plaidadder:

Forgot to mention in my writeup of the Granada “Scandal In Bohemia” that this may be where the Moffat vision of Irene Adler as ‘gay’ (that’s the word he had her say in the script, don’t complain to me) came from. 

In this flashback to Irene’s romance with the King, we see him sitting in some Moulin Rouge-type establishment watching the cancan girls do their high kicking, and then the gentleman next to him turns around and it’s Irene Adler in drag. She certainly seems very interested in the entertainment. 

This is never followed up in any serious way, but it can certainly be read as a coded indication of Adler’s bisexuality. At any rate, it was the first adaptation to suggest to me that Adler’s cross-dressing might be a form of self-expression and not merely a convenient way of getting around Victorian restrictions on women. At any rate, it was most likely part of my inspiration for this.

This is adorable and everyone should watch Granada. Also she was described in acd canon as an ‘adventuress’ which I know I have read was Victorian code for lesbian or at least wlw. I am frustrated by my inability to find a reference for that right now and I am wondering if I read it in one of my books on gay history, not online.