Guest Blog Post: Arianna is a queer femme from the lakes and forests of Massachusetts,
a student of plants, stars, and feminisms, and a fierce lover of The
Beach Boys.
Alright y’all, if you’re a Netflix binger, sex educator, health
teacher, or just have an hour to spare, I highly suggest watching this
new web series called The Halls, about the lives of high school students
living in Boston. In the span of time it took me to watch all 8 of the
8-13 minute videos, I had been on the edge of my seat laughing, crying,
and feeling completely invested in the lives of the various characters.
Let’s be real, enticing dramas about high school students navigating
puberty, gender, and relationships has always been my jam (I have a
track record for watching copious amounts of Degrassi and Saved by the
Bell). However, there is something unique about this series in
particular.
The first episode starts us off with a group of high school boys
sitting in the library talking about their friend, Jared, who was
recently accused of raping Tara, a freshman. Heavy stuff, I know.
Their conversation is full of confusion, denial, laughter, awkward
silences, victim-blaming, and degrading jokes. This scene, among others
in the series, might be triggering or discomforting to watch – it
definitely was for me, especially because it is all-too-familiar.
As well as coping with this ambiguous and close-to-home situation,
the plot relies heavily on following various characters through their
own challenges involving family, relationships, sex, homophobia, gender
stereotyping, social media, consent, trauma, and masculinity.
Additionally, you never meet the accused perpetrator or survivor in the
series. Considering that perpetrators and victims of rape are so often
stereotyped, the anonymity of these characters is incredibly important
in reminding viewers that, in reality, they could be anyone.
According to Nicole Daley, an organizer for the Boston Public Health Commission’s Start Strong: Building healthy Teen Relationships Program and one of the many geniuses behind this project, The Halls is meant to
be a tool for high-schoolers to engage in conversation around the
issues presented in the storyline. Through screening the series in
health and sex ed classes, as well as youth education programs, young
people can begin having guided and intentional conversations around the
various challenges that the characters are facing, and that they
potentially will or have already faced in their own lives.
Why is this important?
Well, I’m sure many of us can relate to the horror that is public
school health class – the cheesy films; the less than satisfying, hardly
accurate, and incredibly exclusive anatomy lessons; that one classmate
that pronounces “vaginal” wrong…get me outta there!
It is quite obvious at this point that there are a range of topics
that are hardly ever discussed in health class or are discussed vaguely
and briefly. These ambiguous, brief, or non-existent conversations do
not give justice to the histories, identities, or valid curiosities of
the people in the room. They also do not provide any space for students
to proactively think about interpersonal challenges that they will most
likely experience in their lifetime if they haven’t already. Having
these conversations is a preliminary phase of prevention, so why aren’t
we having them?
This brings me to my next question: who is teaching these students?
I’m not saying that the solution is to simply add consent and gender
non-conformity to the curriculum. In my opinion, the educators that
aren’t willing to go there don’t deserve to be there. It is incredibly
dangerous to have multidimensional and potentially sensitive topics of
conversation be facilitated by people who do not have a critical
analysis of gender stereotyping and sexuality, or are not active
practitioners of open, non-violent communication and healthy
relationships. Otherwise, what’s the point?
What I think is so amazing and unique about The Halls is that it was
made with the intention of being an educational resource that does
provide space for students to discuss some of these challenges. It even
comes with a facilitation guide that poses as a great starting point for discussion. The series is
also entertaining and engaging without being overloaded with
over-sensationalized and unrealistic drama. The challenges presented in
The Halls speak to the everyday instances of interpersonal violence and
conflict that are so harmful yet so normalized in our society. We
can’t expect young folks to know how to navigate issues of healthy
relationships, gender policing, and consent if we aren’t providing them
with opportunities to talk about it!
So, if you are a health educator, work with teens, or know someone
who does, please consider sharing this resource! It is free and
available for your curriculum and viewing pleasure. At the very least,
take your own journey down The Halls and see where it takes you. You
might become inspired to create your own new-and-improved learning tool
for young people!
