A Netflix original production that won the hearts of young people right away and provided many marathons was the British series "fri Education”. Set in a high school called Moordale, the series begins by telling the story of Otis and Maeve, two young men who, because of the boy Otis' ability inherited from his psychologist mother, open a secret sex therapy clinic to serve high school students. Moordale.
Among reports of traumas, insecurities and stories of sexual disasters by young people at the school, “Sex Education” brings, literally, the topic of sex education in a brilliant way and has didactic potential to guide and enlighten the minds of adolescents and other audiences in relation to on the subject of “sex”. Even for those parents who don't have the guts to sit down and have that infamous conversation with their kids at puberty, "Sex Education" is quite a recommendation.
Adolescence and sex life
To paraphrase Gayle Rubin, American cultural anthropologist, sexuality needs to be treated with care in times of great social stress. That's why depriving teenagers and pre-teens of issues related to sex and throwing this topic under the rug is the worst option.
At puberty, when young people's bodies begin to undergo numerous hormonal changes, it is time to talk about sexuality. This is not only for them to understand what is happening with their own bodies, as well as what is still to come, but also to create awareness about health and prevention (of STIs, pregnancy and the like).
Furthermore, talking about sex and having sexual experiences do not mean mere promiscuity, and this conservative idea should be put aside immediately. It is healthy for an individual to be free from this and able to live good experiences with his body and the bodies of others, since sexual frustrations can reverberate in a very negative way in the psychology of any human being. This is one of the main messages that the “Sex Education” series conveys.
Contrary to what a retrograde mentality thinks and defends, sexual abstinence is an extremely harmful alternative for young people. To deprive youth of talking about and experiencing sex is simply contributing to the accumulation of traumas in the body and mind of human beings in formation; it's pure repression. In the series, this is clear both in characters exaggeratedly controlled by parents, and even in adults with problems in relationships.
Adolescence, therefore, is an essential moment to talk about sex education, because it is at this stage that everything is being formed and defined; it is at this stage the ideal time to create better future adults, aware of themselves and their own issues, who understand about consent, relationships, limits, respect, self-care and, also, about their own body.
Best of all, then, is knowing that all these issues nowadays can be followed and absorbed through entertainment. Even if a teenager does not have parents or guardians who are able to talk to deal with these matters, watching “Sex Education” can contemplate him in a relaxed way and, still, close to his reality, with the daily life of young students who manage identification on it.
The media and social education
Nowadays, with the apparatus of technology and social media, many topics are compromised with the lack of responsibility for the propagation of diverse information. In 5 minutes scrolling the timeline of a Twitter account, for example, a user is able to read arguments and dissertations on various subjects written without any basis, which can harm processes, such as sex education.
In addition, an unprepared young person can have easy access on the internet to content that is unfavorable to sex education, such as pornography or media and the like that trivialize violence and lack of consent in sex. Fake news and irresponsible erotic material, then, form a harmful combo in the minds of teenagers in training.
That is why it is important to emphasize that communication about sexuality can and should be presented at different stages of life, but always thought of in language appropriate for the individual's age. There is also an urgent need for virtual platforms to work on issues of this nature in a more responsible and profound way.
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With absolute sensitivity, care, engagement and respect, the “Sex Education” series addresses numerous topics related to both sexuality and sex life itself, encompassing all the complexity involved in each of them. That's why it's a great reference to bring the subject up for debate, and it can be quite an alternative for parents to be able to find a way to approach this approach with their children.
For those who do not have children or do not seek this purpose with the series, watching it is, in any case, a good suggestion, as it will certainly clarify many thoughts about relationships, feelings, sex, affection, freedom and everything else.
