Most British People Say They'd Approve of a Lesbian Queen

Olivia Colman might have picked up a bunch of awards for her portrayal of Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite -- including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and most recently the Academy Award for best actress -- but that doesn't necessarily mean that British people would want an actual, literal lesbian queen running their country.

How do Brits feel about having a queer monarch? Well, first we have to agree that such a thing as "a queer monarch" can even exist. The British monarchy is an institution rooted in inequality that has irreparably damaged the global population through centuries of colonization, environmental destruction, and the spread of Britain's particular brands of misogyny and homophobia. If queerness, at its core, is all about subverting oppressive norms and upending traditional power structures, how can the monarchy even be queer? How can any head of state be queer? I know that a lot of people, like Transparent creator Jill Soloway, dream of "a queer White House," but what does that even mean and why?

Cognitive dissonance aside, most Brits would be totally fine with a queer monarch, according to a recent Sky News poll. When asked, 63 percent of respondents said they would feel comfortable having a gay, lesbian, or bisexual person on the throne. (The poll doesn't appear to have asked about trans people.) A majority of respondents also said they'd feel comfortable having an LGB boss and an LGB prime minister. Have straight people grown too comfortable with the gays? Signs point to yes!

RELATED | Olivia Colman Just Won an Oscar for Playing a Literal Lesbian Queen