Editor’s note: this review contains mentions of ‘under age sex work’ within the context of the show, and mentions of revenge porn.
This series revolves around a group of high school friends whose lives intersect as they navigate heavy issues like drug abuse, sexuality, and mental health. The premise of the show centers around the main character, Rue Bennett, a drug-dependent teen trying to cope with life after her father's death. Rue narrates the lives of each of her friends in her social circle, with one friend – Kat Hernandez, portrayed by Barbie Ferreira – being of particular interest to me.
Kat is depicted as a virginal, awkward teen who doesn't seem to attract the same amount of attention as her more popular friends. She experiences leading to her transformation from social meekness to strength and intellectual dominance. Kat navigates some wild challenges, and manages to resolve a situation in which a sex tape is being leaked to the school. We see the transformation of her more mild characteristics as she expertly navigates her entanglement with the sex tape amongst her peers, and successfully coerces the perpetrator to delete the video, not knowing that it has already been uploaded to a “Porn Hub” style site. There is a misconception here that both Kat’s abuser and herself could upload without any kind of age verification which would never happen in real life, especially with the recently imposed verification practices that have passed in some states in the USA.
Mortified at the discovery, Kat scrolls through comments, uncovering positive feedback, including one commenter stating they would gladly pay to see more. Kat decides to explore her perhaps darker side, by making the experience more financially transactional. She becomes an online creator of BDSM style content, and throughout the series we watch as she transforms herself into a more dominant role. Although it is very evident that she has become stronger in her appearance and overall presence, we notice Kat having trouble relating to everyday interactions with the opposite sex, not fully understanding the effect engaging in sex work a such a young age is having on her.
She lives a double life, keeping her work as an online dominatrix a secret from her peers, which begins to further isolate her. She starts to date a really nice guy but cannot understand why she isn’t as attracted to him, confused by the nature of their relationship. Engaging in sex work as an underage teen leads to changes in her personality and socialisation, affecting her interactions with others, especially with the opposite sex. This storyline presents an interesting exploration of the effects of significant life events on younger individuals. As Kat faces challenges and transformations, we witness a journey of self-discovery and growth, reflecting on the complexities of adolescence and the transition to young adulthood.
I find it interesting for part of this series to document the effect engaging in sex work, even just online sex work, could have at such a young age. Where are the feelings of intimacy? Why is it that we never see Kat reach out to her friends about what she does? Kat does not know enough about the lifestyle or industry to understand she needs a support group throughout all these changes. Instead of full blown empowerment, we begin to see a more fragile side to Kat. I enjoyed this particular story as it struck me as a believable take on sex work, the effects of engaging in under age sex work, and the exploration of different aspects of the self.
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