Rude or Revolutionary?
Embarrassing Bodies: More Than Binge-Worthy Entertainment
I’ve been enjoying Netflix since the days of mailing DVDs back and forth (do people remember that?). When it became a streaming app, my life changed — for the better. Who knew that TV could bring so much joy and comfort to a single viewer?
The mere idea that Netflix brings me comfort might sound odd, I mean, it’s an entertainment app, meant to entertain not validate. But then a few years ago (when I say a few I mean around 8), I found this show called Embarrassing Bodies. The show is entirely based in the U.K., with real doctors and real people with “weird” medical problems. I don’t say weird in a derogatory sense, but in a “Oh my gosh, I thought I was the only one” type of way.
Embarrassing Bodies highlights body issues that many, if not most, people are too embarrassed to talk about with their general practitioners. The show is rated TV-MA, which I find rather interesting since I’ve been reading Gayle Rubin’s Thinking Sex. The rating itself implies the show contains mature content, but really it’s just a bunch of people exposing random body parts to doctors — not that racy, but somehow society has found a way to make the most natural thing (our nude bodies) deemed to be for a “mature audience” only.
Anyway, I digress.
My “Netflix Fix” is Embarrassing Bodies. One of my favorite episodes is Season 1, Episode 3, entitled “Vaginas.” Yep, I said it. They address all sorts of issues and even have a class for women to examine their own vaginas — something I think most women don’t do. What I find the most interesting about this episode is that it literally has a montage of vaginas. It’s interesting to me because I think many women feel self-conscious about the look of their downtown region. I will try to refrain from saying “vagina,” because technically, that’s the part we don’t actually see (the episode features a giant inflatable version of female genitalia and the women are tested to see if they know the parts). Am I out in left field here, or are you feeling me??
In Season 3, the doctors go on the road to various part of the country, and in Episode 8 we find them in Middlesbrough. During this episode they address issues that we (Americans) tend to avoid discussing — postnatal depression, panic attacks, and genital discomfort (not something I’m familiar with but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of mentioning). I’ve talked to many new moms who seem almost embarrassed to discuss their postnatal depression, as if it means they’re defective somehow. Giving birth is serious business, and the hormone dump that happens afterward can really screw with a woman’s mental state. The same sort of stigma is attached to people with panic attacks, or any anxiety disorder for that matter. I’ve become a very open person about my various mental disorders and chemical imbalances — generalized anxiety disorder, parasomnia, chronic depression. But you should see the way people look at me when they see me comfortably and casually discussing these issues. Why are we afraid of talking about serious issues? Why are we afraid of being deemed divergent from the “norm” because our brain doesn’t produce chemicals in a balanced fashion?
I think this show encourages people to talk about the “taboo” topics, and that’s ridiculously important. Sure, Embarrassing Bodies mainly focuses on what people deem “embarrassing” physical issues, but in that same vein there exists so much more. These physical issues create insecurities for some people — so much so that they totally isolate themselves from the world. So while there’s a part of me that is plain and simply fascinated with not so popular body issues, I’m also inspired by this show because it encourages people to talk about stuff — real stuff. And sometimes, real stuff is hard to talk about, but this is a great catalyst to start those conversations. This show is not only binge-worthy, but it’s purposeful binging. It brings to light the taboo that is the human body, and it does so in a tactful way. To say this show is rude is a deep injustice — this show is revolutionary. I think it marks the beginning of a new era during which people (not just Americans, but people in general) will become more comfortable talking about human bodies and their complex nature.
