Cara Delevingne Explores Sexuality, Orgasms, and More in Hulu Docuseries ‘Planet Sex’

Growing up feeling ashamed of her sexuality, Cara Delevingne had hoped to work on a project that focused on topics having to do with sex and gender.

In her new Hulu docuseries Planet Sex, the award-winning actress, model, and LGBTQ icon goes on an immersive journey, putting her mind and body on the line in search of answers regarding human sexuality, its joys, mysteries, and constantly changing nature. Uniquely unfiltered and authentic, Planet Sex isn’t solely about activities typically reserved for the private sphere.

Each episode explores a different question about sexual orientation and gender identity and covers topics such as masturbation, orgasms, porn culture, drag, and ideas of beauty. Delevingne also examines what it means for people to embrace their identities in public, and as a result, we see her attend her first-ever Pride festival and experiment with drag.

There is no limit to how far she is willing to go to explore what makes us all human.

OFM had the pleasure of chatting more with Delevingne about Planet Sex, what she learned about herself through this experience, and how she hopes the series will help change the narrative.

Can you begin by telling us how the concept and idea for Planet Sex came to fruition?

Freemantle originally had this idea of doing a show which travels the world discovering more about sex, gender, and identity, and they had me in mind. This is always something I wanted to speak on and do something about, but I wasn’t sure how or what it would be. I never thought of myself as being a documentary maker, but at the same time, I’m definitely a person who wants that. I love that.

I love documentaries so much, and I think what they do can be amazing, and I wanted to make something entertaining but also educational. I think it was very important to represent a lot of different types of people and queerness in general. Whatever anyone identifies, showcase it in a way where everyone would feel accepted and spoken for. So, they approached me, and I didn’t even say yes. I was like, when?

Before coming to Hulu, Planet Sex originally aired on the BBC. How was it received?

It was great. My family, friends, people I know, people I don’t know—It was received very well, especially for the BBC. I was so happy for it to be on the BBC.

Ultimately, what do you hope audiences take away from this series?

I think there are so many different people that you can identify with on this show. It’s also a journey of my own, and I want people to realize that no matter how old you are or where you’re from, you can always continue to be on a journey. We don’t decide who we are, and that’s just it. You can always kind of change your mind or want to explore different parts of yourself, dip your toe into things, and see if you like it. It’s just one of those things where people sometimes have to be more comfortable with not knowing things about themselves and discovering that you’re never too old to change who you think you are.

Since this was your first time really opening up and talking about your own sex life, what were some things that you learned about yourself?

I think I learned more about myself in terms of how much shame I had when I was younger and how much gender played a part in my life. How my beliefs in terms of gender were so binary. I’m a woman, and I’m proud of that, but I think for a long time, I was confused about my identity. Generally, I think that came from a deeper place of my identity being my job, and always playing a part for other people. Then also relationships and believing in love, there were a lot of things that I discovered.

Would you say you were more excited or nervous to begin this journey?

I was nervous, but I think nervousness for me is something that I need to lean into. I was nervous to have excited feelings and not knowing what was going to happen, but I think that’s a magical element of documentary making.

Why do you think talking about sex is still considered to be so taboo?

Because people are scared of it. It’s not controlled by anything else other than it’s a free place where you can lose your inhibitions, but there’s a lot of fear around sex and a lot of trauma around sex. A lot of trauma plays into what people find kinky or whatever, and it’s a very, very vulnerable place. It’s probably the most vulnerable place you can be in a lot of the time. It’s just the way it is, but there’s also a lot of miseducation about sex, and I think porn plays a huge part in that. It’s always been seen as such a dirty subject, but it’s something that unites the world.

Do you believe Planet Sex will help change the narrative?

I hope so. I mean, I know it’s changed mine. I’m so comfortable talking about sex now that I don’t even know what’s what (laughs).

Planet Sex covers so many topics including masturbation, orgasms, porn culture, drag, and ideas of beauty. Which episode was your absolute favorite to film?

Oh, I don’t know. The thing is, there were different parts of each episode that I loved. I loved going across to different countries and meeting people, like The Darvish in Berlin, and going to Japan was incredible. But as to which episode was my favorite, I really liked the one on beauty. I think that one was really interesting, and I loved the one on orgasms as well.

Was there anything you didn’t feel comfortable doing?

No. I mean, I felt uncomfortable doing the whole thing in the beginning, but for 16-year-old me, it would have been so important for something like this to have existed. So, hopefully this can be a vessel for other people to feel heard.

Any word on if there will be a Season 2?

Not yet, but hopefully. We’ll see.

If so, are there any topics you would like to touch on that you didn’t get to talk about this time around?

I would love to hit more on male sexuality, and possibly topics surrounding sex work and kinks. There are so many more subjects, so who knows?

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

Nothing I can mention at the moment apart from Carnival Row, which the second season is coming out on February 17. So, I’ve got two things going on, which is cool.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Delevingne by following her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @caradelevingne. Planet Sex is now streaming on Hulu.

Photos courtesy of Hulu