There is so much to rant about in this show (in a good way, I swear!) and my brain is pinging with all the endorphins released by such a satisfying finale episode. So good! Heartbreak High is a 2022 reboot of the 1990s Australian classic Teen Drama of the same name. Now, I have yet to watch the original, but I added it to my Netflix up next List a little while ago and a couple weeks later this 2022 version popped into my suggestions and I could not help diving in. So glad I did!
I cannot get over the fact that the central locus of the whole show is in a comprehensive sex ed classroom (or Sexual Literacy Tutorial, a.k.a. SLT a.k.a. ‘SLUTS’ as the students derisively/affectionately dub themselves)! I cannot effectively convey how amazingly this show walks the line between demonstrating teenage agency and autonomy and maturity, with the very real need to educate and inform and nurture an understanding of healthy sexuality.
The inciting incident of the series is the discovery of BFFs Amerie and Harper’s “Hartley High Incest Map,” an extremely detailed flowchart of sorts enumerating all the various sex acts they know of that their friends and classmates have engaged in. This leads the administration to assign all the students named on the map to a Sexual Literacy Tutorial.
OK, so at first, the students are irate, “we already do all that stuff, you don’t need to teach us anything!” “You’re not going to get us to stop having sex with each other, so what’s the point.” Guess what, that’s the point! Comprehensive sex ed isn’t actually focused on stopping you from having sex. It’s there to equip you with the tools and knowledge to effectively navigate the world as a sexual being. Wait, what?! I know!
So while the show begins by laughing at the outdated curriculum along with our overly savvy teens, over the course of the series we see that the intent behind ‘SLUTS’ isn’t actually to punish these teens for their active sex lives, but to meet them where they are at with support and guidance.
Okay, it’s not as simple as that either. The curriculum is outdated and silly. Jojo, the SLT teacher is passionate and so well-meaning, but often misses the mark on how to connect with her students. She and principal Woodsy are constantly at odds about their purpose (to restrict vs. to empower) and their disorganization gets taken advantage of by the headstrong group of teens in front of them.
But throughout the series we begin to witness the many ways these kids need the lessons that Jojo is trying to teach. They need guidance on how to effectively communicate with romantic partners. They need to understand consent and STI risks and the importance of female pleasure, and all manner of lessons that they may not want to sit through, they may feel don’t apply, but as we see first hand as they navigate the complicated high school hook up scene, very much do apply.
The value of ‘SLUTS’ doesn’t fully shine through until the class loses Jojo, and Woodsy’s less *ahem* nuanced, scared-straight approach to Sex Ed is thrust into their faces. While none of them really wants to be in ‘SLUTS’ to begin with, you can’t deny the fondness they’ve developed for the class, for Jojo, and for their cohort. And the lessons they’re learning? They simmer in the background. They work their magic in realistically slow and … what’s the opposite of in your face?… oh, subtle ways. They aren’t magically fixed. They are still the same teens making bad decisions, but as they go about navigating friendships, relationships, sex, and love, you get the sense that they are now developing an extra layer of context to help them navigate the complexities of high school romance.
Gah, I’ve run out of smart ways to say that this is amazing! I love sex ed, and Heartbreak High is such an amazing example of how it’s important and needed and great, even if you think it’s dorky and a bit uncool!
