Media & ArtsHow do you feel about the Netflix show "Sex Education"? (Spoilers!)

submitted by dilsencySame-sex community from (self.LGBDropTheT)

When it comes to lesbian representation... I feel bad. The first couple is only a couple in one episode, breaks up from off-screen cheating, and one of those girls only appears once later on. The second couple is... interesting. One of them (Ola... which is a male name in Sweden, but whatever) figures out that she's ✨pansexual✨ from an online quiz. The other (Lily) is obsessed with aliens, and they are unable to have sex unless it's alien-themed roleplay.

Gay representation is slightly better, I guess. The male main character's BFF is a gay guy (Eric), which is a dynamic I love. They have some very funny moments together. It does seem like Eric was written as a drag queen though, with the makeup, the outfits, and the attention seeking. Probably relatable for some, it's just a very specific portrayal. He's very interested in putting others in makeup as well, and you get the impression that if you are not performing femininity like him, you haven't truly accepted yourself as gay. Which is something I object to quite a bit.

His first boyfriend (Rahim) is very sensitive and into poetry. Kind of condescending. Eric breaks up with him, which makes sense to the audience because Rahim is kind of boring, by cheating on him with Adam, his old bully.

Adam is coming to terms with being attracted to men (bisexual), but most of his problems stem from being raised by his terrible father. Has the best character development and seems to be a fan favorite. Adam is very willing to improve himself and change out of his bad behaviour. Eric spends a night in a gay club and ends up cheating on Adam, then tries to pressure Adam into wearing makeup in public, which they only did alone to themselves, and go clubbing with him, which Adam is just not comfortable with. So Eric breaks up with him because "he able to fly" and Adam is "just learning to walk". Eric has zero remorse for cheating on him. Not at all a fan of how many shows portray gay men as being unable to be monogamous.

Also shown in this other thread is the straight guy being rejected by the non-binary girl for not being ✨queer✨, which is... something. I think the show definitely bit of way more than it could chew, seeing that everyone is represented. The one asexual girl gets like 3 lines, and it feels very pandering. Probably would be best to focus on a few select characters, so that the rest are not so underdeveloped.

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[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 15 insightful - 1 fun15 insightful - 0 fun16 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

The gay male storylines sound awful. I find it incredibly ironic how these shows pretend they’re against homophobia, but then push the myth that gay men who don’t wear make up are “not gay enough”. I find that homophobic. Frankly, only some gay men are naturally feminine, so telling gay men who are masculine or mildly feminine that they’re not “gay enough” or “haven’t accepted themselves” is not only wrong, but also condescending and rude. I will not waste my time on a show like that. But it makes sense that a show like Sex Education would shame gay men for being masculine, because woke people hate masculinity and they want to suppress it.

[–]artetolife 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Straight people want to think they can always tell when a man is gay and are offended whenever they wrongly assume he's straight. I couldn't be a sassy queen if my life depended on it, but when I was young I did think my social life would be easier if I was like that.

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

In my adolescence I was in denial about the fact that I was gay because I did not want to be a sassy queen. In fact, I could not stand people like that back then. Only when I realised that gay men can be masculine did I start to consider I was attracted to other men.

I think I know why some straight people want gay men to be effeminate. It’s because effeminate gay men are not threatening. Or at least perceived as not being threatening. They associate femininity with physical weakness, so they see effeminate gay men as not being a physical threat. But then they encounter a gay man who is masculine, or a gay man who is effeminate but also buff and capable of asskicking, it fries their brain. Sometimes even terrifies them, because deep down they scared of us. They are unfamiliar with us, except for what homophobes have told them, and people are naturally scared of whatever they’re unfamiliar with, so by default they perceive homosexual men as threatening until they know we’re not a threat. This is probably why a lot of gay rights activists pushed the myth that all gay men are effeminate even though only a minority of gay men are, because they thought that if most of society thinks gay men are effeminate, society would accept us faster. Maybe it worked, but certainly led to sectors of society believing that we’re unsuitable for military service or jobs that involve heavy lifting. It also made us easier targets for thugs who like beating up people, because these thugs think we can’t fight back. It also made a lot of gay male teenagers scared to come out, because those teens either wanted to be masculine or wanted to date masculine men, or both. And at the end of the day, a lot of people realised that effeminate men can still be threatening, especially after we found out about Jimmy Saville, so perpetuating this myth still didn’t work. What does help reduce homophobia, is showing that gay men, masculine or feminine, can be normal human beings.

[–]xanditAGAB (Assigned Gay at Birth) 12 insightful - 1 fun12 insightful - 0 fun13 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Not at all a fan of how many shows portray gay men as being unable to be monogamous.

I think because so many don’t believe in monogamy (teh heteronormativity!!)

Thanks for review.... I wouldn’t watch it based on the non binary post though.

[–]dilsencySame-sex community[S] 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I don't know. If that was the intention you'd think they'd portray happy non-monogamous relationships, not characters still wanting monogamous relationships.

[–]Neo_Shadow_LurkerPronouns: I/Don't/Care 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

If that was the intention you'd think they'd portray happy non-monogamous relationships, not characters still wanting monogamous relationships.

Maybe they just don't know how to write a show with an actually consistent theme.

[–][deleted] 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Maybe not that I have seen the show but some people think rampant cheating spices up the drama in a romance story. If anything I think people want more wholesome happy relationship stuff in gay media if anything.

[–]dilsencySame-sex community[S] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I think this is the more likely case as well.

[–]LushCanopy 11 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 0 fun12 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I am still enjoying the show, but the non binary storyline was really stupid. I'm afraid they are going to double down on the gender identity stuff in future seasons, which is a shame because there are a couple of topics that they've handled really well.

The sexual assault storyline for example is really good imo. Finally a realistic portrayal of the long term effects of such an experience.

[–]Mermer 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I hated the second season and I haven't touched it since I watched it when it came out so I don't remember a lot just the things I hated witch was Ola/Lily relationship and box checking representation. I like Ola, but her storyline just doesn't sit right with me. This season her gf was mad cause she didn't want to have alien sex and didn't obsessively believe in them?!? Gay people can be normal, boring, basic bitches and that's okay. I like Adam, I think it's cool to rep bi men but I'm not a fan of bullie/victim relationships. I honestly understand Eric's point of view, he felt cooked up with Adam and the kiss while wrong (and portrayed as such) felt freeing to him. I honestly don't know how to feel about them but they have their cute moments I guess. And I agree, I love Otis's and Eric's friendship!

Also I hated the nb girl, she literally made a cute couple problematic for no reason. She also associated comfortable clothes with her gender?!? Also you can hate on Hope all you want but how was she wrong with the female anatomy thing? And the recording they used against her? She had a point.

Unrelated, Aimee's and Maeve's friendship is the best thing about the show!