TV Review: We could all do with a session with Richie Sadlier to help us open up about sex
Richie Sadlier meets with students, parents, and experts on his quest to reform Ireland's Sex Ed Curriculum in Richie Sadlier: Let’s Talk About Sex
The first thing you notice about (RTÉ One and RTÉ Player) is the name.
Is this RTÉ’s way of telling us that all shows from now on are going to be presented by Richie Sadlier and that the topic is an afterthought?
They could do worse. The former soccer international turned pundit has a voice like honey, a disappearing Dublin accent full of cranky sincerity. He’s photogenic, bright and real, which isn’t something you can say about everyone on the telly.
And in fairness, he’s engaged in this episode about sex education in school because he works with kids in his role as a psychotherapist.
His jumping-off point for this second episode of the series is an official report which found that schools are the number two source of misinformation on sexual health, after the internet.
So Richie goes to school. He’s a natural in front of transition students in Maynooth asking them to come up with a list of slang terms under a particular heading. Vulva, sexual intercourse, penis, masturbation – if anyone said one of these words out loud when I was in school they would have been sent to the office.
The students in Maynooth got stuck in with the slang and Sadlier had broken the ice. He has an uncanny ability to tackle serious issues with a twinkle in his eye – keep this up and he could up presenting Richie Sadlier – The Late Late Show.
This was followed by a chat with the teachers, and you realise the landmine they’re walking through, chatting about sex with a gang of teenagers in the social media age. The way porn skews the mind about relationships kept coming up. It was informative and to the point, like the presenter.
Back to students, who were sharing the benefits of masturbation. Honestly, at this point, I think we could all do with a session with Richie Sadlier to help us open up about sex.
The show pinged around the topics, including a chat with a member of the Catholic Society in Maynooth University, who reminded us that not everyone is into promiscuity, telling Richie that she is ‘saving herself for marriage.’ She seemed like a throwback to another Ireland.
Just in case you think we’re at your destination in this new Ireland, a gay student told Richie there was no information for him when he was in secondary school. So yes, the curriculum needs an overhaul.
The episode concludes with a chat about porn, with a survey at the start revealing that kids tend to first come across it at the age of 11 or 12, and that it left them feeling ‘disgusted’ and ‘confused’. If you think your child is neither exposed nor affected by porn, you should watch the students in Maynooth talking about it.
You should also watch the host talking to a bunch of teenage girls about fully-shaved porn stars, without coming across as a creep. He’s got the knack for great telly. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Richie.
