In today’s day and age, the way sex and sexuality is portrayed has drastically shifted in many different aspects. One of the main ways in which this can be seen is through television and the development and openness of the ways it is being seen more freely and acceptingly for all to see. In fact, it is fair to say that the way sex and sexuality is shown on TV has been an educating force to help the general public understand different elements of sex and sexuality and has opened the doors for more understanding and discussion among peers. One can say that a main driving factor in the TV landscape that has shaped the cultural and sexual shift for today’s society includes Degrassi. From the beginning when the show debuted in the ‘80s and over the years and seasons, and up to today’s batch of episodes, Degrassi has been the show to discuss tough subjects, including that of sex and sexuality. The Interrobang spoke with Degrassi’s co-creator Linda Schuyler and actress Ana Golja, who plays Zoë Rivas in the shows latest production, Degrassi: Next Class, about their thoughts and ideas of the show’s influence of this cultural shift of sex and sexuality being portrayed on TV.

“One of our core messages is to reassure young people that they are not alone,” Schuyler said. “That means when you’re going through your adolescence years, this is where your sexuality really starts to form (but for many people it’s formed earlier) but it’s during those adolescent years that they can start questioning their sexuality, wondering about it and so right from the early days of the Degrassi Classic, we wanted to reassure young people that they weren’t alone, that everybody is going through this and that it’s normal, it’s nothing to be ashamed of and if you feel that your sexuality is not in line with what your parents’ sexuality is, that’s okay.”

Schuyler said that although the show has represented a different number of topics including a transgender storyline, the show these days is focused on a number of topics including gender fluidity.

According to Schuyler, although the show has been speaking out and portraying different topics over the years, she doesn’t think the show is necessarily “ahead of the curve”.

“We try to stay very current with the shift in society and the acceptances and as the LGBTQ+ movement is moving and changing, we’re trying to keep pace with that in our show,” Schuyler said.

Schuyler also said that the team is focused on keeping up with the news and trying to make sure what it portrayed in the show is current and up to date.

Degrassi also partners with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) in the U.S. to help review the material that the show wants to include within in their episodes. This helps make sure they have the guidelines and correct information when trying to include any subject related to the LGBTQ+ community. Schuyler said the crew also works with local councellors and school guidance when dealing with such topics.

“We do our best and we talk to young people themselves who are transitioning or dealing with whatever where they are on the sexual spectrum,” Schuyler said.

Education is key for both creating the program, as well as hopefully allowing the audience to learn as well.

“Our goal is not in any way to be judgmental, our goal is to be accepting and to show as many facets of the dialogue as we can, and hopefully this is really helpful to young people who find themselves going through similar situations that the dialogues and discussions they see on Degrassi, can feel authentic to them and maybe help them in their life,” Schuyler said.

According to Schuyler, though the show has been successful due to its content, and making sure it’s all about reassuring young people that they are not alone, the show is also about showing fun, day-to-day real life.

“That means we can’t shy away from the big issues and sexuality being one of the biggest, but also, it’s very important to us that we have lots of fun with our show too,” Schuyler said. “The important subject matters are of course the driving force of Degrassi, but we’re also trying to give a bit of slice of life at the adolescent experience as well, so all can relate to it.”

Schuyler said that as long as the research for the show is done correctly, then there is no fear presenting it on screen.

“I feel as long as we do our job as producers by being as even handed as we can in disseminating our information, then I’m not afraid of any of the topics that we take on, but we have to do our homework first and we have to make sure that we are presenting a balanced story line,” Schuyler said.

Schuyler said the material not only needs to flow, but it needs to be created and shown to the public in the right time frame.

“Fortunately the world is not static and it’s always changing, so we might revisit some of the same topics, but each story is unique because it comes from a particular time and a particular place and from a particular character,” Schuyler said.

Ana Golja, who plays Zoë Rivas, a character who at one point comes out as a lesbian, has similar thoughts to Schuyler.

“You’ve definitely seen a huge progression, we’ve come a long way of the LGBTQ+ community, in terms of its representation on television has really come a long way and I do think that Degrassi was a trailblazer for that,” Golja said.

“Zoë was originally straight and then found herself not really connecting with people anymore and connecting with people in a different way than expecting to and then she comes out as lesbian.”

Golja said that although she does not identify as a lesbian herself, she doesn’t have any fear in playing Zoë.

“[I] did have to see things from a different perspective, there was no fear but I just wanted to make sure that there are people, girls, guys, out there who connect to this characters in one way or another,” Golja said.

According to Golja, just like her character, she didn’t see the lesbian storyline coming, so it was a journey of both actress and character to take in figuring things out and growing.

Golja used experiences from her personal life with friends and brought as much as she could to bring this new side of her character to life.

According to Golja, the feedback has been really positive and she’s happy that people are connecting with Zoë during this huge chapter in her life. Some fans have even told Golja that Zoë’s coming out storyline is even helping them with their own life.

“One thing that I wanted to make sure was I didn’t treat the character any differently than I would any character because at the end of the day they’re all people and I think that’s what in our society, people are starting to realize that. But definitely with Zoë, I didn’t really approach her in a different way when she came out as a lesbian and I will continue to do that. She’s just a girl who was lost for a little bit and now finally found her voice and is owning it.”