Community/Recap/S1/E11 The Politics of Human Sexuality

Greendale is hosting an STD Awareness Fair ("Catch knowledge!") which Annie is organising. This comes back to bite her when the Dean announces that Annie will be responsible for a demonstration of how to correctly apply a condom, using an anatomically correct penis model as the demonstration; unfortunately, Annie has never actually seen one before, requiring Britta and Shirley's help to correct this oversight.

Pierce has managed to land a date for the Awareness Fair, prompting insecurity on Jeff's part as he comes to term with the dry-patch his recent dating life has been; as the evening progresses, however, both men's interaction with their eventual dates will prompt some long looks at themselves. Abed, meanwhile, is demonstrating unexpected proficiency at sports, prompting insecurity on Troy's part.

The Community episode "The Politics of Human Sexuality" provides examples of:
"Troy: You think you're better than me?
 * Actor Shared Background: The story of Annie's awkward first time with a guy who later turned out to be gay is apparently based on an actual experience Alison Brie had.
 * Always Someone Better: Abed turns out to be this for Troy. Parodied, in that Abed is clearly not interested in athletics where Troy is immediately driven into a fit of paranoid insecurity by the fact that Abed manages to throw a piece of trash into a garbage can when Troy misses, and it just gets worse from there:

Abed: No.

Troy: You stick to quoting movie lines. I'll stick to sports.

Abed: I'm trying to reduce my pop cultural referencing.

Troy: Well, you're not moving into sports! You and I? Are playing real basketball. Right now.

Abed: Sounds fun.

Troy: No it doesn't! And it won't be!"

"Troy: [Breathless and exhausted] How'd you like... those apples?
 * Blatant Lies: After Troy 'wins' his race with Abed:

Abed: [Clearly not breathless or exhausted] I don't like those apples. I'm so upset. It was clearly a fluke that I won those other games."

"Dean Pelton: I had no idea alcohol would make people horny. It makes me sleepy!"
 * Buffy-Speak: The dean's assistant Sabrina, who objects to the term secretary - she helps the Dean do 'office-y things.' Later, when told Jeff is a student, not a professor, she responds 'Yikers!'
 * But Liquor Is Quicker: Dean Pelton is apparently unaware that alcohol loosens inhibitions, hence his ill-advised decision to serve it at an STD fair.

"Dean Pelton: There's a dog-fighting ring in my office?!"
 * Code Emergency: Parodied; when the security officer informs Dean Pelton that there's a 'five-nine-seven' currently occurring in his office:

"Abed: Everyone, don't use the condoms! If you're going to have sex tonight, don't use condoms!"
 * Completely Missing the Point: When it's revealed that the free condoms provided by the sex fair are faulty, Dean Pelton panics at the thought of a rash of STDs and pregnancies resulting from this, and orders Abed to run to his office and make an announcement to prevent this. The announcement Abed chooses to make?:

"Jeff: Oh, I'm sorry. I was waiting for that to become inappropriate or racist."
 * Dumbass Has a Point: Pierce demonstrates unexpected maturity, wisdom and humility in both discussing Jeff's and his own experiences with women at the end.


 * High Class Call Girl: Pierce's girlfriend Doreen is an escort. Curiously (considering this is Pierce we're discussing), he doesn't have to pay for a date with her.
 * Hooker With a Heart of Gold: Doreen seems to be a very pleasant, likable and wise woman who offers Jeff some valuable advice.
 * Of Course I'm Not a Virgin: In the run-up to the safe sex fair, Annie panics because she's never seen a penis before. Britta and Shirley, naturally assumes this means she's a virgin. We're treated to a brief lull in the action as Annie explains that her first boyfriend would only ever have sex in the dark.
 * Later in that episode,

"Annie: You know what? I don't want to express myself! I don't want to sit in a room full of people and say... the p-word. I like being repressed! I am totally comfortable being uncomfortable with my sexuality! And maybe -- just maybe -- if everyone were a little bit more like me, we wouldn't have to have an STD fair!
 * This takes on a whole other dimension when you find out that the actress who plays Annie, Alison Brie, actually had this experience, albeit in a very different context.
 * Platonic Prostitution:
 * Inverted; Pierce is in a non-business relationship with Doreen.
 * Doreen also describes how, contrary to opinion, this sort of thing is actually what she spends most of her 'dates' doing, her clientele generally being of an age where they want to be with a woman they can converse with as well as find sexually attractive.
 * Spoof Aesop: Being sexually repressed is A-ok!

Britta: You go, girl!

Shirley: That's my pumpkin!"


 * Strange Minds Think Alike: Both Dean Pelton and the security officer characterise Annie, Shirley and Britta's plan as a "reverse-Porky's".