Can a feminist really love Sex and the City?

[Jenina MacGillivray]

Can a feminist really love Sex and the City?


The curse of Sex and the City Did the landmark series ruin television for strong female characters?

[Ruth Lawrence]

Actually I joined without reading those 2 articles, which I just did.
The Guardian Writer is much more balanced and in my opinion accurate. The MacLean's writer suggests that TV once had all these 'strong female characters' like doctors and lawyers and career women. Essentially, caretakers.
Well, where were/are the TV shows that feature a woman business leader? Or the female political leaders? Those are strong role models that affect lives globally. Women do head up powerful companies. There are many women prime ministers and presidents in this world and when an American series tries that, it goes nowhere. Why, because it's not feasible? Give me a break. Interesting to note that the article writer's attitudes are European vs North American!
Let's face it, if TV aims to show the face of our society, it is doing a piss poor job of it. I don't think it wants to. Perhaps THAT's why we have film festivals. And there, women are having an impact. So if you've got a script about a female head of state or global corporation---the market for strong women characters is wide open!
Thanks
Ruth

[Ruth Lawrence]

HI,
I just joined up and what a fortutious start. I am/was a pretty devoted watcher of this show. And I'm not a TV series watcher, I'm hit or miss, but I'd seek out this show. It was purely fun.

As an actress myself, there are so few shows that feature women characters my age, (less and less all the time) and I loved the closeups where you could see real skin, real wrinkles (well, sometimes, and usually on the men actually). I do agree with much of what has been said, on both sides of the argument here but when it came right down to it, I liked that they said pretty much whatever they wanted to say about sex on mainstream TV and their attitudes represented as broad a spectrum as you could probably get with 4 well-off friends, in a very cleaned up city, in the States. I also liked that I didn't always agree with the point of view.
I watch a lot of news, a lot of serious drama and I love it. This was an easy watch-nothing too challenging, nothing too upsetting. I could indulge in those clothes without buying them (I mean, where would I anyway) and I could be a girly girl again--just an older one. I could go to New York for an hour and I really liked that.
Ruth

[Desirée Baker]

I agree with Kathryn.

[Jenina MacGillivray]

nope.

[Rosemary House]

I don't think there was more to it frankly.

[Natasha Boodansingh]

I never quite "got" Sex and the City. My girl friends were always raving about it. I tried watching a couple of shows, but I couldn't relate to the women at all. I never quite figured out why...but I think it's because I thought they were quite typical of the kind of women I don't like to be around: shallow, men-obsessed, materialistic women. Maybe I didn't give it a chance....maybe there WAS more to it, but I haven't had the patience to sit down and watch the boob tube in over a year.

[Diana Daly]

Totally!

You are right Kathryn. Despite my earlier ramblings, I agree wholeheartedly.

[Kathryn Jennex]

A feminist can really LOVE whatever they want and they also don't have to constantly justify everything they choose! That's what being a feminist means.

[Jenina MacGillivray]

"Ultimately, the moral of Sex and the City is that, when it comes right down to it, feminism has had only a superficial impact on men and women and romance. And that's where the real fantasy, and the uncomfortable reality, kicks in". Read more...The Independent: It's a sex (and the city) thing

[Rosemary House]

I've only watched three shows - I rented a box set one night years ago and watched them all in one go. I don't see any problem at all with the show from a feminist context. I didn't feel for a moment that the situations or the characters were sexist or misogynist - and I feel that a lot watching television these days - even more than in previous years. But the reason I only watched that one bunch was because I wasn't interested in seeing any others. They were cute and funny and a bit outrageous in the sexual bits, but otherwise, nyah... I just didn't care. And part of the reason is because of what Diana writes about. Even though I know some pretty serious shoppers (including myself) and even though I love shoes, these women are so far outside the world of anyone I know that I just couldn't be bothered checking the show out again. And frankly I couldn't believe they didn't drink more considering all those lunches.... I remember one show where Carrie actually has four whole drinks and it's supposed to be a shocking anomaly. So maybe that's the problem, the women have lots of sex but they just don't drink enough!