Sex Education Finds Space For The Real Trans Experience
The Independent|September 25, 2023
"Today it’s still rare for trans people to speak freely about their experiences without facing some form of opposition. That’s where film and TV come in – to say what needs to be said before it can be met with the usual retaliation.
JAMIE RAINES
Sex Education Finds Space For The Real Trans Experience

Having shows like Netflix’s Sex Education to depict true-to-life trans experiences is crucial fictional representation for the LGBT+ community. It’s especially valuable when it’s a nonLGBT+ TV show representing us accurately to a mainstream audience.

In the last season of Sex Education, the characters are still coming to terms with growing up and their bodies changing, but this time the show examines even more inclusive identities. The show explores social, racial, gender, and religious diversities, in the process truly showing us what society looks like today. And what’s great is the space provided for many trans characters in a show.

When I was a teenager, there were plenty of inaccurate representations of trans people in the media. We were made to feel like being trans was something horrific – something to be mocked and politicised – without truly informing us of what it means to be transgender, what transitioning was, nor what to expect from it.

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