Bred & Jam

*This article covers issues of gender and sexual identity. If you are offended by these issues, please do not read further.

*Also note that this article contains spoilers for Skins series 5 and episode 1 of series 6. If you don’t want to be spoiled, do not read further.

The first episode of Skins series 6 has been released onto Channel 4’s On-Demand service ahead of it’s premiere on the 23rd January. I have been following Skins since series 1, way back in 2007, and was very excited to see it return. But this isn’t a review, this is an article all about Franky.

For those who aren’t fully aware of who Franky is, here’s a picture of her from the first episode of series 5:

Franky (played by Dakota Blue Richards) was an awkward, introverted girl who had moved away from Oxford after being bullied for her androgynous appearance. She is characterised from the outset of series 5 as someone who dislikes make-up and womens’ fashion, and is exceedingly uncomfortable when forced to dress like a “bulimic fucking Barbie”.

Upon seeing the first episode of series 5, I was very pleased to see what was probably the first example of a genderqueer young person in a mainstream British teen drama. Dakota Blue Richards  has previously said in interview that Franky does not want to be percieved as male or female, gay or straight. Later in the series, Franky even plays the role of Viola, who disguises herself as Cesario, a man, in a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Franky is not just a character struggling with her gender identity, but also with her sexual identity. Much of this is explored in a love triangle between her, Matty (Sebastian de Souza) and Liv (Laya Lewis). Franky is clearly in love with Matty, but lacks the confidence to pursue it. Liv, meanwhile, takes advantage of Franky’s confused sexuality on two separate occasions in order to engage with her sexually for Matty’s own titillation. (There is also a degree of sexual tension between Franky and Mini (Freya Mavor), thought whether anything will come of this remains to be seen.)

Things come to a head when Matty finally chooses to be with Franky and they begin to have sex only for Franky to suffer a panic attack mid-coitus. Events ensue and the series ends with her and Matty reconciling with each other and deciding to have another go at a relationship. (A lot happens in Skins.)

Series 6 arrives and we rejoin the gang in Morocco, where they’re spending their summer holiday, when Franky and Matty turn up, having apparently been on a road trip through Tunisia.

Here is Franky looking moody in series 6:

The first thing that should be obvious is that the androgynous clothing has gone. Franky is very much a woman, with the episode featuring lingering shots of her reclining on a sun lounger or dancing in short skirts. She is constantly wearing relatively heavy make-up and not once appears uncomfortable in her choice of clothing. Somehow, in the short number of months we are led to believe have passed between series, Franky has gone from being a shy, awkward genderqueer character to someone who is very comfortable with her very heteronormative, female sexuality. 

Franky also goes on to reveal later that she has lost her virginity to Matty, and indeed has had sex so many times that she is bored. In fact she is so bored that she is compelled to sleep with an inexplicably young drug trafficker called Luke, who later convinces her to come away with him by promising to engage in a casual sexual relationship with her.

Franky’s radical character transformation left me dismayed, as both a writer and a LGBTQ individual.

Skins has built a reputation amongst LGBTQ fans for sensitively painting a realistic portrait of LGBTQ youth in the characters of Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) in the first two series, and Naomi (Lily Loveless) and Emily (Kathryn Prescott) in the subsequent two. When I first saw Franky, I praised Skins’ tackling of a character that lived in that muddy water outside of the simple “gay”, “straight” and “bisexual” categories. (As a pansexual, I see myself as living in this same environment.)

Being an LGBTQ individual, I am acutely aware of the confusion that can take place when first discovering the depths of your sexual identity. I’m also aware of how strong a crutch the dramatic media can be when you’re living in an environment that’s not exactly healthy for exploring sexuality. At the age of 15 and deeply confused, the character of Capt. Jack Harkness in Doctor Who allowed me to be comfortable with my feelings: Sexuality was suddenly something acceptable. This was an LGBTQ character on a popular, mainstream TV show.

Skins has always been about young people growing up and discovering their true identity.  Yet even in Skins, LGBTQ characters have always been drawn as relatively confident.  Maxxie is depicted as openly gay and leading a healthy sex life at the age of 16.  Emily and Naomi do struggle to understand their feelings for each other a bit more but then they still have each other, and again are both drawn as individuals confident in their sexuality.

Series 5 was different in that it focused our attention on a character who was confused about her sexual identity and beset by people and situations telling her that the way she dressed and acted was wrong. Having found herself at the end of series 5, series 6 seems to be telling the viewer that growing up involves adhering yourself to a heteronormative role. Franky has “become a proper woman” and is now able to move on to the next phase of her life. Personally, I feel that this is a very dangerous, negative message to genderqueer youth.

Mini says about midway through this episode; “I liked her better when she may or may not have been a lesbian.”

So did I.

Notes

Here are some definitions for certain LGBTQ terms in the above article:

• Androgyne: In terms of gender identity, a person who does not fit cleanly into the typical masculine and feminine gender roles of society. Many identify as being “between” man and woman, or as entirely genderless.
• Genderqueer: A broad term used to describe someone who does not adhere to normative gender roles. More specific definitions that fall under this category include androgyne, transgender, genderfluid, etc.
• Heteronormativity: This is the idea that people fall into one of two different, clearly defined gender identities, and that biological sex, sexuality, gender identity and gender role are all aligned.
• Pansexuality: Also called omnisexuality, this refers to the potential for sexual attraction, sexual desire, romantic love or emotional attraction to people of all gender identities and biological sexes.