Sex+and+the+City


 * Megan O’Sullivan**

** Sex and the City **

//Sex and the City// premiered on June 6, 1998 on HBO. The series ran for six seasons and ended in 2004. (History Channel, 2011). The show followed the lives of four young, single women living and working in New York City. They go through trials and tribulations in life and in love, but make it through due to their close friendship. Carrie Bradshaw is a sex and relationship columnist and the narrator for most of the episodes. She, like the other ladies, has various relationships and hook-ups with men. However, the main object of her affection is Mr. Big who she will have an on-again, off-again relationship with during the entire series. (History Channel, 2011). Miranda Hobbes is the no-nonsense, cynical lawyer who doesn’t need a man. However, even she will go back and forth with one man throughout the show until they marry. Samantha Jones is the most sexual and flirtatious of the characters. She takes pride in being able to have sex like a man, with no strings attached. Charlotte York, while still represented as a sexually free woman, is the most conservative of the characters. She believes in love and wants a fairytale ending, with a husband and kids and spends most of the series searching for just that.
 * //Sex and the City:// A Brief History and Characters**

It is argued that //Sex and the City// can be viewed as retrosexist. This means that sexual liberation disguises sexism. We mask things that we would have called sexist twenty or thirty years ago with an attitude of liberation and feminism. (Attwood, 2006). One common argument about the women on this show is that while they do have successful careers, lead independent lives, and often rely on one another instead of a man, their focus tends to revolve around men anyway. According to Wignall, the show “was not immediately embraced by the sisterhood as must-see feminist TV. This is party because, for a show about women, it displays a singular obsession with men.” Miranda even blatantly asks in one episode, “How does it happen that four such smart women have nothing to talk about but boyfriends?” (Wignall, 2008). This idea is only reinforced at the end of the series when all four women are paired up with men. Critics say that it is as though no matter how independent and happy you are, “’the future for most women means marriage and children.’” (Wignall, 2008). One author, Janet McCabe, even goes so far as to say that all of the women are still in fairytale archetypes that are hardly feminist. This is made even worse by the alpha-male characters that they continually surround themselves with. Mr. Big (a blatantly phallic name), Carrie’s true love, “is arrogant, egocentric, and apparently unable to see a good thing when she is standing in front of him in four-inch heels. Carrie’s own inability to wake up and realize what a terrible cliché she is dating renders her, at best, pretty dumb and, at worst, passive and weak.” (Wignall, 2008). It is argued that it would be hard for a true feminist to respect and relate to such a character.
 * //Sex and t//****//he City// As Not Feminist**


 * //Sex and the City// As Feminist**

With the show’s ability to turn stereotypical television gender roles on their heads, it seems plausible to see //Sex and the City// as a show about the post-feminist woman, a woman who can have it all. The main reaction to criticism of the show’s feminism is to ask, why is it wrong for a strong woman to desire a husband? Heterosexuality does not necessarily have to mean anti-feminism. (Clark-Flory, 2008). The argument can delve even deeper, saying that none of the women settled for less than they wanted or thought they deserved. Even Carrie’s tumultuous relationship with Mr. Big could be explained by that idea. She waited for him to be the man she wanted and needed before they actually got together. As for the critics that call the show a sort of fairytale, fans of the show point out that none of the women are “damsels in distress. They’re all fully realized women who sought out a meaningful and fulfilling relationship, and eventually found it.” (Clark-Flory, 2008). It is often argued that the show cannot be pinned down as anti-feminist, just because it isn’t overtly-feminist. The characters do make poor decisions and may sometimes seem desperate for love, but that is simply true to life. (Clark-Flory, 2008).
 * Effects On Young Viewers**

While the show originally aired in a primetime spot on the subscription channel, HBO, it was thrown into syndication on easily accessible cable channels quite quickly. Currently, the show can be viewed in the early afternoon and early evening on multiple channels such as E!. One common fear is that young viewers are getting the message that being sexually promiscuous is fun and that women need to be that way to get married. (Hull, 2003). This idea is backed by viewers like celebrity Lindsay Lohan who claim that //Sex and the C////ity// really did change their ideals. Lohan, who was only twelve when the show premiered, has said, “//Sex and the City// changed everything for me, because those girls would just sleep with so many people.” (Jordan, 2010). She also noted that everything turned out fine for the four fabulous characters. Quotes like this from people who are leading less than successful lives such as Lohan are giving adults some concerns. Marian Jordan pointed out that shows like //Sex and the City// can lead young girls down a path of destruction. (Jordan, 2010). Feona Attwood’s concept of pornographication reflects the kind of influence the casual airing of shows like //Sex and the City// has on society. Pornographication occurs when society packages up erotic material and feeds it back to the public in a sophisticated form that seems socially acceptable. By airing a show like this on regular cable channels at times when young viewers are watching, the concepts the show displays can be seen and internalized by young viewers. This can lead to what is called the cultivation hypothesis which says that heavy exposure to television will create beliefs about society based on televisions portrayal of that society. This hypothesis could explain viewer’s attitudes like Lohan’s. There is even evidence to suggest that teens who watch //Sex and the City// are more likely to become pregnant. According to a study that looked at 700 sexually active teenagers between 12 and 17 for three years found that those who viewed shows with high sexual content were twice as likely to get pregnant or get someone pregnant than those who did not view such shows. (Bennett, 2008). While //Sex and the City// isn’t the only sexually charged television show accessible to young viewers, it is certainly one of the most popular and does have a high amount of adult content.


 * Criticism And Praise**

//Sex and the City// with its complete openness on the topic of sex raised a lot of questions and criticism when it premiered in 1998. One of the main negatives people saw was that with all the sleeping around, the characters really didn’t face any serious consequences. According to Shelton Hull, “Any points to be made about the nature of sexual relations in America have been obscured by free-love frivolity.” (Hull, 2003). It has also been pointed out that while there were no real consequences for the actions the women take in the bedroom, it’s because those actions are with wealthy, white males making it seem as though sleeping around with the “right” type of people is what is okay. (Hull, 2003). While some don’t see the women as facing consequences for all their actions, others point out a multitude of trials the women face throughout the series. Issues like cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, infertility, ageing, single-motherhood, abortion, and divorce are all covered, just in an entertaining manner. “Glossily packaged and swiftly dispatched as they may be…you can confidently say that there is more to this programme than footwear.” (Wignall, 2008). According to Wignall, the hardships covered aren’t the only redeeming quality of the program. Throughout all of the discussion of sex, what the show did was place female pleasure and agency at the forefront, saying it is a right, not a privilege. It was revolutionary to give females that kind of voice. (Wignall, 2008).

**Attwood, F. (2006). Sexed Up: Theorizing the Sexualization of Culture. //Sexualities,// 9:77. Retrieved from [] **
 * References**

**Bennett, R. (2008). Teens who watch Sex and the City more likely to get pregnant. //The Times: The Sunday Times.// Retrieved from []**

**Clark-Flory, T. (2008). Feminism Vs. Sex and the City. //Broadsheet.// Retrieved from []**

** Hull, S. (2003). Modern Woman as Love Machine: The Post-Feminist Landscape, as Projected by 'Sex and the City'. Retrieved from [] **

** Jordan, M. (2010). Sex and the City’s Influence on the Lindsay Lohan Generation. //RMG Blog.// Retrieved from [] **

**Sex and the City Premiers on HBO. (n.d.) The History Channel website. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sex-and-the-city-premieres-on-hbo**

===**Wignall, A. (2008). Can a feminist really love Sex and the City? //The Guardian.// Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/16/women.film** ===