From the very beginning of the play As You Like it, I was intrigued by the relationship between Rosalind and Celia. Although the two are cousins and supposedly share a "familial" love, it just seemed like they share something more. My suspicions were further confirmed when Rosalind decides to dress in male drag to protect herself in the forest, but Celia remains a woman. Given the fact that it is referenced many times during the play that Rosalind's disguise isn't foolproof - such as when Phoebe proclaims her love for Ganymede by describing his/her traditionally "feminine" characteristics - I'm can't help but feel that Rosalind and Celia were Early Modern lesbians.
I mean, the image of Rosalind as Ganymede accompanied by the disguised Celia is very much similar to contemporary images of lesbian relationships. Stereotypically (although I don't understand why...), one of the women is the "guy" and the other is the "girl." For instance, like Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia.
Shakespeare, however, was so intuitive that he highlights the strange intimacy between Rosalind and Celia even when they are still both their "female-selves." The relationship between the two cousins is a lot like a certain kind of relationship that's become very common (and by common I mean accepted) recently: friendships between "straight" women, and "straight" women and lesbians. Especially in college, when young people are experimenting with their identities and sexualities, it seems to be the trend for many women to engage in homosexual behavior that they claim is homosocial.
Check out this video by BuzzFeed to see what I'm talking about (if you don't already know).
I'm no expert on sexuality, but I'm sure that even though many of these friend/relationships may just be out of curiosity, many of them are also out of actual attraction. However, all these boxes we put people in and the attributes we give to women (like women are naturally closer to each other than men) make the lines extremely blurred. It could also be that some women are unwilling to admit their feelings due to the fact that homosexuality is still pretty taboo in our society.
Who knows?
As for Rosalind and Celia - we can speculate all we want on what will happen after the two are married to Orlando and Oliver, but I think this photo describes the true ending of the women's relationship best.
If you're concerned about your own sexuality after reading my post, here's a link to a BuzzFeed quiz that'll tell you just how gay you are. Because, of course, BuzzFeed has all the answers.
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