Sex Positive Postmodern Feminism in Sex and the City

This research paper analyzes the TV series Sex and the City through the lens of sex-positive feminism and its components. It explores the contrast between sex positive postmodern feminism and patriarchal undertones in the show, and analyzes the gender roles and relationships portrayed in the series.

How does Sex positive Postmodern Feminism, reflected in The Sex and the City contrast
patriarchal undertones?
Research has shown that women have been underrepresented in the media. However
when they have a role in the media, they are most likely to be in stereotypical roles which
identifies with the position and expectation from woman in the society. Roles of women in the
society have undergone rapid transformation however. In the process of emancipation women
are getting new and modified roles as well (Drucker, 2018; Doudaki, 2012). Recent
developments in the scenario of television shows the specific genres of programs like soaps and
teen scene are more gender oriented. These programs are eventually showing less of stereotyping
in their portrayal of men and women. They reveal a more equal treatment of the genders.
Specific gendered audience groups are often the targets of specific programs (Chen, 2013).
Media has significant role in creating and developing social norms. The culture of modern day is
quite a lot shaped by media and its influences. Even when young children are concerned, they are
being pushed into liking or preferring their favorites through advertisements (Reed, 2009).
Television is most influential form of media. In the US almost everyone owns a television at
home. This entails that viewers will select their programs quite carefully (Imre, 2009). Hence
they can decide whether they will support the content on ethical or preferential grounds. The Big
Bang Theory during its earlier sessions portrayed one female lead Penny. But her role was that of
stereotypical female one as expected within our society. She is attractive and generates sexual
tension. However as the show went forward the characters were developed and had more female
characters. Another television show, The Office has five female leads. Films are however less
pervasive because consumers usually are more particular in choosing movies. Earlier research on
gender stereotyping in the media emphasizes upon two levels of gender stereotyping. The first

level addressed the actual presence of men and women in television programs and is referred as
recognition. The second level is about the nature of the representation which may be described as
respect. One cannot conclude in determined manner whether representation of men and women
in the gender targeted channels vary from the patterns of underrepresentation of women and
portrayal of both genders in stereotypical manner. In this paper the TV series Sex and the City is
analyzed through the lens of sex-positive feminism and its components. The events which unfold
also put down the undertones of patriarchy which does not submerge the feminist undertones.
Gender roles in Sex and the City
This T.V series describes the different perspective about gender and in which manner it
affects. Description of specific gender is done by different characters in this T.V. series. Each
character is different and represents different personality. All the male and female characters
want different – different things from their life. Some wants love but some wants sex; some
wants perfect family along with happiness but some wants family along with professional life.
Priorities of each character are not same. For further analysis, the paper analyzes each character
in single and in couple too. Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, these four friends came to
New York to find love and label. Carrie became a writer and found love, Mr. Big. They got
married after so many ups and downs in their life. Carrie wants love and label equally. Charlotte
wants a perfect family picture; in this picture she sees a perfect loving husband, kids and
happiness (Gerhard, 2005). Charlotte wants perfect love. Miranda is a quite professional woman
who struggles between a perfect wife and a perfect mother. Somehow she always finds a way.
Miranda wants a perfect relationship between her job and family. Samantha she is different from
other three. For her sex is the only to express love. She loves to do lots of sex; all work or talks

of Samantha somehow concluded with sex only. She is brave enough to take challenges and
never regret after making any decision. She wants her independency and sex.
Mr. Big Carrie’s long time boyfriend and her husband love her very much, but somehow
he did not know to express love. He works in real estate and much richer than Carrie. Steve,
Miranda’s husband loves his wife and son very much. In this T.V. Steve character is always
struggling to get some love from Miranda. He is bothered by her professional carrier. Harry,
Charlotte’s husband is a simple loving husband and father. He take care his wife and his two
daughters financially and emotionally. Smith is Samantha’s love and her boyfriend. He loves
Samantha very much but still he is always busy with his work. Samantha always tries to find a
way to make love with him. Relationship of Carrie and Mr. Big has so many ups and down. Mr.
Big remains Carrie’s boyfriend for 10 years. After this, long time they eventually got married in
the way, in which Mr. Big wants. Carrie is independent and writer, but in some ways she
depends on Mr. Big. When they decided to live together then Mr. Big was the one who decide
the apartment. He was the one who is paying for apartment. During discussion of this decision
with her friends Carrie was advised by Miranda to not to sold her old apartment because legally
owner of apartment is Mr. Big. Wedding plan decided by Carrie is not the way in which Mr. Big
wants, at the end they got married in a City Hall in way that Mr. Big wants. Relationship of
Charlotte and Harry relationship depicts the picture of a happy family. Charlotte is a wife who
always concern about her husband and her daughters. She is very emotionally and got worried
easily by factors which affect her happy married life. Harry is perfect husband who take of his
family finically and emotionally. Charlotte is traditional woman and she is dependent on her
husband. Relationship of Miranda and Steve somehow depicts a professional love relationship.
She is independent woman who is always struggling between her family and job. Miranda is a

quite serious about her ambitions instead of love life. Sometimes, sex and love is just a job for
Miranda and she wants to get over with it. On the other hand her husband, Steve loves her so
much. He wants to spend time with her, but Miranda never considers his feelings which results in
cheating done by Steve with other women. Miranda is stern and blank and considers her job over
love.
Samantha and Smith are in long term relationship. Samantha supports Smith in his
carrier. Samantha is completely different from other three. She is always ready for sex. Her all
deeds are concluded with sex only. Sex is only expression for her to express love. She is in love
with Smith but being in relationship she never wants to lose her freedom. She remains to be
independent; she never wants that man fulfill her demands. There is a scene in this series where
Samantha wanted to buy a ring for herself from an auction, but Smith bought that ring for her.
During accepting that ring, Samantha clearly said that this is a ring with diamonds not a diamond
ring, which clearly says that she is not ready for marriage and remains to be independent. She
breaks up with Smith in the end because she is not ready to lose her freedom. In this T.V. series
women are represented as strong and independent but at some place they are dependent on male
character. Carrie is strong and independent writer and earns great economic status without even
getting married. When she found love in Mr. Big she somehow depends on him because she let
him to make choices for her. At the end they got married in Mr. Big way. She also forgives him
to not to show up on wedding day that she planned. Charlotte is totally depends on his husband.
Her life goal is to have a perfect family and kids and she have both. She is typical traditional
women whose whole life revolved around her family.
In this T.V. series this relationship is the only relationship which does not have any
problem comparing to others. Miranda character depicts that she is crazy about her ambitions

and her job. Her job is first priority be a completely happy person. She loves her husband, her
son but at the same time she also worries about her job. In this T.V. series portray of Miranda’s
character is somehow without love. She is strong, independent and carrier oriented woman. She
cares about her son shows her feminist traits, but worries about job and her organized behavior
shows her masculine traits. Samantha is also strong and independent as she is businesswoman.
Her character portray that she is not that kind of person where the woman take care of man
needs. She chooses her own needs and her own freedom. She is not happy about catering a man
which eventually results in breakup with Smith and she chooses that relationships are not for her.
Postfeminism theories and Sex and the City
Usually the recognition factor behind representation of both the genders represented on
television is usually in line with the presence of the two genders in society. In this era of post
feminism, the essence of the content of the television programs is also changing gradually. There
are five categories of post feminist discourses as per Projansky – linear postfeminism, backlash
postfeminism, equality and choice postfeminism and hetero sex-positive postfeminism and the
last concept is that men can also be feminists (Gill & Scharff, 2011). Projansky criticizes the
shift of choice in feminism due to the way in which it progressed from reproductive rights
towards a general home or work choices. How these choices can bring about a dichotomy is also
under study. Whether women chooses to work or have a family or have both determine class-
biases. Sex-positive feminism as described by Projansky is heteronormative in nature and has
potential or self-fetishization. On other hand it leads to construction of feminism as some kind of
a style which can be acquired easily and worn without problem.
Sex positive feminism refers to the sexual freedom that is a key component of a woman’s
freedom. The sexual choices and lifestyle of a person should be respected as well. This concept

was introduced when the feminists attempted to alter the language and expression around sex
work by providing sex education and there was an activism which hindered the government from
controlling sexual behavior of a person. Freedom of expression and the right to engage in sexual
choices are underlying principles for this. The popularity of the Sex and the City program
originated from two recent trends in the culture, i.e. postfeminism and queerness. This show is
therefore postfeminist in nature. The women of the program are enjoying the good results of
women’s post 70s equality. In many ways which can be subtle and obvious, the series
investigates the essence of sexual equality of women in the backdrop of the 70s. Postfeminists
like Carrie and her friends’ women should have their choice about choosing their lifestyle.
According to them women can work on looking appealing, flirt around and be playful or stylistic
according to their wish. This has no connection with whether they want to work or not. They
should be a choice. Irrespective of that, they can talk and have sex like men and maintain all
kinds of privileges related to an attractive woman (Silverman, 2014; Markle, 2008). Coming to
the aspect of queerness one can refer to narratives, images and plot structures which can be
interpreted as queer (Southard, 2008). This could refer to characters which can identify
themselves as queer. This also includes attempts to weaken the natural approach of sexuality.
The show reflects the post feminist view or relates with the second wave of feminism.
Postfeminism is depicted as the ghost or shadow of the scary feminist and popularly
represented in terms of the liberated women from 70s onwards. Sex positivity means no one can
dictate a woman what is suitable or good for her in her sexual life (Painter & Ferrucci. 2017).
This helps her take her own decisions in life and should not need to talk of their trauma without
any shame. They can have consensual sex without bringing on any stigma to their lives. The
series works therefore as a humoristic program which breaks a taboo and targets the women

mainly (Robinson, 2011). The stress is on sexual freedom, friendships between female friends,
independence and cosmopolitism which can be reflected by a group of young female characters
working and living in New York. This series seem to have been produced from a feminist
viewpoint (Lee, 2010). A fan culture emerged from this and fashion and accessories also found
influence of this series (Kanai, 2017; Kanai, 2015). Post feminism is supposed to be apolitical
shift in the concept of feminism and its related theoretical agenda. According to Ginia Bellafante,
feminism has undergone a shift from an effective political movement towards a trend of personal
consumption style. According to Rosalind Gill’s ‘Postfeminist media culture’ the notion of
feminism has shifted from the theme of objectification towards subjectification. This entails a
stress on self-surveillance, monitoring and self discipline (Gill, 2007). There was a stress on
individualism, choice and empowerment and generated ideas of natural sexual differences.
Postfeminism is interpreted in best manner not as epistemological perspective or a historical
shift. Postfeminism needs to be understood as sensibility.
Analysis of liberal feminism as opposed to patriarchal undertones
The program Sex and the City is a kind of post feminist empowerment of women. In
certain episodes, they spoke of men only. Then there were discussions on lesbianism with a fear
about the same. Traditionally the concept among women was to stay away from women lest they
might steal their man. But times have evolved and at present, feminism is about a healthy bond
of friendship between women (Gill & Scharff, 2011). Their lives have changed ever since. The
issues discussed by feminists do not threaten the easy-going issues on the surface and do not
pose threat to liberalism (Kelan, 2009). They propagate more tolerance from people to pursue
their desired lifestyle. For instance, breastfeeding and lesbian relationships should not come

under any kind of criticism or observation by others. This entails soft-vanilla feminism. The
basic idea is to ensure everyone is happy and pleased with what they have.
The four women depicted here have high power careers. Here Miranda is a lawyer,
Samantha a owner of public relations agency. Charlotte is a director of an art gallery while
Carrie is a successful writer. They find their careers important and even their independence. This
is balanced with their family lives and even sexual preferences. A man should not intervene in
their liberal lifestyle and even their friendship. When Miranda meets a man who makes less
money than hers and feels insecure by her high power job, they eventually end the relationship.
Here she points out that when a single woman is wealthy that leads to some problem in their life.
But a single wealthy man is at an advantage. Carrie faced similar experience where her boyfriend
was working in the same publishing house and was less accomplished than her in the profession.
This led to problems from differences between them. But Carrie continued to flash her
achievements and did not compromise her pride. This is an inspiring part for all postfeminine
women (Oria, 2014; Thoma, 2009). Even all those women with an independent heart and liberal
mindset will find these scenarios impressive.
The TV series highlights the issues of abortion and pregnancies quite openly. While
Charlotte has struggles in conceiving a child due to her husband’s erection problem, Miranda
decides to undergo abortion first. They both discuss with their friends. Charlotte later discovered
infertility issues of her own as well and with her second husband however she conceives but
undergoes miscarriage. On other hand Miranda got pregnant without planning and Charlotte was
upset with her. In fact she conceives after adopting her first child. On other hand Miranda, after
discussing with her friends plan to keep the baby. This part really destigmatized abortion. While
women had the right to choose their ways freely, they were not bound to choose something

which was abiding by the concept of social stigma (Morris, 2012). So it is basically about the
power of choice.
Postfeminists usually behave against totalitarian disposal of traditional female gender
roles defined by feminism. Postfeminists have brought in concepts like “hyper-domesticity” and
“postfeminist homemaking” as key themes. Neoconservative values and liberal values can
coexist and then they are called double entanglement. Hence there is no issue with feminism is
the women are traditional, or radical and even pretty simultaneously. The traditional aspects of
mentioning objects of feminity like lipstick, high heel shoes or glamour usually do not interfere
with the concept of women power (Gill, 2007). Feminity therefore should be mentioned in
feminist TV series like Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Sex and the City have
changed several women from within. Women can find a language to talk of their experiences of
friendships. The episode on breastfeeding and the pregnancy period of Miranda brought about a
revolution. This made women feel comfortable while discussing vibrators and also about
choosing the same. In the last series Samantha admits her age and it was a reflection that women
were no more ashamed to hide their age. The entire issue was not discussed in similar manner
earlier (Jermyn & Holmes, 2015; Markle, 2008). Then single women’s social status was
celebrated throughout the episodes. A woman can choose to be single and still be accepted at
weddings and choose to spend on other people’s children. So that should be also something to
appreciate. On one hand TV series stresses upon the idea that a woman has to be slim and fair to
look beautiful and be beautiful in order to be successful (McRobbie, 2008). The series however
also highlights the strength of friendships with acknowledgement of the fun in relationships
between women. Single statuses of women are also celebrated. The series mainly attracts women
with independent mind and careeristic outlook.

Conclusions
Perhaps the producers of the series did not associate the series with feminism when they
composed the same. However postfeminism is used in academic contexts and media world but
not much used in sociology. For certain researchers and critiques post feminism is referred as
‘anti’ feminism. Here feminism already attained the objectives and is over. According to Greer,
“The future is female, we are told. Feminism has served its purpose and should now eff off.
Feminism was long hair, dungarees, and dangling earrings; postfeminism was business suits, big
hair, and lipstick; post-post-feminism was ostentatious sluttishness and Sex and the City 3
disorderly behavior’’ (Adriaens and Bauwel, 2011, p.4) so Greer identifies this as market
oriented feminism where multinationals view women as their possession (Tait, 2007). The latter
gets the false consciousness that they can achieve all. There is a slippery slope between third
wave feminism and postfeminism. Rebecca Munford marks the dangerous slope. One example
can be the Spice Girls which is a postfeminism outcome by produced by patriarchal companies
who are using the girl power to raise their sales and revenues. One might look at this TV series in
the same light but one cannot deny the widespread transformation of thoughts and mindset it has
generated.

References
1. Adriaens, F. and S.V. Bauwel (2011). Sex and the City: A Postfeminist Point of View? Or
How Popular Culture Functions as a Channel for Feminist Discourse, The Journal of
Popular Culture 47(1):174-195
2. Chen, E. (2013) Neoliberalism and popular women?s culture: Rethinking choice, freedom
and agency. European Journal of Cultural Studies 16(4): 440-452.
3. Drucker, D.J. (2018). Feminism and science in Masters of Sex. Feminist Media
Studies 18(5): 859-872.
4. Doudaki, V. (2012) Sex and the City. Journal of International Communication 18(1): 5-
17.
5. Imre, A. (2009). Gender and quality television. Feminist Media Studies 9(4): 391-407.
6. Gerhard, J. (2005) Sex and the City, Feminist Media Studies 5:1, 37-
49, DOI: 10.1080/14680770500058173

7. Gill, R, & Scharff, C (2011.) New Femininities: Postfeminism, Identity and
Neoliberalism. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
8. Gill, R (2007) Postfeminist media culture: Elements of a sensibility. European Journal of
Cultural Studies 10(2): 147–166.
9. Jermyn, D, Holmes, S (eds) (2015) Women, Celebrity and Cultures of
Ageing. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
10. Kanai, A (2015) What Should We Call Me? Self-branding, individuality and belonging in
youthful femininities on Tumblr. M/C Journal 18(1). Available at: http://journal.media-
culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/936
11. Kanai, A (2017) The best friend, the boyfriend, other girls, hot guys, and creeps: The
relational production of self on Tumblr. Feminist Media Studies.
DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2017.1298647.
12. Kelan, E (2009) Performing Gender at Work. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
13. Lee, M. (2010) Between Romance and Sexuality: Changing Gender Relations and
Postfeminist Culture in America. Feminist Studies in English Literature 18(1), 89-116.
14. McRobbie, A. (2008). YOUNG WOMEN AND CONSUMER CULTURE. Cultural
Studies 22(5), pages 531-550.
15. Markle, G. (2008) Can Women Have Sex Like a Man?: Sexual Scripts in Sex and the
City. Sexuality & Culture 12(1), 45-57.
16. Morris, D.W. (2012). The Sex Wars Continue: Hung's Postfeminist Debate. The
Communication Review 15(3), 204-217.
17. Oria, B. (2014) What's Love Got to Do With It? Sex and the City 's Comic Perspective on
Sex. The Journal of Popular Culture 47(2), 381-397.

18. Painter, C & P. Ferrucci. (2017). Gender Games. Journalism Practice 11(4): 493-508.
19. Robinson, P. (2011). Mobilizing postfeminism: Young Australian women discuss Sex
and the City and Desperate Housewives. Continuum 25(1): 111-124.
20. Reed, J. (2009). Reading Gender Politics on The L Word: The Moira/Max
Transitions. Journal of Popular Film and Television 37(4): 169-178.
21. Silverman, RE. (2014). Jewish Performativity on Sex and the City. The Journal of
Religion and Popular Culture 26(2): 173-186.
22. Southard, B.A.S. (2008) Beyond the Backlash: Sex and the City and Three Feminist
Struggles. Communication Quarterly 56(2): 149-167.
23. Thoma, P. (2009). Buying up baby. Feminist Media Studies 9(4): 409-425.
24. Tait, S. (2007) Television And The Domestication Of Cosmetic Surgery. Feminist Media
Studies7(2): 119-135.