Netflix’s “Sex Education”

It premieres on Netflix in just two days, but it’s probably not what you think when you hear the words “sex education.”

In a world where many parents really struggle with how and when to engage their kids in “the talk”… Netflix is launching a show that once again (yes, they did the same thing with Big Mouth) is either addressing or exploiting—you decide—the subject that isn’t talked about much in most homes. But from the world’s perspective, of course.

Teen Vogue describes it as Big Mouth meets Degrassi and the trailer speaks volumes about what you can expect:

https://youtu.be/o308rJlWKUc

The interesting thing about sexually charged media is that the creators always claim they are just portraying a realistic glimpse of today’s youth culture. Occasionally I’ve seen films do this (remember Thirteen?), but most the time these types of entertainment media serve more as an influencer of how to behave than a representation of how kids are already behaving (something I address to teens in my The Teen’s Guide to Social Media and Mobile Devices).

A character in the show claims, “Everybody’s either thinking about shagging, about to shag, or actually shagging.”

Is that true?

Is there a chance that the pre-pubescent freshman who can’t stop playing Fortnite isn’t even curious about sex yet… or do we need to consider having these conversations a little earlier?

I guess that depends.

Do you want to be the one to tell your kids the truth about this subject, or would you rather wait until they hear the lies first?

So how can you engage your kids in conversation about this important topic?

For more help becoming your kids Go-To person about sex, take a peek at Jonathan’s books, More Than Just the Talk (for parents) and Sex Matters (for young people). Or Pre-order Jonathan’s newest book for guys, The Guy’s Guide to Four Battles Every Young Man Must Face.