Sex Education

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Sex Education

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Why 'Sex Education' Is the Destigmatizing Force
We Need Right Now
Sex Education has never shied away from destigmatizing sexual topics that are
typically deemed shameful or taboo. The British dramedy series has been praised
for its celebration of sex and sexual identity in all forms, particularly in how it
has explored sensitive storylines about sex that are often underrepresented
in media.
Lily's struggle
with vaginismus
("My vagina’s like a
Venus flytrap”),
Florence's asexual
awakening last season
("Sex doesn't make us
whole, so how could you
ever be broken?"),
or Anwar's anxiety over
douching before sex ("I'm really freaked out by bumholes").

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Swept under the Rug –
маскировать
Advocate – отстаивать,
защищать
Abstinence –воздержание
Ostracize – изгонять из
общества
Hope resorts to a curriculum of shame that includes a new sex education
program advocating abstinence and a new set of consequences for rule-breaking
that involves publicly shaming students in front of the entire school by making
them wear a sign around their neck that bears their "crime." As if it can't get any
more dehumanizing, part of the punishment also requires the other students to
ostracize the punished students, to not look or speak to them until their
punishment is lifted.

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This is where Season 3 of Sex Education veers into territory that is a bit
hyperbolic. It is no secret that the public education system stifles sex positivity
and often contributes to the widespread misformation about safe sex practices
and sexual identity. And as Jean says in Season 1,
"Intercourse can be wonderful, but it can also cause tremendous pain.
And if you're not careful, sex can destroy lives."
However, Hope's punishment of public shaming, especially the enforcement of
signs, toes the line between realism and dramatization. That being said, the
philosophy behind Hope's methods still rings true in not only our schools, but
also in our embedded social norms of what is considered "normal."

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-Kinks and fetishes – отклонения и фетиши

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The immense popularity of the Fifty
Shades of Grey franchise — despite
its frustrating, and oftentimes
dangerous, misrepresentation of the
BDSM community — created a space
where conversations about sexual
fetishes don't always have to happen
behind closed doors; but
unfortunately, the newfound
excitement surrounding BDSM was
largely based on the inaccurate
"Hollywood treatment" of kink and
fetishism. Lily's role-playing kink is
nearly as common as BDSM, but
fandom role play such as alienerotica is more commonly
stigmatized in media as foolish or
funny, or something to keep to
oneself.

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The ending of Season 3 sends a clear
message. The stifling, and
furthermore, shaming of sex,
especially sexual fetish, goes hand in
hand with the oppression of one's
identity as a sexual being. At
Moordale, or "Sparkside Academy,"
sex is viewed as a shameful act,
especially when one's sexual desires
are viewed as humiliating or
inherently wrong. Lily's love of alienerotica is more than a hobby, it is a
passion that brings Lily joy and
stimulates creative expression. Under
Hope's backward curriculum,
however, it is an embarrassment that
can only be stifled by public
humiliation. Hope's entire arc this
season serves to propel Moordale
forward into accepting their status as
"Sex School" as something beautiful
and celebratory, a welcome
environment that stands unashamed
in the face of social norms and sexual
stigmatization.

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Aimee's (Aimee Lou Wood) arc this
season also brings to the table a
conversation that is long overdue: the
culture of vagina-shaming and its
impact on how young people view their
bodies.
Since Season 1,
Sex Education has created an
atmosphere of body positivity
("Everyone has bodies, right? It’s
nothing to be ashamed of"),
particularly when it comes to
disputing widespread stereotypes
and beliefs about what is "normal"
genitalia. In an interview with
Refinery29 back in 2019, Emma
Mackey (who plays Maeve Wiley)
shared:

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“There are lots of young women who feel like
they have
an ugly vagina or their vagina is wrong and it
has to look a certain way … There’s this whole
generation of young women who feel like
they’re not adequate enough….

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Arguably one of the most impactful
— and surprisingly poignant —
scenes in all of Sex Education is in
Season 1, after a picture of Ruby's
(Mimi Keene) vagina gets dispersed
throughout school. One by one,
many of Moordale's students choose
to stand in solidarity with Ruby as
they proudly proclaim at assembly,
"It's my vagina!" In Season 3, Aimee
becomes an advocate for vulvapositivity after Jean introduces her to
a website called all-vulvas-arebeautiful.com. It's an important step
for Aimee who is still learning how to
heal after being sexually assaulted on
the bus last season. Her iconic "vulva
cupcakes" this season are more than
just a comedic relief in a season
tinged with deep heartbreak; they
represent Aimee's journey to
reclaiming her body on her own
terms.

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“We shouldn't be shamed for having sexual
desires. You make sex sound terrifying, but it
doesn't have to be. It can be fun and beautiful
and teach you things about yourself and your
body.”

16.

Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me
Calling me, all the time like Blondie
Check out my Chrissie behind, it's fine all of the time
Like sex on the beaches
What else is in the teaches of peaches? Huh? What?
Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me
Calling me, all the time like Blondie
Check out my Chrissie behind, it's fine all of the time
What else is in the teaches of peaches?
Like sex on the beaches, huh? What?
Huh? Right, what? Uh
Huh? What? Right, uh
I U D S I S, stay in school cause it's the best (4x)
Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me
Calling me, all the time like Blondie
Check out my Chrissie behind, it's fine all of the time
Like sex on the beaches
What else is in the teaches of peaches? Huh? What?