1st
Why Do A Lot of Men Hate Sex and the City?
(This post was prompted by the discussion this morning on FriendFeed about Sarah Jessica Parker looking like a horse.) And caution: SATC movie spoilers.
I’ve never been a girly-girl.
Even though I appreciate the art of fashion and have Rupert Sanderson heels, Theory skirts, and a boatload of Bobbi Brown make-up in my bathroom drawer, dressing up like a girl always feels like I’m wearing a costume: fun in theory, but I can’t wait to take the itchy stuff off and get back to my real (comfortable) clothes (jeans, t-shirt and Converse).
So, not being a girly-girl, I’ve never really identified with any of the women on Sex and the City.
I’ve never cheated on a boyfriend, showed up late for a photoshoot because I was hungover, hooked up with random guys on spring break, or any of the other seemingly de rigueur stuff that the ladies on SATC got themselves into. Maybe I’m boring that way.
I’ve liked watching SATC because it was like eating a fat slice of lemon meringue pie: tasty, but totally devoid of any real nutritional value, and probably not that good for me in the end.
(In terms of fictional women I do relate to, when Diablo Cody’s Juno McGuff first appeared on screen swilling her Sunny-D and barking back at the yippy dog, I thought: finally, a heroine that’s got my number.)
I know, Sex and the City is just a fantasy. And I treat it like that. There’s no way Carrie Bradshaw could possibly afford couture shoes, drinks, and her apartment in New York on her salary.
What concerns me is women who treat the SATC lifestyle as a realistic goal.
I was talking to a business associate this fall in Seattle, and he said a girl he was dating from Barcelona had a closet full of Blahniks and Choos and Louis Vuitton bags, and wanted desperately to move to New York to live like Carrie Bradshaw. And she wanted to know how much he made, exactly, because if it was under $200,000, she wasn’t interested in him.
WTF?
This guy was a perfectly good man: attractive, intelligent, well-educated, funny, well-employed, and kind. And he was being tossed aside because he made less than $200,000 a year.
And he hated Sex and the City.
So does my husband.
Whenever we’re flipping through channels, and SATC is on TBS, he immediately changes it.
Not because he’s a misogynist (he’s the furthest thing from being a woman-hater), but he hates the Carrie Bradshaw character with a passion.
Her lying, cheating, self-serving immature behavior.
I can see what he means.
Watching the Sex and the City movie this last Friday, I’m afraid to say that I identified more with the men in the movie than the women.
Big wanted a small wedding that was just about the two of them, and Carrie got caught up in the fame and fashion.
Smith was molded into a movie star and faithfully loved Samantha, who tossed him aside for a dog and a cheesy Italian weiner.
Steve got no sex for six months and had to swallow Miranda’s constant criticism.
So I’m torn: Is Sex and the City a good thing? Is it harmless, fun entertainment?
Or is it harmful to some women, who look to these over-the-top characters as role models?
Let me know your thoughts.
