How Netflix's 'Sex Education' is teaching teens to be responsible, empathetic adults

Netflix‘s “Sex Education” has only been out for two weeks, but it’s already being praised by youth organizations who work to teach kids how to be responsible, empathetic adults.

The show, starring Gillian Anderson (Jean Milburn) , Asa Butterfield (Otis Milburn), Emma Mackey (Maeve Wiley) and others, tackles tough topics that are central to teens’ lives, such as abortion, homosexuality, body shaming and female solidarity, and it does so in very real, digestible scenarios. It’s earned a solid 8.6 out of 10 on IMDb and an 81 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Though it wasn’t planned, the show is being lauded for its mostly female writing staff and for telling authentic stories from a young woman’s perspective.

“The process of finding writers for season one was very organic. The writers whose comedic sensibility and worldview that fit most naturally with my pilot script, and who were open to exploring the truthful awkwardness of sex, turned out to be mostly women,” show creator Laurie Nunn told “GMA.” “It’s a show with a very feminist heart and having a female-heavy writing team definitely helped bring certain issues to the forefront of the storytelling.”

Nunn said the writing process for the first season was “pretty intense,” but also “a lot of fun.”

“Spending four weeks in a room full of funny people instead of alone at my laptop was such a joy,” Nunn said. “There was a lot of laughter and a lot of embarrassing sex stories shared that will never be repeated.”

But through the laughter comes serious education, too. Melissa D’Andrea, programs director for Girls Inc. of New York City, told “GMA” that “Sex Education” is getting the conversation started between teens and their parents as well as reaching youth in ways sitting in a classroom could never do.

D’Andrea said that through streaming platforms, such as Amazon and Netflix, educators and storytellers can “meet young people where they are at.”

“A lot of these kinds of shows … young people are seeing them first or experiencing them through some sort of social media, and that’s kind of how the conversation gets started,” she said.

Girls Inc. is a nonprofit organization in hundreds of cities across the United States and Canada that supports, mentors and empowers young women ages 6 to 18.

D’Andrea added that it’s incredibly important that not just women, but people of color, young voices and the LGBTQ community, are represented in shows like “Sex Education.”

“Up until very recently, a lot of the time, the stories of women and people of color were told predominantly by a heterosexual, white male voice,” she said.

For young women to see someone like themselves creating stories like this or in a position of power in a series like “Sex Education” is incredibly important, D’Andrea said.

“It’s hard for girls to imagine being the storytellers here if they don’t see themselves represented,” she added.

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One episode and scene that Nunn says is one of her favorites is when the entire student body stands up during an assembly and supports one of their own, Ruby, whom they may not like all that much, but it’s still the right thing to do.

Ruby, a brash, elite member of society at the school, is being blackmailed — someone in the school has plans to not only release a naked picture of her, but they also plan to tell the whole school that it is her. It’s body shaming at its worst.

“The idea of the Spartacus moment came out of a brainstorming session in the writer’s room,” Nunn explained. “It had been an emotionally heavy day, discussing the general shame that women are made to feel about our bodies, in particular, our genitals. It began as a joke to lighten the mood — the idea of all the female students standing up and saying, ‘It’s my vagina,’ just seemed so funny.”

“But when I thought about Maeve standing up in defense of her arch nemesis, Ruby, and putting her beliefs before her pride, I knew that’s how the episode needed to end. It’s a real moment of female solidarity,” Nunn added.

D’Andrea agreed, adding that living in “such a weird time” with social media dominating the lives of the younger generation, “a lot of issues come up for girls.”

“We are all as educators, we are all learning how to navigate these things together,” D’Andrea said. “With that, it’s very easy to tear other people apart, not listen to each other, have each other’s back.”

D’Andrea applauded the show for promoting the “concept of sisterhood.”

“If one girl is being violated publicly in any way, think about how important it is for others to speak up and not engage in those bullying behaviors — to understand multiple perspectives,” D’Andrea said.

And then there’s that powerful episode where Maeve decides to have an abortion and, in the process of visiting the clinic, you not only see her perspective but those protesting what they consider to be taking a life.

It’s an episode that leaves no stone unturned and for a sensitive issue, it is “handled in the most thoughtful way possible,” Nunn said.

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“Maeve’s unwanted pregnancy was always going to be part of her story. I wanted to explore the issue in a way that was entirely personal to her character,” Nunn added. “This experience isn’t going to be the nicest one that Maeve goes through in her life, but it also won’t define her. I didn’t want the storyline to play out as an unexploded plot-bomb, as abortion often does when portrayed on screen.”

The show creator said that Maeve makes her choice and then “does her best to get on with her life.”

“What I like about the episode is it’s really about us getting to know Maeve better as a character, we chip away at her steely exterior and come to understand why she’s so alone in the world,” Nunn continued.

Dr. Sara Flowers, vice president of education for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told “GMA” that the show really illustrates the need for young people to have information and resources to be able to handle all kinds of relationships.

“Real, honest portrayals of young people’s lives include different gender identities and sexual orientations; masturbation and pleasure; decisions about a pregnancy, including deciding to have an abortion; birth control and having safer sex; and giving consent and receiving rejection,” she said. “These are all normal parts of sexual and romantic development through the lifespan and should be integrated into what is portrayed on TV and in film. We have to replace misinformation and stigma with facts, and ‘Sex Education’s’ realistic and compassionate depiction of one young woman’s decision to have an abortion does this well.”

Otis’ relationship with Maeve, his mother, Jean, and women, in general, shouldn’t be overlooked.

Sure, the young man deals with his fair share of growing pains, but he’s always trying to learn from women and has the heart of a true ally.

“For a long time, it felt like we were doing this work in a one-sided sort of way,” D’Andrea said, referring to gender parity and equality on all fronts. “But this is work that needs to be done across all people. These are not things that are the responsibility of women alone.”

Through movements like #MeToo and Times Up, the conversation has really changed and D’Andrea said the old excuse, “boys will be boys,” isn’t good enough anymore.

“Women shouldn’t just expect to be harassed,” she added. “It’s really time to look at masculinity and toxic masculinity differently.”

Nunn loves the relationship between Otis and Jean and while they are often hilarious, they also “really capture the warmth and love as well as the sometimes difficult intensity of the single parent/child relationship. We couldn’t be luckier with the casting!”

Flowers also agreed.

“The show also reinforces the importance of family communication about sex and relationships,” she said. “As the primary sex educators of young people, when parents or caregivers talk with their teens about identity, relationships, and sex, they are better able to support the young people as they navigate the path to adulthood. ‘Sex Education’ provides many teachable moments for parents and teens to discuss the themes in the show, and build a stronger foundation of communication about sex and relationships.”