Season 3 of Sex Education, uploaded today, was eagerly awaited by Netflix subscribers. In two years, the series has become the flagship of progressive and inclusive teen shows. Through the character of Otis and his romantic adventures at Moordale high school, the series addresses sexuality and gender issues but also consent, racism, homophobia, validism … All with a freedom of tone and a humor which seduced a large audience.
But in spite of herself, the series has also become the symbol of an inclusive specification that some media and spectators accuse Netflix of imposing on all these series. 20 minutes asked his #MoiJeune panel for his opinion. First lesson of this survey carried out with OpinionWay *, one in 2 young people (50%) think that series like Sex Education make it possible to fight against the stereotypes conveyed, in particular, by porn. More than half of young people (58%) think that series can help a little in the fight against racism and homophobia, and a third (32%) are convinced.
The virtues of representativeness
Opinions are very divided but on the whole, many young people explain that a better representativeness of minorities is positive. “Having the opportunity to understand the other is the beauty of stories,” commented one respondent. We will have empathy for the characters in the story, especially if it is the hero, and having minorities allows us to see the situations they are facing, and that we could not imagine … . “
Many of them stress the importance of representation for minorities themselves. “As a bisexual, seeing ‘bi’ characters on screen has helped me. Another specifies that “it’s easier to identify with a fictional character than with a real person. “
The limits of visibility
However, many young people see the limits of the visibility of minorities to really reduce discrimination. “The series can participate in the fight against racism and homophobia but this work must also and above all be done in companies, places of power, and laws …”, comments a young woman.
“I am happy for all these minorities but it is sometimes forced, explains a respondent. Today in all series there is a coming out, a minority that suffers from racism, or girl power do you want some here. Suddenly, it’s always the same stories. Another respondent goes further: “It’s boring to have to systematically have to put every minority in all films / series. Netflix abuses this, it becomes ridiculous. “
We are always someone’s “jerk”
Thus, while 65% of young people find the presence of LGBTI or non-white characters in the series “useful” or “normal”, 35% think that it is “politically correct” or “painful”. But when we look at the details of these figures, we see that 77% of women aged 18-30 have a positive opinion on inclusiveness in the series against only 53% of men …
“It’s a bit stupid when a screenwriter who feels obligated to put on a character from a minority because it’s fashionable. But frankly, it is no more stupid than to release a sexist or racist cliché as we have seen in all the other series for a long time. “
* Study #MoiJeune 20 Minutes – OpinionWay, carried out online from September 13 to 14 with a representative sample of 450 young people aged 18 to 30 (quota method).