What There Is To Love About Sex Education

I am one of the few people I know of in America who has had sex education, or "health class", twice during my K-12th grade years.

I had it in 7th grade at the "Christian Academy" I attended for 6 years as well as in 11th grade at the top public school I attended for high school.

They were similar in their basics, but much different in their approach and resources provided.

I was thoroughly intrigued by both courses and even took a, Health and Human Sexuality, class in college that ended up being one of my favorite classes.

To my surprise, my elderly, white male professor knew his stuff and taught the class extremely well!

However, this piece isn't about MY sexual education, but the Netflix show, "Sex Education", which I have come to love.

If you haven't seen it, nor the latest season yet, dinna fash (don't worry), I won't spoil anything for you.

I simply want to take a little time to say how impressed I am by it and why.

Funny thing though…I don't think I ever would have started watching the show if it wasn't for my boyfriend.

We don't watch much television in general. I hardly watched any, aside from occasional movies, before meeting him a few years ago. Now I have some favorites, and this show is at the top of my short list because it is incredibly diverse and inclusive.

The writing is brilliant.

It's hilarious, thought-provoking, relatable, entertaining and educational.

After watching one particular episode last week, I thought to myself that this show has to be written by, or at least include, a female writer.

It gave certain perspectives that are rarely presented by male writers of television shows or movies and I had never looked into the creators or writers of Sex Education before.

Lo and behold, it was created and written by a woman, Laurie Nunn.

One of my friends was surprised by this because he thought it was written by a man.

He didn't think that a woman would be able to write so well about the many varied experiences of the male characters (and sex in general) that are showcased.

This same friend of mine looked into the analytics of those who watch the show and revealed to me just how many males versus females of different age groups watch the show.

The majority are males, which made me smile and feel even more satisfied because I think that more males need to be exposed to the topics, discussions and scenarios that play themselves out in this show.

There are many unexpected twists and complexities that don't have to do with sex, that I think are important to think about as well.

The main characters are not just teenagers who attend Moordale High school, but their friends, parents and other adults who range in age as well.

I love that!

In just 3 seasons we have seen a decent amount of character development in the main characters, but also in some of the minor characters, which is uncommon in most shows I've seen.

Also, I really like that certain stereotypes have been flipped.

Oftentimes men are portrayed as being promiscuous and leery of commitment, but in this show, Otis' mom who is a self-efficient single parent in her mid-40's is shown in this light.

She enjoys having casual sex with many partners at certain times in her life, without any shame. She also has had quite few partners who are much younger than she is.

This leads me to one of my last points that I appreciate about this show.

It succeeds wildly at lifting this veil of shame in which sex can oftentimes be shrouded, especially in marginalized communities.

It broaches the sexual feelings and physical parts of people young through old who identify as straight, gay, trans, young, old, disabled, abled, American, African, European and more.

It even delves into topics of death, rebirth, grief, joy and so on as it aims to showcase the full spectrum of human emotions.

What a fantastic thing for more people to see in this sea of homogeneity that falls under the category "entertainment".

One last thing, I think that Gillian Anderson is incredible with her British accent!

I actually had to look up whether she was American or British because it is so rare that Americans are hired to do a British accent, but she is American. It's usually the other way around. She's completely different than she was when she played "Agent Scully" in X-Files. Her character Jean Milburn in Sex Education is one of my all-time favorites. Clearly, I highly recommend it.