Spoiler alert!
Sex Education is the latest coming of age drama series to grace our laptop screens on Netflix in 2019 so far. It’s hilarious, emotional, and painfully accurate in its depiction of high school and the horrific stage in our lives that was puberty. When I first saw it pop up on the Netflix home screen, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I thought I’d be confronted with another awkward teen drama that leaves you regretful of the wasted hours spent watching it. However, I was very pleasantly surprised with this, not only because it showcases some terrific acting but because of its frank dealership with some very difficult but very relevant social issues. Be warned, there’s spoilers to follow!
First, and possibly the most emotional issue that is dealt with is abortion. The mysterious, incredibly intelligent character Maeve Wiley falls pregnant whilst she is still at schools doing her A Levels. She makes the decision to have an abortion because her circumstances aren’t suitable for her to have a child, and it’s not something that would be right for her. When she arrives at the clinic, she is treated with respect by the nurses, and the room is filled with other women having the same procedure. The episode then follows Maeve into the operating room where the abortion is carried out. It is very emotional, but there is not one moment where her decision to have an abortion is questioned with any authority, nor is she made to justify her reasons for choosing to have one. In fact, the way in which anti-abortionists are depicted in the episode actually caricatures them, reducing the concept of ‘anti-choice’ to a rather pathetic two person protest with signs that have misspelled words on them. It is so refreshing to see women on screen who have complete autonomy over their bodies. It’s painful that it has taken until 2019 for this to be the case, but all the same, hats off to the writers for creating a space in which female independence can be exercised to the maximum degree.
It’s safe to say that the series formed a habit of breaking a lot of cultural taboos. One that was executed really well was the idea of women masturbating. There’s so much stigma surrounding this topic, with the only other case of it being depicted in popular culture that I can think of it Black Swan. Even in that case, she was asked to do it by a man so that she could fulfil her role as the Black Swan in a better way, which incidentally links female masturbation to the uncanny. Sex Education represents a woman giving herself sexual pleasure because it’s something that should be enjoyed by everyone, and because it’s integral to having a happy and healthy sex life. Discussion of female masturbation has always been something that has been muted in our society, so it’s great to see it being normalised.
My favourite narrative within the series is the one that follows Eric and his experimentation with drag. He endures a lot of bullying from a fellow schoolmate for being gay, and is assaulted by two men for being dressed in drag. His father is continually concerned about how flamboyant Eric is, thinking it will get him hurt. In the end, however, he accepts that this is who he is, and says he has lessons he can learn from his ‘brave son’. This scene was really emotional and explains why a heightened presence of the LGBT+ community is so needed in our society. Eric also battles with his faith throughout the series, and boycotts going to church with his family. However, he decides to join his family at their church towards the end of the series and it seems that by reaffirming his faith he is able to truly accept who he is. It’s a really lovely portrayal of how comforting and life-affirming having a faith can be, especially when you consider the medias portrayal in recent years of religion and its apparent links to terror and extremism.
The way that gay love is represented in the series too is absolutely brilliant. Often, female same sex relationships are depicted as a spectacle for a heterosexual male audience, and same sex male
relationships are portrayed in a negative light, or do not make it on to the screen at all. The relationship between Eric and Adam, although it meets a sad end, is represented simply as two people who are attracted to eachother, irrespective of their gender. It doesn’t become central to the narrative or get discussed by any other characters, it remains as something intimate and personal between the two characters.
Basically, I have too many good things to say about the series. It deals with so many important issues but does it in such a way that you aren’t overwhelmed, nor do you feel like it’s trying to make you think a certain way. It lets you make your own mind up about the issues it portrays. It’s a truly funny, heart-warming narrative and I can’t wait for series 2!
Rating: 5/5