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When you think of Bill Nye, what comes to mind? Likely you imagine an excitable if not eccentric comedian dedicated to teaching children about the joys of science. For the most part, that’s what Bill Nye Saves the World delivers. However, one episode, “The Sexual Spectrum,” is decidedly more adult. Several Netflix viewers have watched Bill Nye’s explanation of human sex and sexuality, and they are NOT happy about it.
“The Sexual Spectrum” tackles several current scientific theories and beliefs as they relate to sex, gender, attraction, and sexual expression. Like many of Saves the World‘s episodes, there’s very little concrete, on-screen scientific evidence backing up the show’s claims. Instead, the shows expects you to trust it has done its research just as Bill Nye the Science Guy had the same expectation. That works when to comes to explaining gravity, but it leaves room for criticism when tackling more controversial topics. Overall, it’s already a mature topic for a family-friendly show, but it’s nothing new. During his Bill Nye the Science Guy days, the educational entertainer covered gender and reproduction on at least one occasion. However, the episode has enraged viewers both because of its innuendo-laden and upfront take on sex as well as the episode’s clear political leanings.
Bill Nye as a person has recently established himself as an ally and leader for the March for Science, but his show has been far less divisive. Though Saves the World can be described as liberal-leaning, it largely avoids picking a political side, instead choosing science over all else. “The Sexual Spectrum” changes that illusion of impartiality. At one point the episode’s co-host, Derek Muller, even says, “There’s always going to be a conservative backlash to progress” during his explanation of Sol’s evolving and androgynous K-pop scene. In particular, many have taken issue with the show’s visual demonstration that claims, at one point, children explore gender expression.
It’s not the only the episode’s message about human sexuality that has irked Netflix viewers but a music video from Rachel Bloom, creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Dressed in Lady Gaga-esque attire, Bloom appears toward the end of the episode to rap and sing about the spectrum of sexuality. “My Sex Junk” is a fun and pop-infused, silly song, packed with jokes about Bloom doing a voice for her vagina, power bottoms, butt stuff, Fleshlights, and handjobs. It’s a song that wouldn’t feel out of place in an episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. However, it’s unmistakably graphic for a children’s or family entertainment show. Currently, Bill Nye Saves the World is filtered so that the youngest viewers who can watch the series are teens — a deceptive advisory rating for a celebrity who has been a childhood icon for many viewers.
Netflix hasn’t released an official YouTube video for the song, but a user-uploaded video has gained a lot of attention. So far, the video has been viewed over 582,000 times and has over 41,000 downvotes to its 652 upvotes. The video’s comments section is filled with criticisms of the song, Bloom, Bill Nye, the series, Netflix, and liberals. Many have even taken to Twitter to express their outrage.
People have become so enraged by the episode, they’ve taken to editing Bill Nye Saves the World’s Wikipedia page. The page has now been locked by administrators.
There’s also a claim that’s been floating around social media that Bloom’s song, “My Sex Junk,” is actually about a 12-year-old having anal sex with her teacher. Anyone who has actually seen the video or episode would know that is incorrect. In the video, Bloom acts as her adult self and raps with another adult man, dressed as a scientist. The video certainly doesn’t perpetuate underage sex. Does it joke about a lot of mature and adult topics in a catchy song for a show that’s presumably targeted toward kids? Yes. If anything, that’s “The Sexual Spectrum’s” crime — being questionable.
Stream Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix
Stream Bill Nye Saves the World "The Sexual Spectrum" on Netflix
