Why I'm Crying About Girls On A Bus
Written by Gylf Forsberg, Culture Staff Writer
Content Warning: The contents of this piece mention sexual assault and sexual harassment. If you or someone you know would like help please contact the national sexual assault hotline (1-800-656-4673) or the UHS Rape Crisis Center (608-251-7273).
If you can get past the nearly 5-minute montage of masturbation in the opener of season 2 of Netflix’s hit show Sex Education, you’ll find an incredibly enjoyable show that is able to tackle tough issues and not be a drag. As the season unfolds, you will be glued to your screen. It may even lead to a weekend binge of the entire season, as I did, sitting on my couch for nine hours laughing, crying and yelling at Otis.
I will be talking about some of the major elements of the new season, so as MsMojo says, “a spoiler alert is now in order.”
Sex Education—a show that centers around an underground sex and relationship clinic at a British high school—was a certified hit when the show was initially released on Netflix in early 2019. Featuring a powerhouse ensemble cast, the first season laid the groundwork for the characters and relationships of Moordale High. While the first season approached some tough subjects like internalized homophobia and abortion, it remained more on the lighter side for the most part.
The second season, however, introduced some more intense ideas and storylines and showcased the characters’—particularly female characters’—strengths. One of the most important storylines, I think, centers around one of the characters—Aimee—and an instance of sexual assault.
While she is on a crowded bus one morning, a man masturbates next to her and ejaculates onto her pants. Initially, Aimee is dismissive of, and even joking towards, the instance, at first not even believing it necessary to report it to the police.
However, as the episode and season progress, Aimee begins to gradually feel the effects the assault has on her. The effects build upon each other, and eventually she is unable to let her boyfriend hold her hand, imagines her assaulter in places where he is not and cannot even ride the bus without being overcome with fear and anxiety.
Sex Education approaches this storyline in a beautiful way, showing that sexual assault does not always equate to violent rape. Sexual assault has varying degrees and can be internalized by different people in many different ways.
In no way am I diminishing the severity of rape, but other less violent instances of assault—nonconsensual exposure, groping—can have an effect on victims that is just as impactful.
Aimee initially does not recognize her assault because it doesn’t necessarily fall into society’s overall predetermined notion of assault. She views her experience as something which doesn’t warrant a response, even though it has an immense effect on her mental health. This same hesitation to report is seen at alarmingly high levels in the real world. It is estimated that only 15.8 to 35 percent of all sexual assault instances are reported to authorities (Planty and Langton, 2016).
Although Aimee does eventually report her assault, it does not ease the distress the experience causes her, soon becoming crippling. In the penultimate episode of the season, a group of disparagingly different female students are tasked with finding a commonality between them all.
This seemingly insurmountable task is completed when Aimee confides in the others about her assault. Following this, it is revealed that they all have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault, another very-real fact.
In the United States, 81 percent of women report experiencing some form of sexual harassment in their lives (Chatterjee, 2018). The shared experience of these students showcases the indescribable atrocities that women experience daily.
This shared experience, although appalling, can create a shared strength, shown when these students—who likely wouldn’t have interacted normally—band together to support a fellow victim. In what is likely the most poignant and moving scene in the series, six girls, despite not necessarily being friends or liking each other, ride the bus together.
This may seem like a simple scene, but it conveys a sense of strength and solidarity and provides a moving representation of the #MeToo movement in an authentic way—without the need for exaggeration and gimmicky-violence so prevalent in other teen dramas.
Sources
Chatterjee, Rhitu. “A New Survey Finds 81 Percent Of Women Have Experienced Sexual Harassment.” NPR. NPR, February 22, 2018.
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. M. Planty and L. Langton, “Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010.” 2016.