Functional Diversity and Sex-Affective Relationships in Sex Education (Netflix). The Case of Isaac and Maeve

Abstract

This paper analyses the representation of functional diversity and sex-affective relationships among adolescents in the fictional series Sex Education during seasons 2 and 3 (2020-2021), coinciding with the appearance of the character Isaac, an adolescent with functional diversity. Based on the discourse analysis of the characters and the narratives on functional diversity, we explore the construction of Isaac as a desiring and desired subject and his sex-affective relationship with Maeve. The research concludes that Sex Education makes visible, vindicates, and normalises the affective and sexual needs of young people with functional diversity, avoiding a discourse where infantilisation, pathologisation, and asexuality prevail. It gives the characters with functional diversity a horizon of possibility of loving and engaging in sexual intercourse. Likewise, the series presents a scenario where equality and integration are unprecedented successes in society, viewing the difficulties and violence faced by Isaac as an exception rather than as a structural social problem.