Over the winter break, I started to watch both Pretty Little Things and Bridgerton on Netflix – and I was struck by both the graphicness and the frequency of the sex scenes in the shows. Netflix shows have been seemingly getting more and more raunchy, which isn’t necessarily bad. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to portray sex in media in a healthy way, given that many teens in today’s age learn about sex from porn, which can often be far from a healthy portrayal of the act. Bridgerton is a great example of this. Although there are many sexually explicit scenes, I feel that they were depicted in a healthy, intimate, and non-objectifying (which is extremely rare) manner. Another thing about the sex scenes in Bridgerton is that more often than not, I felt they did hold relevance to the plot, the growth of relationships, and Daphne finally breaking free from her sheltered life and into womanhood. In Tiny Pretty Things, however, this wasn’t quite the case.
Tiny Pretty Things had an interesting enough plot, and the first five minutes of the show alone are enough to make you think, “Oh sh*t, this is gonna be intense.” However, as the show progressed, I felt that the plot was overshadowed by overly explicit, unnecessary sex scenes – which honestly wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re supposed to be teenagers. As someone that’s now an adult, this hyper-sexualization of teenagers simply makes me uncomfortable to watch – and although it’s not exactly a new occurrence, I somehow feel like it’s only gotten worse over the previous years.
Now, don’t get me wrong, of course, I realize that real teenagers have sex. The problem I have with these shows isn’t necessarily about the sex itself, but the way it’s portrayed. Graphic sex scenes involving teenagers with little to no relation to the plot don’t sit right with me. Watching these kinds of scenes and knowing that they’re supposed to be around 16 years old makes me extremely uncomfortable – and don’t even get me started on the whole teacher/student trope in some of these shows (can we please leave that in 2020?) It’s exactly why it’s so rare to see teen characters being played by actual teen actors in these kinds of dramas. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing real teenagers in these kinds of scenes, I don’t see how it’s any less immoral to have people pretending to be teenagers in these scenes. Although I am aware that it is fiction, I believe that fiction influences how we perceive reality, including our morals. I mean, come on – Riverdale making a supposed 16-year-old pole dance in lingerie feels weird and borderline predatory. I don’t care if the scene is “supposed to make you uncomfortable,” according to Lili Reinhart, especially given that the show doesn’t really do anything to provide an unfavourable reaction (other than her mom’s rightful horror) and the show’s history in oversexualizing their teenage characters. I have been turned off of many shows for this exact reason, and the list somehow only seems to be getting longer.
I personally feel that as well as just being overall, well, weird, this portrayal of teenagers in these kinds of shows gives a warped distortion to real teens about what they should look like and what they should be doing. Although it’s easy for us to be aware that these actors are not actually teenagers, it can be hard not to think to yourself, “Is this how I should look? Is this what I am supposed to be doing at my age? Am I weird for not doing that?” Not everyone wants to have sex in high school – hell, some people don’t want to have sex at all – and that’s not a bad thing! There is nothing wrong with moving at your own pace, and you shouldn’t be pressured or made to feel like something is wrong with you for feeling that way. Although I’m all for a healthy portrayal of sex in the media, I’m hoping that in the future, we can move away from the over-sexualization of teenage characters – especially young girls.