Sex Education Netflix Special

Grooming oneself is a highly personal choice, subject to a plethora of external pressures. While every woman has the right to choose whether or not she shaves, there is a cacophony of echoes from social media influencers and cultural icons in TV shows and movies to the beauty industry itself promoting a certain image for women. For decades the TV and movie industry perpetuated a cycle of self-loathing among women. Shows like Baywatch not only objectify women who run around in tiny bathing suits in slow motion, but also present an idealized body beyond the amount of body hair visible; slim hour glass figures with glistening tan skin become the norm that the average woman strives for. Any other configuration of the female form is considered less valuable and therefore creates a problematic hierarchy of body types, placing one form over another.

As someone who acknowledges and recognizes these ridiculous beauty standards it is disheartening to find myself trying to conform to them nonetheless. I am acutely aware of how long my leg hair gets and I vigilantly check my weight.

Netflix’s new original show, Sex Education, attempts to combat this preconceived notion of a preferred body type. Its creative plot line and innovative execution of difficult discussions, such as the idealized conception of the female body or talking about sexual identity, help normalize otherwise sparse discussions among young adults. Episode five has to be the most powerful episode in season one. The episode tracks one of the popular girls at school whose nude photo was leaked. With the leaker unknown, rumor rapidly spreads throughout the school of who the perpetrator might be. Otis, the main character, cannot figure out who sent the image and is confounded at such nasty behavior. But, his partner in running the sex clinic “cracks the case” because of her experience with catty behavior among women.

Acknowledging that women can be just as harsh and demeaning as men is an important narrative to put into writing. The final scene of the episode concludes with all of the women, and even some of the men, standing in the school auditorium during a campus wide meeting claiming the leaked nude photo as their own. Each individual who speaks up represents a wide breadth of different identities: some women are of different ethnicities, others are meant to be perceived as belonging to different socioeconomic brackets because of their clothing yet all of them claim the nude photo as their own. Such a simple phrase, “it’s my vagina,” encapsulates such a powerful reclaiming of not only body but also of personhood. These women are not allowing for their school, a historically patriarchal institution which prescribes proper behavior for a woman to engage in, rule their actions. They refuse to let someone else tell them what is the wrong or right thing to do with their bodies. The universality of all the students discussing their anatomy portrays a sense of comfort in their own skin, promoting self-confidence to the show’s viewership.

Showcasing a school environment which combats the typical taboo narrative that surrounds anatomy and sex education for young adults, watching the show encourages body positivity. This topic is so vital in the formation of a young person’s view of themselves, particularly among young women. With Sex Education tackling a topic that society deems as shameful, it works to destigmatize different body types and personal grooming preferences. You do not have to have a waxed vagina to be considered worthy of a partner’s attention. Women should not be shamed or punished for having pubic hair. With our constantly changing culture, it is hard to pinpoint the events or phenomena which help us shift to a more progressive outlook. I confidently believe that Sex Education is among them.

By Anna Billy

Music snob, over-protective mom-friend, and avocado toast connoisseur.