An organization that advocated for a safe media environment for children warned parents about a Netflix series that depicts youth in sexual situations and pornographic imagery. The Parents and Television Media Council raised awareness about the Netflix series “Sex Education” since its first season in 2019.
The series tells the tale of a socially awkward high school boy who sets up an underground sex therapy clinic for his classmates. This year, the show entered its final season, which PTC Vice President Melissa Henson hopes is a sign that it is ending due to waning audience interest or no interest. Henson doubts Netflix will develop a sequel series, but she raised concerns that shows like “Sex Education” represent a “troubling pattern” of Netflix putting out content that shows minors in highly sexualized situations.
Actors in the series were people of age playing minors, but Henson still sees an issue with adults pretending to be underage youth in sexual situations. She raised similar concerns with the show “Big Mouth,” an adult cartoon that the PTC vice president said has grown actors voicing minors that handle sexual scenarios. Henson also highlighted the controversy that followed Netflix streaming the French film “Cuties,” a movie that led to members of Congress urging the Department of Justice to investigate the streaming service to find out whether it violated any federal laws by distributing the film that sexualizes 11-year-old girls and promotes the normalization of pedophilia.
Others had asked what the nearly 70 underage girls who auditioned for the movie had been asked to do during their auditions and where those tapes are now. Unlike “Sex Education,” in “Cuties,” Henson noted that the actors were underage girls. The PTC vice president warned that the people watching shows like “Sex Education” are typically middle or high schoolers who might find something relatable to identify with that keeps them watching. Henson said, “But then they’re presenting kids who are watching this with this notion of, ‘Oh, it’s OK to be promiscuous; it’s OK to be sexually adventurous, and it’s OK to engage in these sorts of high-risk, low commitment encounters. And that’s the sort of message that they’re giving young viewers.”
She continued, “The only other scenario that I can think of is that they’re really targeting this to adults, not kids. In which case, they’re encouraging adults to view these minor characters as sexually adventurous and willing to engage in these behaviors that are pretty advanced and far outside the norm for the average middle schooler or high schooler.” On its website, PTC urges people to sign an open letter to Netflix investors to hold the streaming service accountable for “sexualizing” children’s entertainment.
PTC also announced that it plans to petition U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to see if Netflix had violated federal laws related to child sex, indecency and human trafficking. According to Henson, PTC delivered petitions around a year ago; however, the organization has not received a response from the Department of Justice besides a brief clarifying question from a field office looking for more data.