If you’re a woman (age 18+) and haven’t watched “Sex and the City” yet, I need you to immediately add it to your watch list. The show has been adored by my mom and sisters alike, so I had seen some of it here and there when I was way too young, but a couple of months ago I decided it was time for me to engage in the rite of passage that is watching the series all the way through. And I’m not being dramatic when I say it changed my life. Rather than give you a summary of the show (do a quick Google search if you need one), I want to dive into my analysis on what makes this show so iconic for women of all ages.
**Warning: Some spoilers ahead!**
1.) The portrayal of female friendship
The heart and soul of the show is the friendships among four women: Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte. The men come and go throughout the show, but the women never leave each other. That’s not to say there aren’t moments with hurtful words and silent treatments, but at the end of the day, they always come back to one another. As Big says, they are the loves of each other’s lives, and any man is just lucky to come in fourth.
Female friendships are the backbone of most women’s lives. I would be nowhere today if it weren’t for the girls who have uplifted and supported me. “Sex and the City” has the unique ability to capture the feeling of female friendship and bottle it up to make it the core of the show. That feeling underlies every episode, giving women an emotional attachment to these characters as they think of their own Carrie or Miranda or Samantha or Charlotte.
2.) The different personalities among the women
Everyone who has watched the show has probably proclaimed themselves as one of the main four women (I’m a mix of Miranda and Charlotte). The vastly different personalities among the four women make it easy for everyone to identify with at least one of the characters.
Each of the characters brings something different to the table. They excel in different careers, and Charlotte makes the decision to leave her career to stay at home. They have varying hobbies and interests. Charlotte yearns for a husband, whereas Samantha never wants to commit or settle down. Carrie revolves a lot of her life around Big, whereas Miranda struggles to adjust her life for Steve. And none of these women are seen as superior to the others. All of their personalities, even with their flaws or quirks, are seen as equally valid in their own ways. Even when the women don’t see eye-to-eye on certain topics, they eventually can find a way to agree to disagree.
By portraying such unique personalities throughout the four women, the show allows women watching to truly relate to the characters on the screen. Not only that, but it makes women realize that even if they’re more like one character than another, they’re not “better” or “worse” than someone who identifies more with a different character. All of the characters are uniquely wonderful and represent the range of personalities of women everywhere!
3.) Universal female experiences
Throughout the seasons of the show and the movies, so many moments are portrayed that women everywhere have experienced. People love to make fun of Carrie’s “get it while it’s hot” scene, but haven’t we all done something just as cringy or embarrassing for the person we liked? I know I have!
On a more serious note, the “Sex and the City” franchise also touches on important topics that resonate with women, such as pregnancy, infertility, breast cancer, and broken hearts. Some raw scenes that come to mind are “We’re having a baby?”, the movie scene where Samantha spoon-feeds a heartbroken and depressed Carrie, and Harry calling Carrie after Charlotte loses the baby. Each of these moments has been experienced by women across the globe, and the franchise does an excellent job of portraying these universal female experiences.
4.) The sex!
It wouldn’t be “Sex and the City” if it weren’t for, well, the sex. So often in media, sex is centered around men. “Sex and the City” revolutionizes this idea and makes sex about the women’s wants and needs. They are now the ones in the position of power, with the ability to critique or take control as necessary.
The series normalizes women being sexually active in various ways. The countless conversations about sex show different attitudes, opinions, interests, and disinterests. Like men, women have different sexual desires or feelings towards sex; women do not need to fit into one mold! The entire series’ attitude around sex centers on female empowerment.
“Sex and the City” is an important franchise that empowers and unites women of all kinds. Every woman should watch it during this Women’s History Month.