TEEN DRAMAS have drastically changed in recent years, particularly in the way writers portray teen characters and their sexuality. With more movies and TV shows using teens to instigate a titillating effect, it is easy to forget that those teen characters are supposed to be minors. While these shows have the potential to normalize safe sexual exploration, it is essential to portray teen characters with candor and avoid oversexualizing them.

Setting appropriate standards for teenagers

   At a time when teenagers are most impressionable, it is crucial to help them foster a realistic idea of sex. The notion of sex tends to be quite nerve-wracking for inexperienced, clumsy teens—even as an adult, sex is often not as “mind-blowing” as it appears on the screen. Unfortunately, sexual scenes in teen dramas have become borderline voyeuristic and are often treated as glamorized eye candies by screenwriters. A TV show Gossip Girl is one the earliest starters of that trend, purposefully shooting teen characters in an appealing, suggestive manner and assigning them multiple sex partners. Showing vulnerable teenagers awkwardly exploring their sexuality is more helpful than portraying them as hyper-sexualized teens who already have adult-like familiarity with sexual activities. An alternate, better example would be the movie Lady Bird depicting the main character disappointed when her first sexual encounter did not live up to her high expectations. 

   Sex scenes in teen dramas should only be included when it serves the purpose of driving the plot further, developing a character’s story, or promoting important conversations. Sex Education is one of the few TV shows that do not present its teen characters in a desirable light to the audience despite its acute focus on the topic of sex. The show incorporates sex scenes to demonstrate how characters overcome their insecurities about sex, which builds onto the story arc and character development. Explicit sexual scenes, for that matter, in films or TV shows for teen audiences should be intentional; therefore, relevant scenes should strive to be relatable and reassuring for the intended audience.

The problem of adults playing teen characters

   Starring adult actors as teen characters is another controversial yet common trend in teen dramas. Child labor laws in the United States permit child actors to work only a certain number of hours depending on the actor’s age[1], and exceptions are only allowed after completing extensive paperwork. As a result, in most cases, production companies prefer hiring adult actors to play teen characters to avoid such restrictions. Granted, there is nothing wrong with employing adults to play teenagers. The problem lies in the fact that it opens more room for problematic writing. A prime example would be Riverdale, a show that portrayed its 15-year-old main character Archie having an affair with his high school teacher. In real life, this act would be illegal, but the writers nonchalantly used it as a dramatic plot point for Archie’s character development. This way, instead of properly addressing how inappropriate such situations are, writers revert to romanticizing them to spike interest and garner more attention.

   Furthermore, the inherent differences between adult and teen bodies can warp teens’ self-perception. Puberty is already an unstable period for teenagers as their bodies start to change, and the fixed, mature physique of adult actors can easily cause them to form an unhealthy body image. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, regular consumption of entertainment content featuring idealized bodies leads to “higher body dissatisfaction in young adults.” Given teens’ higher susceptibility to forming insecurities about their appearance, accurate representation is of paramount importance. Some production companies, however, decide to forgo that altogether and simply strive to make their characters as attractive as possible, putting realism on the sideline.

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   Production companies and streaming platforms should be more selective in what kind of content they put out. Intriguing the audience with explicit scenes involving teenagers brings more viewership and, subsequently, more profit, which is obviously the main goal of film studios. However, since their content has the potential to influence an entire generation, they must approach the filmmaking process more responsibly.

[1] Working hours restrictions for child actors differ in each state.