Written by: Mason Braasch
Warning! Spoilers Ahead!
“So what’s your thing then?” asks Jackson. To which Maeve replies, “Complex female characters.”
True to this quote by lead charcter and cookie-cutter “bad girl,” Maeve Wiley, Netflix’s Sex Eduacation is all about the female charcters, especially in the inspiring and empowering second season.
Sex Education, although extrememly graphic and definatley PG-13, has been recieving praise from fans since the first season was released in 2019. Its ability to be open about particularlly hard topics like sexuality, race, and sex has made it a favorite, allowing it to be renewed for a second season. The show can be praised for a lot of things, considering its openness and representation, but what is most commendable about the new season was its plotline that demonstrated the strength and power of female camaraderie.
Although the second season of Sex Education follows the same basic plot as the first — narrating the story an underground sex clinic run by students of a British high school — what was most impactful to me (and to many other female fans) was the plot of side character Aimee Gibbs.
While Aimee was riding to school on the public bus, she was sexually assaulted when a stranger ejaculated on her jeans. We see Aimee silently struggle through the reality of this encounter following this incident, as she starts imagining her assaulter everywhere she goes and is unable to receive physical touch from those that she loves.
This raw portrayal of sexual assault was devastating to watch and unfortunately, familiar to many. Yet, as the season progesses, Sex Education shows us just how strong women can be. After keeping her assault a secret for much of the season, Aimee finally opens up to her female counterparts. This ignites a conversation about how the one thing that all of the girls on the show had in common was “nonconsensual penises.”
This sad yet powerful scene was just the beginning of a montage that showed the true power of female anger and camaraderie. Aimee and her friends were united through the ways in which they had been taken advantage of. Sex Education then shows the girls coming together to express the anger that they — and all women — feel by loudly proclaiming their frustrations and destroying glass objects in an abandoned dump.
This display of strength had me laughing, crying, and cheering, as it is so rare that we see a diverse group of women sharing moments of strength together on screen. Better yet, to see women take back control after they have been sexually assaulted is empowering, encouraging, and beautiful.
So, while Aimee’s plotline was not the main focus of season two, it is an important plotline for all viewers of the new season. Spreading awareness and raising hope, the story of strength and female camaraderie was the highlight of season two, and of the whole show in general. To watch women take control and fight back is just the narrative we need, and Sex Education delivered in a truly beautiful way.