Feminism and the 21st Century.

I'd guess women who 'distance' themselves from the show are (or at least want to appear) to be more 'traditional'.

Feminists, and I count myself among them, are no longer seeking the right to wear dungarees, work down a mine and shun the hairdresser!

Samantha is a case in point; with a successful career, made a conscious and respected choice not to marry or have children (which, even a generation before her would've have seemed sad or oddball).

I "distance" myself from it for the same reason I distance myself from a lot of shows - I don't like them. Now, that's feminism.



I came of age and entered the work force during the "feminist movement." Even joined NOW until it became about hating men. It was never about the right to shun the hairdresser - though the male dominated media took that catchy idea and ran with it.

If Samantha is an icon of feminism . .

I think many men don't like Sex and the City because it seemed to augment certain types of men that women always complain about. As i usually the case, a segment of the female population begins to believe that all men fit into the personality types portrayed on the show. Additionally, I think many men believe that the main female characters, although they often behaved no better than the men they dated, were portrayed as the heroines of the show.

I don't think men are generally threatened by female bonding, or by a woman's sexuality, based on my observations and experience. I think most men are actually more flexible to woman's beliefs and tendencies than the other way around.

As I understand it, professional feminism - of the kind found in acedamia - has it as a core value that the media portrayal of woman in a manner which draws attention to appearance, body type, grooming and clothing, and similar issues; or affords the valuation of women on those attributes, is considered to be in opposition to feminism?

Samantha is a case in point; with a successful career, made a conscious and respected choice not to marry or have children (which, even a generation before her would've have seemed sad or oddball). The fact that she is extremley comfortable with her sexuality, the fact that decisions about her appearance are made primarily to please herself. This is feminism.

It might not be every woman's choice but it is a choice, and among women at least, not less respected than a mother / homemaker role which we can also do (a la Charlotte) if we want to.

I wondered if this, this modernisation of feminism, which SATC (reflects / pushes) whether deliberately so or not, is what we're uncomfortable with.

I'd like to get back to the topic of feminism in the 21st century and how it's reflected / promoted by SATC.

I think that over the last 30 years a woman being a mother/homemaker has become much less respected, or even looked down upon, by society in general and especially by the demographic depicted on this tv show.

I'd dare say that to the SATC demographic (highly successful urban women) ...

Is that the demographic they were aiming for?

Is the underscored line your belief ? Or are you paraphrasing Nunayabusiness? Naturally I find this very interesting.

Do men also dislike Jane Austin for providing the "Mr D'arcy type" or maybe resent Ian Flemming for the "Bond type" or even Stephen Spielberg for presenting us with the "Indiana Jones type". People who are genuinely stupid enough to pigeon hole real people into fictionary characterisations didn't need SATC ~ there was already a lot of stuff out there. Seriously, do you know even one, real life, actual person who relates to real life men from the basis of some notion that he is a "Big" or he is an "Aiden". I just don't. Not even one.

The bit you do lay claim to, the bit about women giving the badly behaved female characters an easy time, what's that based on? Conversations you've had / overheard in real life or just an overall sort of feeling? In my real life, in conversations with real life women, I've heard them castigate the characters for disloyalty, fussiness, being poor money managers, being silly, being on some occassions kind of anti men. Women don't like these things either. I can't imagine you've watched that much but I have, and I can reassure you that women felt bad for Aiden, thought that Carrie was out of line and in the cinema that I was in this weekend, there was a loud gasp of disapproval when Carrie behaves badly ~ again.

Now, I'm not defending the show again, and tbesq, you're a little off topic but I'll let it go just this once.

I'd like to get back to the topic of feminism in the 21st century and how it's reflected / promoted by SATC.