Netflix’s Sexy Beasts, which releases today, promises to go beyond superficial encounters by having contestants meet while wearing makeup and prosthetics to disguise their physical attributes.

The first is Emma, ​​the demon, a six foot tall model from New York City. Asked about her dating expectations and her ideal partner, Emma explains that “it’s all in the chemistry” and that “sexual attraction is definitely a must”.

Throughout the series, contestants talk about physical attributes they wish to see in a romantic partner: Mandrill Bennett is hoping to find someone with “big boobs”; the beaver James explains that it is “the ass first, the personality then”; and pixie Amber connects with her go on her big bicep muscles.

Masks aren’t enough to hide height, size, and skin tone – or the fact that all candidates are conventionally attractive. Although we are shown the pairs hooking up in disguise, the preparation for unmasking proves that expectations of meeting someone physically attractive remain.

In modern times Perfect match, Sexy Beasts asks if people can fall in love “only” based on their personalities.

But how do you really fall in love?

The biology of love can be measured …

Signs of physical attraction may be measured in the brain as biological responses to attractive visual stimuli. Brain imaging has shown that a number of areas actively light up when we see someone we consider attractive. These activated areas are consistent regardless of an individual’s gender identity and sexual preference.

Physical attractiveness is not just based on facial qualities. We judge physical attractiveness based on waist-to-hip ratio and breast size (for female bodies in particular); chest-size radio (for male bodies in particular); and skin tone.

According to evolutionary psychology, heterosexual men tend to seek a partner which signifies youth and fertility. Heterosexual women tend to seek out a partner with a strong immune system who can provide support to young people.

Read more: Is There Really One Perfect Body Shape For Women?

The “neurobiology of love theory”Postulates that love is an emotion that has evolved to encourage beneficial biological behaviors such as sex, reproduction and the survival of individuals and their species.

The general thesis here is that love is a learned conditioned response.

… but it’s not just biology

This explanation of how we understand love is limited.

Social and developmental researchers specializing in relationships (like myself) believe that individuals will assess potential romantic partners based on a compromise between three different desirable characteristics: physical attractiveness, yes, but also kindness and wealth.

In relationships, “kindness” can also be described as warmth and trustworthiness, having an understanding and supportive partner. “Wealth” is about both status and resources, having a successful partner in your profession. Overall, kindness was ranked as the most important criterion, followed by physical attractiveness and then wealth.

It is highly unlikely that an individual could perfectly meet all these standards. Therefore, expectations are often amended to justify the choice of partners.

Failing to adjust expectations, some people will continually switch partners to try to find someone who can meet all of their expectations.

Read more: Men are from Mars, Women are from … Mars? The way people choose their partners is surprisingly similar (but depends on age)

My research has shown that “not meeting” or “not living up to” partner expectations is a recipe for relationship sabotage.

Sexy Beasts tries to take “physical attractiveness” out of the equation, forcing contestants to rely instead on their judgments about “what’s important” to building and maintaining a lasting relationship. But we cannot change our expectations simply by removing a consideration factor altogether.

How to build a relationship

Watching Sexy Beasts as a relationship expert, I wasn’t convinced that this show’s contestants were connected based on personality alone. The show removes some elements by which to judge physical attractiveness, but it does not allow individuals to judge kindness and wealth.

Social context is an important factor in deciding which characteristics of the partner are important. As with all reality shows, these contestants aren’t motivated by love, but by winning a contest, even if that means going against what is important to them in a partner and a relationship.

The owl, Gabi, is a veterinarian student from West Virginia who talks about her love for dogs, but is matched with a potential dog allergic partner. The dolphin Nina is looking for a “cowboy” – but does not choose the candidate who fits this description.

Panda Kariselle, an outgoing and “nerdy” party host from New Jersey, is looking for a husband. But, on the show, she rejects the bull, Josh, who is “going out to get married” and looking for an outgoing partner with the same “nerdy” interests as him.

To foster connection without physical attraction, we should look at other qualities. Warmth, expressiveness, openness and a good sense of humor are the common factors conducive to long-term relationships. Although individuals can meet and start a relationship disguised as “sexy beasts”, long term commitment requires connection based on personal insight and understanding what we need in a partner.

Hours of work went into creating each of these “sexy beasts”. But that’s nothing compared to the work it takes to make a relationship last.

New law on endorsements for digital platforms

New legislation enacted

Royal Decree-Law 9/2021, of May 11, modifies the status of workers concerning people working in the delivery of goods via digital platforms (Law on Riders). This law provides that people working in the delivery of goods for digital platforms that organize them, manage and control them directly / indirectly / implicitly and manage the service through algorithms of digital platforms are considered as employees. This provision allows employee representatives to be informed of artificial intelligence algorithms and parameters, rules and instructions used to decide on the working conditions of employees, their recruitment, dismissal and profiling.

This has raised concerns on the part of the digital platforms concerned about the confidentiality of their trade secrets. Although employee representatives are subject to the duty of secrecy, the disclosure of this information may put their secrets at risk. The Rider Law is due to come into force on August 12, 2021.

Ratification of the European Social Charter

New legislation enacted

The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe which guarantees fundamental social and economic rights. The revised Charter, which entered into force on May 3, 1996, was finally ratified by Spain on April 29, 2021, to enter into force on July 1, 2021. Among the labor rights that it expands and strengthens, the following position on : (i) dignity at work by promoting the prevention of sexual harassment and violence in the workplace; (ii) equal working conditions and equal pay for work of equal value regardless of sex; (iii) Effective access to employment, especially for people with disabilities; (iv) protection of employees and employee representatives; (v) Equal treatment and opportunities regardless of gender and family responsibilities; (vi) Protection of minors in the workplace; (vii) Maternity protection; and (viii) Professional advice and training.

Incorrect use of temporary replacement contracts to cover vacant positions

Prior decision by the judiciary or regulatory agency

The European Court of Justice (CJEC) in its judgment C-726/19 of June 3, 2021, ruled that Spanish case law did not properly apply Council Directive 1999/70 / EC of June 28, 1999 concerning contracts temporary because it wrongly authorized the renewal of temporary contracts when the selection period to cover vacant posts in the public sector had not yet ended without specifying its duration. This is also the case because case law wrongly prohibits the assimilation of these workers to “permanent employees” and does not grant them equal severance pay. In addition, the CJEC considered that Spanish law does not seem to include any measure aimed at preventing and, where appropriate, sanctioning the abusive use of these contracts which cannot be justified by purely economic considerations linked to the economic crisis. from 2008.

Bill for LGTBI rights

Bill or initiative

On June 29, 2021, the Council of Ministers approved a draft law for the real and effective equality of trans people and for the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people, a law promoted by the Ministry of Equality and the Ministry of Justice. Among other things, the bill calls for several changes, as follows: (i) The law will no longer consider trans people to be sick; (ii) Gender self-determination; (iii) Allow minors to change their name in the civil status at any age and to change their sex from the age of 12; (iv) Lesbian, bisexual and single women will once again have access to assisted reproduction techniques, as will trans people with a gestational capacity; (v) Allow the filiation of sons and daughters of lesbian and / or bisexual women; (vi) Conversion, aversion or counter-conditioning therapy in any form aimed at modifying a person’s sexual orientation or identity or gender expression shall be prohibited; (vii) Rights of trans people and LGTBI in education and employment; and (viii) New fundamental rights for intersex people (including the right to be free from birth mutilation).

Guide to data protection and labor relations

Important regulatory agency action

On May 18, 2021, the Spanish Data Protection Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Social Economy and employers’ and trade union organizations, published guidelines on data protection and labor relations . The guide addresses multiple issues including recruiting, the ability for an employer to search a candidate’s social media, job interviews, business-to-business collaboration, whistleblowing systems (including job preservation identity of the whistleblower), management of sensitive data, data retention, payroll, working day records, data transfer to other companies, termination of the employment relationship, activity monitoring , video surveillance, geolocation, presence, private detectives, data transfer to union representatives and employee representatives, data protection in compliance with health and safety obligations, use of wearable technology, among other issues.

The Washington Post recently reported that a cisgender woman confronted spa staff in Los Angeles because she was “traumatized” when she saw a penis while in the women’s locker room. The story has been updated to indicate that the event may have been a hit. The transgender woman who was discriminated against has not been publicly identified, so there is speculation about the truth behind the abuser’s story. But the fact remains: Too many cisgender people anticipate or falsely claim violence and trauma when they know (or think) they may be around transgender people. You hurt us more than we’ve ever done or will never do you, so please fuck it up.

Every day, transgender people and our bodies are scrutinized. We are seen as oddities and with inappropriate curiosity in some cases, and in others we are told we are disgusting and dangerous. Our bodies are sexualized and stigmatized. Our lives are in danger because too many cisgender people believe that our existence is an excuse to deny us basic health care, access to housing, to work and to toilets. Transgender women in particular are threatened, attacked and killed at the hands of cisgender people who use transphobic excuses to defend themselves.

The Los Angeles spa woman was playing on the common and unfounded fear that transgender women in public spaces, especially female-only spaces, would be dangerous. They do this for several reasons. They don’t believe transgender women are women; they believe predatory males will disguise themselves as females to gain access to prey; they believe that all transgender women have a penis; they believe that cisgender bodies and genders are the “correct” bodies and are the only bodies that are worth protecting.

These beliefs are the product of a lack of education, social constructs and prejudices around gender, religion and the negative portrayal of transgender people in the media.

In many cases, like the spa, the cisgender woman couldn’t – and wouldn’t – verify that the transgender woman was threatening or inappropriate. If the sight of a penis was threatening to the client, it was because cisgender men used their cocks as weapons; not because transgender women are dangerous. The spa worker defended the transgender woman’s right to use the women’s locker room and any part of the spa because she is female. Period. She let the cisgender client know that if she was uncomfortable she was welcome to leave.

This is also a big reason why people jump in fear and harassment when they think their personal space is threatened by transgender people: they confuse unease with danger. A lot of things make us uncomfortable (math, traffic, a new job) but that doesn’t mean we’re not safe. Discomfort shouldn’t keep us from taking stock of what we need to learn about ourselves and others so that we can extend respect and understanding to those around us.

What would also help is for schools to provide better and inclusive education in sexual and reproductive health. These topics are told as if everyone exists in binary cisgender identities. They are also taught through the prism of heterosexual relationships which define sex as the penetration of a penis into a vagina. This fundamental default setting is wrong. It’s like building a house on the beach and wondering why it’s collapsing. Cisgender people like the spa woman are the hurricane of transgender bodies and same-sex relationships.

Not all women have their period. Some men do. Not all boys have a penis. Someone women do. Breasts and hairs exist on all sexes.

Inquire. And parents, please educate your children. In the rare event that schools try to make their LGBTQIA + curriculum inclusive, some parents will claim that they would rather have these conversations with their children than allow schools to introduce something they don’t think is ” appropriate for age ”. It’s another excuse to say you don’t want to talk about it and a fancy way to say “don’t talk about it.” this path. ”Not talking about sex, bodies and identities outside of the heteronormative is what perpetuates unfounded fears and crimes against homosexuals.

I recently purchased a book called “Let’s Talk About It: A Teenager’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and the Human Being.” It’s a graphic novel for teens about sex and relationships, and it’s one of the first truly inclusive books I’ve found. I bought it to read and prepare it for my kids when we start talking more about dating and adding layers of meaning to consent and healthy relationships. Most of the content is irrelevant to my 10 and 8 year olds, but the images of the different body types and the discussion of how bodies can experience puberty are perfect for them. We are a queer family and while the portrayal of queer relationships and transgender bodies is important to us, it is just as important, if not more, that cisgender children and non-gay children see and understand too. Another inclusive book which is aimed at younger people but also suitable for adolescents and adults is called “Sex is a funny word: a book about bodies, feelings and you”.

Do yourself a favor and watch the Netflix documentary “Disclosure”; it is hosted by Laverne Cox and features other transgender actors, activists and humans who talk about the portrayal of transgender people in the media. The film will show you why you carry your prejudices and teach you about the damage you are doing to our lives by adhering to harmful tropes and stereotypes.

Transgender people know that our bodies are healthy and normal; we need everyone to know this so that we can live our lives in peace and without the constant risk of harm. The people who feel authorized to access spaces reserved for cisgender people are not the ones who are in danger; the real people at risk are transgender people who are just trying to make a living.