex fluidity. Joan exhibits exclusively feminine qualities such as honor, virtue, and piety in addition to physically presenting as a woman. Their homogenous gender expression aligns with binary thinking, wherein society pressures individuals born intersex to choose to be either male or female. Historically, Joan’s female presentation makes sense — choosing to be female and maintaining feminine qualities would be a safe way to exist as an intersex individual in early Renaissance Roman society.
But since it is part of a popularized show on 21st century television, I would have liked to see Joan’s characterization be less gender conforming. The director had the opportunity to represent Joan with mixed feminine and masculine qualities or challenge the viewer on their assumptions of sex and gender — perhaps this is done on some level through Joan’s display of agency, when they agree to papal demands on the condition that they live out the rest of their life as a nun in a convent. Even so, as they are currently characterized in the show, Joan is completely feminine, female, and woman — except with a penis.
All in all, the inclusion of Joan of France as an intersex individual in “Borgia: Faith and Fear” is interesting, creative, and valuable, as it increases awareness on the taboo subject of intersexuality. While their characterization asserts gender conformity, it more importantly depicts intersexuality as human and non deviant, as Joan is represented as strong and powerful woman with agency in spite of their ‘condition.’ For viewers going forward, I hope the episode can aid in abolishing the idea that intersexuality is abnormal, deviant, or nonhuman. Then, we can begin to restructure our thinking on intersexuality as another form of human variance that exists on a spectrum — where sexuality has breadth and fluidity, and as much variation as personality or hair color.
