top of page
Search
Writer's pictureDiego Cano Gómez

Eric Effiong representation of a black queer teen in ''Sex Education''.

Eric Effiong (played by Ncuti Gatwa), is shown as an openly gay, 17 year old black teen in the Netflix series Sex education.

Eric likes to dress with colorful and eccentric outfits that go hand to hand with his “effeminate” way of presenting himself to society, being proud of the way he is.

Eric goes to Moordale Secondary School, in Britain. He plays the French horn in the school's band and sometimes walks dogs to earn some money. Like every other teen, he has a bunch of friends with which he spends most of his time. The main character of the series, Otis Milburn, is his best friend. At the start of the show, he was a non-believer but after getting assaulted for his outfit, he finds a place in the black Christian community and rediscovers his African roots.




He comes from a Nigerian background, with his family being from there. He’s been out of the closet with his family since he was 13. His parents accept him as he is although, due to their cultural background, they have difficulties in order to understand some of his behaviors and get nervous when traveling to their home-country as in Nigeria, the legal code criminalizes sex between men and sex between women, and members of the LGBTQ community often suffer from big amounts of oppression that physically endanger its members.



His aspirations don’t go towards developing a professional career or being the best at something, as we must keep in mind that this character is 17 years old and probably isn’t that much interested on that type of life. What the series shows to be his main interest at the moment is to find himself and develop the identity (sexual and cultural) that he proudly wants to show to the world.


His character in the show is a multi-layered and relatable portrait of a black queer boy. The show does not center the attention on his sexual awakening as that happens long before the beginning of the series, portraying him without any type of sexual shame, allowing him to go through a set of experiences and emotions that media does not usually give to this type of young gay characters, thus making him more relatable to a wider range of people.


Even with an electric energy and an attraction for drag and femme identity, a portrayal that can be invigorating for black queer audiences, what stands out is how Eric is distinctly a Nigerian in diaspora. People from places that may have a cultural background that rejects queer members is very likely to feel idenfied with this character (especially Nigeria), as the dissonance of feeling identified and loving a set of cultural traditions that, on the other hand don’t accept one of its own members for being a certain way, is an issue that lots of people may relate to.


One of the most interesting portrayals of the show is Eric's relationship with his parents, especially his father. He is not the stereotypical close-minded parent who violently rejects their child, but also is not really understanding of queer movements or so. Mr.Effiong is the portrayal of a parent trying to understand his son's sexuality, something hard for him to grasp at times, but he is definitely very protective of him. At some point of the show we realize that his father’s behavior towards him isn't coming from malice, but rather from fear of him being hurt because of the way he is and expresses himself outside of the “normality box''.

In a very moving conversation with his father he states:

“I’ll be hurt either way. Isn’t it better to be who I am?”.

A quote that clearly shows how hard it can be for queer people that also migrated from another country and most importantly the bravery that acting out requires.



As I have read and in my opinion, Eric is an overall good portrayal of what black teens experience nowadays. In an interview with Bisi Alimi, a gay actor-turned-activist, he stated that some aspects of the show like Eric family accepting him, his “gay-friendly” experience in Lagos, are not to accurate. But his overall opinion was the following one:


“To see this very bright, inspiring character who is queer and who is Black and who is also a second generation immigrant is something you don't really see on British TV. And that for me is a massive plus for Sex Education. A lot of young gay men in Nigeria see themselves in Eric. He is such a loved character — considering that he's not even Nigerian. [The family of actor Ncuti Gatwa immigrated to Scotland from Rwanda when he was a small child.]


Eric is a representation of what is possible. And a realization of what is possible if you pack your bag and leave Nigeria and live in New York or London. You can live that life and you can live it well. You can live it like Eric: flamboyant, fabulous and assertive.


And his father accepting him after he came out — that for me is also very, very powerful because some Nigerian fathers will never do that.”



As I’ve stated before I feel like the show is made with a big amount of racial consciousness and the figure of the white savior doesn’t appear to a very big extent.

Maybe there are some tints of this when Eric tries to rebuild his self-appreciation after the assault by lapping up sexual and emotional attention from his white bully, contributing to the abuser turned lover cliché.

Also I think there are some opportunities lost during the show that could be used in order to portray how white and non queer allies can help victims of racial/homophobic attacks.


6 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Brief reflection about the course

From the start to the ending of the course, my interest towards it has been increasingly great, as going over a very big variety of...

Comments


Publicar: Blog2_Post
bottom of page