Sex: It’s something we’re all familiar with, yet it is still considered to be so taboo in American society. Our lack of conversation about the nitty gritty can cause sensitivity towards specific topics like masturbation, kinks, queer sex and more. This is why British television is so useful.
Netflix recently added a new show from the UK called Sex Education, and it follows a boy, Otis, whose mom is a sex therapist. Her therapy background rubs off on him and makes him relatively well versed in aspects of sex therapy. Resident bad girl, Maeve, capitalizes on this by selling sex therapy to other students because their school is sex-obsessed. Otis is a virgin, which causes him to be very blunt with the subject of sex because he does not know how to tactfully approach it.
Otis’s bluntness makes way for a refreshingly new view on sex that we wouldn’t see on American television. This bluntness is apparent many times in the show, and it’s great each time. Here are 5 ways Sex Education is great at discussing sex.
1. It confronts the performance anxiety that some men have when it comes to sex
Adam has a big package (for lack of a better term), which causes him to get performance anxiety during sex. Students characterize him as “the guy with the big package.” It’s unfortunate because of the standard set upon men with sex. This happens in real life as some guys feel anxiety with their bodies and then lose confidence about their performance.
2. There’s actually talk about female masturbation in the show
The achievement of female orgasm remains a mystery to many because we don’t openly endorse female masturbation at all. One girl, Aimee, gets hit with the question from her boyfriend, “What do you like to do?” during sex, and she is dumbfounded. She has no idea what she likes, but after going to therapy, she learns about the glory of masturbation and how it made her sex life better.
3. We actually see what the abortion sequence is like, besides going in and out of a building
A character chooses to have an abortion, and from there we see her go to the abortion clinic and also bear witness to the emotions and feelings she gets inside . She also finds solidarity with other patients, but she also sees the stigma with abortion as there are anti-choice protestors outside the clinic. Personally, I did not realize how medical the process was, and this was eye-opening to me.
4. There’s an empowering scene where girls show solidarity with another girl after her nudes get leaked
Let’s be real. Does a perfect vagina even exist? A girl gets roasted for having big labia and not shaving after someone leaks a photo of her vagina to the whole entire school. When the headmaster of the school chastises the student body for the pictures leaking, he tries to do a problematic rant against the vagina, but then one student stands up and claims ownership even though it wasn’t hers. Then more and more students of a variety of genders claim ownership to show that there’s nothing shameful about it. It was a great act of solidarity.
5. It just shows sex as a real part of life
There’s honestly nothing scary about it all. It’s just a natural part of life. It was how we were made. Other shows make it seem super scary, but this show make it seem like it’s not a big deal and it’s a nice change for once.
Overall, Sex Education should definitely be on your Netflix watch-next list if you’re looking for a show that’s entertaining but also meaningful, informative and well-done.