One thing we all look forward to at the end of the day is the chance to kick back in our most comfortable clothing and tune in to our favorite series.
While many are partial to browsing Netflix for hours on end, others have a weekly schedule in which they commit themselves to one or two shows on one or two networks. ABC’s “Shonda Rhimes Thursdays” and NBC’s “This Is Us” phenomenon are just a few examples of television popularity. There is one network, though, that has begun offering viewers an unexpected, yet deeply intriguing, series to follow. Hosted by journalist, Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s “Sex & Love Around the World” offers a detailed look at intimacy beyond the borders of the U.S.
The show follows Amanpour as she travels the globe to talk with women about relationships and sexuality—especially amid less than ideal geographic and political circumstances. The six-part documentary series is directed by women and introduces audiences to everyday people who are defining what love means in the 21st century. Topics such as the evolving roles for women and men relating to sex, marriage, family, and divorce are touched upon with honesty.
Amanpour says she was struck by the idea for the series during one of her early-morning routines: listening to a radio report about Syrian refugees being forced to flee to a border camp. She wondered at that point how these refugees went about maintaining relationships through crisis. “Why have I never explored that in my 27 years reporting war and crises around the world?” she asked.
This all-consuming question led Amanpour to travel to locales such as Tokyo, Dehli, Beirut, Berlin, Accra, and Shanghai. “My quest took me to women and girls, who we so often dismiss as only victims of our patriarchal, misogynistic, hypersexualized culture, who were boldly seizing every opportunity for satisfaction and personal pleasure,” she explains. “I also found their evil downside: sexless marriages, industrial-scale infidelity and loneliness.”
Each new adventure led to its own discovery. Amanpour made a point to speak with individuals and couples of every race, identity, and class. “We met straight couples and gay couples, a transgender superstar in Shanghai, an all-female motorcycle gang in New Delhi, all pushing the boundaries of what it means to be fulfilled in every way. And true to the current climate sweeping the world, we found women increasingly aware and brave enough to demand their consent be respected.”
The force behind the #MeToo movement has reportedly influenced Amanpour’s work all the more. Widespread condemnation of sexual assault and harassment plays into the exploration of themes of power and intimacy within the series. “Especially for young kids in schools, they need to be taught more than the physical aspects of sex ed,” she says. “We need to talk about what it means to love, what it means to be intimate and to respect your partner in every aspect, emotionally and sexually. We need to talk about how people come together in all those aspects as part of the complete meaning of being human.”
Tune into Amanpour’s weekly series each Saturday at 10pm, on CNN.