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Sex Education - Not just a Netflix Show.

 As a "newly out" teenager in 2019, I was constantly looking for media about queer culture, in an attempt to reassure myself about my own sexuality. During one such Netflix deep dive session, I came across the phenomenon that is Sex Education. What initially started as a casual "it comes highly recommended but I'm probably going to watch it for timepass" kind of watch turned into a full blown love affair in no time. The fact that the queer characters weren't reduced to caricaturish tropes was a pleasant surprise, I have to admit. I'm aware that the bar is literally on the ground, let's move on.

Although the 'homophobic bully turning into the boyfriend' is a trope I have serious issues with, I was highly impressed by the fact that Eric Effiong, who would've been reduced to the "gay best friend" by mainstream cinema got a love triangle. Love triangles have traditionally been between two strong women with amazing personalities and a man who doesn't value either of them, so watching Eric get his own love triangle was absolutely heartening.

I've heard quite a few people criticise the show for its "unrealistic and garish" portrayal of sex and I have no choice but to disagree. I watched Sex Education at an age where people around me were starting to become sexually active, and I found myself introspecting about why the closest I had to a sexuality health class was a middle aged woman telling us that "the spread of AIDS is due to the fault of immoral women". I realised that a Netflix show was teaching me about pleasure, orgasm gaps, gender and sexuality spectrums, among other things that should've been taught in a sexuality health class.

To sum it up, Sex Education is a rollercoaster of a show. It made me laugh and cry, taught me a lot of things and validated my existence as a queer person. It also taught me to not feel ashamed of my own body and encouraged me to me speak about "taboo" topics.


- Chinmayee
Volunteer at SEYA Collective


Petition Link: Change.org/SeyaCollective


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