The impact of Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’
‘Sex’, this one syllable word is one amongst a billion words that English has to offer us.
But, this three letter word comes with its own tags and hesitation. Well, not anymore. Gone are the days when people thought twice to themselves to speak up about sex. The 21st century is all about breaking barriers and shattering stereotypes. That’s exactly what Laurie Nunn’s British comedy-drama TV series ‘Sex Education’ has to offer to the public.
The series has a huge fan following among teens and high school going students. And the numbers stand witness to it. An estimated 40 million viewers were streaming the first series after its debut that aired on 11 January 2019.
What made the season an overnight critical and commercial success?
‘Sex Education’ has three distinct high school going students named Otis, played by Asa Butterfield , a virgin who finds himself in various embarrassing situations among his schoolmates owing to his mother’s profession (a sex therapist), Eric, portrayed by Ncuti Gatwa, Otis’ gay best friend belonging to an immigrant family, and lastly Maeve, played by ‘Emma Mackey’, a girl who’s had an abortion whilst dating and to top up has piles of issues back at home with her drug dealer brother.
The show revolves around Otis secretly opening up a sex clinic with Maeve to tackle sex related issues his schoolmates face at school. Otis isn’t shy or reserved to talk about sex as he constantly hears about it from his mother owing to the kind of job she does.
High school being a sensitive phase, teens are excited about finding themselves and how sexual relationships work. This show right here, in the most prolific way weaves the story of people who identify as straight, gay, and a part of the LGBTQ community in a fun and accepting way.
The series that made the society aware
A word that was considered taboo, especially in developing countries is now being openly used on a huge entertainment streaming platform. Eye opening shows like these are what helps society to overcome their reservations and in turn engage in healthy conversations with the children. Humans are composed of what they see, the kind of information they possess and reflect upon.
The more exposed we get to shows like these that promote topics like sex education, the more informed and vigilant we become. The hookup culture over the years has portrayed sex in a very unrealistic manner and to add on, adult websites too have put up things on screen that is far away from reality.
Recent studies conducted denote that lack of proper sex education in the school years leads to improper and non-consensual sex practices between adults in their coming years.
TV series/ documentaries are gateways to knowledge to a human in terms of information they’re unaware of. The presence of any form of entertainment in our lives today shape our thoughts, perspective and outlook towards a particular event or situation. The human brain has a tendency to connect dots to situations the mind has earlier witnessed to the current scenarios.
As we march towards creating a society that would be open to healthy discussions among its members, paving a path for such ice-breaking shows would definitely set up a benchmark for talks on topics like these.