Sex Education is a show on Netflix that premiered last year and took the Netflix world by storm. It’s a show that began breaking boundaries and showing people things that have been considered ‘taboo’. Sex Education takes a traditional young adult coming age of show and completely flips the concept on its head.
Firstly, the representation is very diverse. Eric, Otis’ best friend, is a black gay man, who is quite flamboyant and enjoys bright colors and feminine clothing. There is also Jackson, a black man who has two mothers and suffers from anxiety. There is also a South Asian gay man named Rahim and the popular group at school is fairly diverse.
The show also showcases a significant portion of actual sexual education – some of which viewers may not already be aware of – and also the themes that come out of the show can make viewers feel more comfortable about their lives. As an example, one of the characters, Lily, attempts to pursue a sexual relationship with Otis not because she finds him attractive (she clearly says she does not) but because she believes everyone else is having sex and doesn’t want to be left out. It’s a situation that many teenagers find themselves in, the belief that ‘everyone is doing it’, so they feel a pressure to do it as well.
Season 2, which I will not spoil, includes a lot of great representation, mostly in the form of differing sexualities. Bisexuality, pansexuality, and asexual representation is shown in season 2. There are also conversations about slut-shaming, sexual harassment, and misunderstandings of how STIs spread.
If you have not seen Sex Education, I hope this article inspires you to watch it! It’s my new favorite show and I encourage everyone to watch it!