How 'Big Mouth' Uses Song for Effective Sex Education
With the release of Big Mouth: Season 4 brought reinforcement to the idea that it is pretty effective sex and social education. Big Mouth, for those unaware, is a show about a range of middle school-ers, going through puberty, and navigating a modern world: developing within their identities, interacting with others platonically and romantically, overcoming difficult emotions, and of course, dealing with puberty!
Created by Andrew Goldberg, Nick Kroll, Mark Levington, and Jennifer Flankett and first aired in 2017, the show touches on adolescent development, serial and gender identity, poor mental health, toxic relationships, and more, which has singled itself out as a show that I believe could be a tool, of many, to help young people develop.
Starting with the ridiculously catchy theme song by soul singer Charles Bradley, “Changes” encapsulates the whole feeling of the show in about 40 seconds and immediately gives you that feeling of ‘Ohhhh I get it!’ The show is about puberty, and the other changes that young people go through, get it?
One thing Big Mouth isn’t stingy with is being straight to the point, unlike other sex education materials that can sometimes be implicit, Big Mouth is always a little bit too explicit - it’s the reason why parents may shy away from showing it to their teenagers. But it’s not just foul language, they make sex, puberty, masturbation, gender, sexuality, and other topics so understandable - a way they do that is through song.
For example, take “Code-Switching” from their most recent season, Code-Switching provided an analysis of the technique that Black people have used for years to stay safe in an oppressive world, the song digested it down for young adults, but also maybe regular adults. This is why I think it’s useful for adults to watch too, it gives you information on topics you may be ignorant of and presents it in a non-patronizing way!
Season 4 in general explores some great topics. Let’s first take sexuality and religion: Matthew, a gay child with a Catholic upbringing, finally comes out to his mom after he gets a boyfriend and his mom struggles with it. Prior to the revelation Matthew and his mom had a fantastic relationship which he now sees drift away in front of his own eyes, leading him to sing “I Used to be Her Favourite”, where he explores his grief and confusion.
Another article specifically on whether Big Mouth is suitable for younger teens cited the show as “a show for people who have enough distance between themselves and their awkward puberty years to look and laugh at the ridiculousness of it all” and I’d have to partly disagree, whilst showing it to young teens may be sketchy, mid-teens is definitely the time to do it, not adulthood. I was unsure when writing this piece what audience Big Mouth should be for, but with the Spectrum of Sexuality I made up my mind. They list off mostly accurate definitions of a range of sexualities, from demisexual to bisexual and to androsexual - whilst making it clear that not everyone needs to label it. For kids breaking into puberty, it could be too young, but for those heading into the mid-latter years of high school it could be perfect, it’s the perfect sex education lesson after you learn the basics.
People have shown it to younger teens though (like with this parent), and it has worked, as long as there isn’t shaming. Naturally, the show explores the shame puberty and budding sexuality brings with it: with the Shame Wizard.
Voiced by David Thewlis, the Shame Wizard tortures one of the lead characters, the 13-year-old Andrew Glouberman, after he was caught masturbating in a situation that is traditionally frowned upon. The Shame Wizard makes Andrew feel so much shame throughout Season 2, amplifying his own fears about what others think of him, and what people would think about him if they knew. This shame manifests into anxiety in later seasons, specifically with “The Gloubermen Method” - a masturbation routine that Andrew must follow otherwise he becomes paranoid, anxious, and ridden with guilt.
This shame curses teenagers for years if they have the wrong type of sex education, which is often the most common type, this HuffPost article explains that upbringing also can play a part in this shame. If Big Mouth, a raunchy, comedic musical-style show can help eliminate the shame around sex and puberty then it’s one of the best methods of sex education.