Sex and the City has stood the test of time through movies, spinoffs, and reboots. The world simply can’t get enough of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda and the female archetypes they represent.
Despite the show disguising itself as a light-hearted show about, well, sex and the city, it’s an essential watch for women in college because of the realistic portrayals of everyday problems that aren’t always represented properly on television.
It’s always a fun conversation to ask your friends which of the core four girls you’re most like.
Are you fashionable, creative, and erratic like Carrie? Are you poised, classy, and a hopeless romantic like Charlotte? Are you career-driven, confident, and adventurous like Samantha? Or are you sarcastic, organized, and loyal like Miranda?
I first watched the show because my older sister was watching it, and it immediately sucked me in. The distinguished outfits, the clubs, the restaurants, the apartments, and the glamor build a compelling aesthetic for the show. More importantly, the honesty with which the characters are written is what makes Sex and the City so universal and relatable.
While the show is great eye candy due to the aforementioned reasons, the most important aspect of the show lies within the dialogue between the friend group and Carrie’s narration and weekly column.
Watching this show alone lets you reflect on your own life and also escape it for a moment, but watching it with a friend opens up conversations and “aha” moments that uncover the true importance of the show.
Yesterday, while bedazzling my Marathon Monday outfit, my best friend Josie Welch and I were lying on the floor with the show on in the background.
In Season 1, Episode 2, “Models and Mortals,” Mr. Big says: “There are so many goddamn gorgeous women out there in this city. But the thing is, after a while, you just wanna be with the one that makes you laugh.”
Josie and I have both had our fair share of failed romantic experiences, and when relationships or situationships end, you always feel like there’s something wrong with you, even if it ended amicably. There always seems to be that feeling of doubt that sneaks up on you when you’re getting ready to go out and you think to yourself, “Was it because I wasn’t pretty enough? Did he find someone better looking?”
Mr. Big, my personal favorite of Carrie’s love interests, offers a reassuring insight when it comes to what men really think. It isn’t just about what we might be tempted to tell ourselves: Personality is more important in the long run.
Not only does Sex and the City provide genuinely useful advice, but it also reaffirms a lot of the feelings young women have. Specifically, the show portrays the many silly obsessions us women have, such as paranoia after not getting a text back or overthinking about what we’re wearing.
Seeing people on television have the same real-life insignificant problems we have provides a sense of comfort in the idea that we are not the only ones. Not every problem we face is Game of Thrones level, so we obviously can’t apply such solutions.
I think the age gap is another element that adds to the show’s significance. While the women in Sex and the City are in their early-to-mid 30s in Season 1, and I’m 19, seeing women in their 30s still struggling with body image, men, and work shows me it’s normal to not have everything perfectly figured out, and I probably never will—and that’s okay.
Another reason why Sex and the City is important is because of its representation of loyal female friendships, which can be a helpful example for young women to follow, especially in college when a lot of these life-long friendships are being formed.
Watching Sex and the City with friends feels like such a bonding experience because it vocalizes problems we sometimes don’t even want to share with our friends. It’s a conversation starter and a how-to guide all in one.
Seeing Samantha support the girls in all their endeavors and give them genuine, sincere advice showed me the importance of being honest in circumstances where my opinion is asked. Sometimes we need to hear “It’s not a good idea at all to go home with that guy,” or “Go up and talk to him, you look amazing.” Samantha is the cheerleader we all need, and watching Sex and the City teaches you how to be that kind of friend to others.
While Samantha tells you to be adventurous, Charlotte brings you back down to earth, even if it isn’t necessarily what you want. Charlotte reminds me there are certain ways to act when you’re meeting parents or trying to impress a new employer.
We see Charlotte excel in her time working for the gallery—often overlooked due to her obsession with marriage and finding “The One.” Still, she is talented, poised, and driven, and her never-failing hope to find true love is inspirational, especially for college students when dating feels like a game of chess.
Meanwhile, Miranda offers us insight into what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated field. While we all hear about women being treated unequally or differently in the workforce, Miranda actually experiences it and we see how she handles it.
Since coming to college, I’ve felt like as a woman, my career options are actually way more limited than I thought. I wanted to be a lawyer, a doctor, a writer, and oftentimes I do feel like these are out of my range because I’m a woman.
I had never felt like this until I came to college, but seeing Miranda be a successful lawyer, as well as all the other women be successful in their careers, gives me hope and inspires me to keep working hard.
Finally, Carrie reminds us that our voices deserve to be heard and that our feelings are valid. Her tumultuous relationship with Mr. Big, as well as her various other boyfriends, show us that self-respect and boundaries are of utmost importance when navigating the dating scene.
I have found her relationship with men to be fascinatingly honest, and she has given a lot of women advice without even knowing it. It’s not right to stay in a relationship with Aidan if she loves Big. We can apply her life lessons to our own relationships and, hopefully, we will be better off.
And yes, just like we’d rather buy Vogue—or in my case, clothes—than groceries because it truly does feed us more, we’d also rather watch Sex and the City than documentaries because we learn more from it. Sex and the City is now on Netflix, so go use your parents (or ex’s) account and learn a thing or two.
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