Review of Netflix’s Sex Education By: Sandra Jäger The third season of the original British Netflix series Sex Education was released on September 17, 2021 - and what a strong season! The series covers a wide range of topics, mostly concerned with being a teenager, identity at this stage of life, and, as the title explains, understanding and acceptance of one’s body and sexual relations with others. The show follows a group of high-school students at Moordale, where the lead cast is diverse in gender pronouns, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and more. Over the course of the series, many issues arise within and between the characters, and in relations to their family members or teachers. Two of the students open a “sex clinic” on campus, giving out advice to their fellow sexually struggling students. But the show digs way deeper into issues like anxiety, the wide spectrum of identity, depression, sexual assault, gender equality, body positivity, education, fashion, and so on. This show stands out because of these very important issues that teenagers, young adults, and everyone comes across. Their diverse cast makes it one of the most inclusive shows in mainstream culture right now, portraying BIPOC or LGBTQ+ characters not just as a token to be inclusive, but really giving them space for their own storylines and character development - like the popular British-African jock Jackson who battles anxiety, or the gay character Eric of Nigerian descent going back to his family in Nigeria, encountering a totally different culture while trying to stay true to his queer identity1. His trip also gave us the pleasure of seeing the traditional attire of a Nigerian wedding. The style and costumes of the show are not typically British, but a fresh mix of American symbolism, pop-cultural references, a throwback vibe, and contemporary styles.2 This makes the show more relatable at every stage of life. Fashion becomes especially important in the third season, as it marks one of the major changes made by the new headmaster who introduced school uniforms, encroaching on the students’ sense of selves, self-expression, and representations of gender identities through clothing, make-up, hair styles, and accessories. Most of the characters struggle deeply with this limitation on their freedom of expression through fashion. We see the struggle of a newly introduced non-binary character, Cal (played by the Sudanese-American actor Dua Salehwho), who is forced to wear the “correct” uniform confined by gender norms that no longer apply. Issues of identity carry through this season, as the students’ gained self-acceptance is challenged by the new headmaster or other adults, in order to make them conform to stereotypical, traditional norms of society, as they near graduation and career prospects. The third season ultimately allows the students to cope with, and ultimately overcome the restrictions imposed on them by figures of authority, and it’s empowering to watch them succeed.
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