I just got done binging 4 seasons of Sex Education. So MAJOR SPOILERS: SEASON 4. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
So, what happens when a TV show about sex and gender identity is airing/streaming during the worst global attacks on trans rights? They add a lot of diverse characters who are Queer, Trans, Disabled, and people of color. The fans’ opinions? “Too many diverse characters”. Here’s why that’s not even remotely enough. Especially in the last few years.
When shows go into production, they have what are known as consultants on the show. Consultants on television shows are people who are brought on who have lived experience, whether through work they do or because of their identity, they can bring about a realness to the show that wasn’t there before.
This is true for Shay Patten-Walker who was the transgender story consultant on Sex Education Season 4. Without their contribution to the show, the new characters Abbi and Roman as well as the returning character of Cal (who goes by they/them pronouns) would not have felt so well fleshed out and authentic. Sadly, Patten-Walker died by suicide in February of 2022.
Shay – who studied at the University of Greenwich – didn’t just work their magic on Sex Education, they were also a major voice for trans rights and worked with TransActual – a charity that aims to reduce the spread of misinformation about the trans community in order to educate and eradicate transphobia.
Who Is Shay Patten Walker, The Activist ‘Sex Education’ Paid Tribute To?, 9/25/2023
In episode 5 of Season 4, we see Cal going through a bout of dysphoria when they’re having sex with their partner and they get their period. The episode is very much a display of how hard it is to be trans and what trans people have to go through on a daily basis. At the end of the episode, we see the card before the credits that says “In Memory of Shay Patten-Walker”
The 4th season was revolutionary with its accurate and authentic portrayal of trans characters. Some of the issues the show dealt with trans issues with such incredible nuance. The Trans Masc/Enby characters discussed the pressing wait to get gender-affirming care in the UK. According to TransActual(the same nonprofit Walker worked with), in the UK, there are only 13 Gender Identity Clinics run by the NHS. This number includes Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales(Cymru). The backlog of patients means that waitlists can range from 6-18 months to even get a consult, let alone surgery or Hormones. The show paints a portrait of the people who are struggling due to the red tape of the NHS. The show actually has Cal and Roman talk about it on two separate occasions.
The series finale featured the merging of the A and B storylines. The first was Eric’s crisis of faith. On the day of his baptism, Eric comes out to his entire congregation and gives them an ultimatum. “I do agree to be baptized but only if you truly love me for who I am,” besides Beatrice, Eric’s mom, the congregation stays silent and Eric walks out of the church.
While this is all going on, Cal Bowman, the Non-binary character going through a significant depression due to their dysphoria, goes missing. They were last seen at the mall. All of the Cavendish students who know Cal go to the mall and begin searching. Ruby pulls some strings and finds out that Cal threw out their bag in the burger restaurant in the mall food court. The students find the bookbag and the C-plot about Viv and her abusive boyfriend is happening and then Jackson figures out where Cal is because of that conversation.
However, after he goes on a walk in the woods, someone in a red hoodie grabs his phone and runs away forcing eric to run in dress shoes to find them. He chases them until they stop at an overlook. Just to preface, 2 episodes prior, Eric encoutered a vision of God as a Black woman (Played by Jodie Turner-Smith) and it had a rainbow fish and Cal was in it.
This scene is pivotal to Eric’s future as he is being told that God wants him to be the person to deliver her message of love and acceptance. When God leaves she tells him, she tells him “I made you this bright so others can see in the darkness” and he turns to find cal at the edge of a cliff.
Eric goes down and talks to them and then Jackson comes and finds them. Cal goes home to their mom and survives another day. Trans people don’t always get that happy ending. Shay didn’t get that ending so the writers of the show wrote a happier ending than they got. That’s why representation isn’t enough anymore. Advocacy is the only way out of this hole that we have ourselves in. Transgender people face a higher suicide risk. Television has given us countless beautiful transgender characters but it isn’t enough. We need advocacy!
One more point. That T4T Sex Scene was a perfect amount of 🌶️ 🥵 🪭. But the way they were able to portray an intimate experience so beautifully with trans people is Fucking revolutionary. Check out the them. article, How Sex Education Got Its T4T Sex Scene Right about the production of the show! Sex education was an incredible show.
Finnoula’s corner 