Desiring Women #8

Sex. Sex. Sex. What is sex? Who should I do it with? How do I do it? These are just some of the thoughts that roam the minds of prepubescent youth trying to navigate the anticipation of losing their virginity. In Chewing Gum, Tracey may be 24, but everything she thinks and feels takes me back to entering the teenage years – a very heightened feeling of “I have never had sex and I want to” that provides a kind of blindness to the actual reality of sex. She is the virgin.

           Tracey is the poster child for never being exposed to any idea of what sex or sexuality is, as she has grown with a Christian lens over every perspective she has come across. She wants more though. When people hide away all discourse around gender, sexuality, and sex – it creates an embodiment of sex not being considered natural. When the free reign chance is given to explore one’s sexuality – this is exactly what Tracey does. She was never properly educated about sex or everything else that comes with this action, so she has a hard time understanding how she should go about it. Sex in Chewing Gum has a taboo around it for Tracey, her family, and people sharing her faith, but she knows it should not be. Never being exposed to it, she has created an idealistic view of it. Sex is the end all be all to Tracey and I can totally understand where she is coming from. I am only 20 years old and sex has become part of popular discourse in the university culture, everyone is always talking about SEX. So, imagine being stereotypically too old to be a virgin, and only ever hearing about sex. ALL. THE. TIME. I can understand how sex has manifested itself inside of Tracey’s head, it seems to have that allure on a lot of people especially those shun away from the assumed deviance of sex. But I think what comes from this upbringing of Tracey’s is what truly makes Chewing Gum so ground-breaking.
           The audience watching Chewing Gum is able to experience this refreshing experience of one approaching their first sexual encounter. Tracey makes this experience all about her, we are able to experience this with her. The producers provide such an honest account of trying to understand one’s own potential and limitations without ever knowing anything to do with sex. Tracey is oblivious to any awkwardness she may project; her ignorance truly is bliss. This is one of the most exciting times in Tracey’s life, but it can also be challenging to jump into a routine foreign to your understanding. The unknown is what makes this such an accelerating experience to come for Tracey.           
By the end of the pilot, I was hooked to Chewing Gum. I was rooting for the Beyoncé praising Tracey to get laid and do anything she has ever wished to. A lovable character about to figure out what she has been wanting for so long. It may not amount to the multiple fantasies of hot sex, but I hope it is everything she ever imagined.