Sex and the City premiered 22 years ago and it remains one of the most celebrated female-centered shows of all time. While it was considered progressive back in the late 90s, a 21st-century re-watch begs to differ. Miranda, Carrie, Charlotte, and even Samantha are all preoccupied with men in one way or another. They never talk about their hobbies, careers or even their families, but these aren't the only things in the series that has aged.
Watching Sex and the City in this day and age is unfortunately not as entertaining as it used to be because it often relies heavily on offensive stereotypes and promotes unhealthy attachment styles. The world has changed profusely in the last two decades. There are no more payphones and break-ups via Post-It notes and neither is it okay to be racist or homophobic, not then and not today.
Carrie's Standard Of Living
Not only is Carrie living alone in a quaint apartment in Manhattan, she is also constantly eating out, hailing taxis and wearing designer clothes. It's highly unrealistic that a woman in her 30s, who works as a columnist, makes enough money to be a fashion icon, let alone spend $40,000 on shoes. This is just offensive in this day and age!
When it comes to showing the standard of living of a typical young New Yorker, Girls is a much more realistic series. The girls live in cramped apartments and all of them have roommates.
Samantha Was Slut-Shamed More Often Than Not
The girls often slut-shamed Samantha for the most ridiculous things, which is extremely unfair, considering Samantha never shamed them in return. While it's true that Samantha sleeping with her best friend's brother wasn't necessarily considerate, many of her actions or lifestyle choices shouldn't have raised any eyebrows.
Samantha's character was often reduced to a hyper-sexual and emotionally unavailable powerhouse. She took her girlfriends' judgemental comments all in stride, with the exception of one major fallout she had with Charlotte.
The Problematic Portrayal Of A Lesbian Relationship
In season 4, Samantha announces that she has a girlfriend, a passionate artist named Maria. What's even more infuriating than the group's judgemental reaction is how the break up is portrayed. Samantha and Maria ended their relationship with a screaming match.
Maria shows Samantha "fireworks" by throwing plates on the floor, while samba starts playing in the background. Yep, they also insinuated that Latin American women are naturally irrational and dramatic, throwing in two outdated stereotypes in one go.
Lack Of Diversity
Sex and the City is hard to watch these days. It's hard to ignore the fact that 99 percent of all characters are white. The one percent that was left was either used as a stereotype or as a punchline to some cheap joke. When gay women were introduced to the show, they were all mean and heartless. They also didn't want to hang out with heterosexuals: as if that's how real life works.
The #WokeCharlotte memes are here to correct the damage that has been done and fans have rewritten the most problematic scenes from today's point of view, which recognizes the group's privilege. They are all highly educated, white cis-women living in fantastic apartments.
Romanticizing Emotionally Unavailable Men
Carrie and Mr. Big's undeniable chemistry was portrayed as an instance of true love. They simply couldn't stay away from each other, even when they were committed to another person. Mr. Big's pick-up lines might have worked back then, but they aged like sour milk. Carrie loved how he made her feel by being emotionally unavailable. The fact that he was so elusive is what made him so attractive in the first place. She was essentially at his mercy and his emotional slave.
When Carrie and Mr. Big's worlds collided, there was always so much drama and passion. Their relationship was framed as an unrealistic Disney fairytale. At face value, it's the ultimate love story. A closer inspection reveals that it's actually one of the most toxic, borderline abusive relationships on the show.
The Show Was Outright Racist At Times
In season 3, Samantha was briefly dating Chivon, a black music producer - a silly stock character with no depth whatsoever. He also had a sister - a sassy, over-the-top stereotype of the "angry Black woman," who physically assaulted Samantha when confronted.
Samantha's club outfit leaned on cultural appropriation and was one of the worst outfits she ever wore. There were instances of racism towards Asians in the series, too. Everyone was made fun of, with an exception of white heterosexuals.
The Abu Dhabi Storyline
There were many times when Miranda was the best character on Sex and the City, but it definitely wasn't in the second movie. The whole Abu Dhabi plot was cringe-worthy and painfully offensive.
From Miranda bellowing "Abu Dhabi doo," Samantha telling everyone at the market to suck her d*ck, and Carrie showing her leg to a taxi driver to get a ride, it's no wonder that the critics tore the movie apart.
The Girls Make Fun Of Trans Women
One of the most blatantly obvious things about Samantha that would never fly today is the fact that she committed a hate crime towards trans women who gathered under her window. Her offensive comments about the sex workers in her neighbourhood and towards trans women, in general, were just way too much, even back then!
When she tells her squad about how a group of trans women is keeping her up at night, making too much noise below her window, Carrie and Miranda join right in and the three make fun of the situation for a painfully long minute or so. At least Charlotte kept her mouth shut, this time.
Carrie Was Way Too Closed-Minded For A Sex Columnist
Carrie is a bit of a celebrity in NYC, which means that she must be really good at her job as a sex columnist. But maybe she doesn't share all of her convictions with her readership since she often says outright homophobic things. For example, bisexual people are disregarded as being on a "layover to Gay Town."
Today's shows do representation better. Insecure's Molly also had a problem with dating a bisexual man, but all of her friends told her she was being ridiculous. Carrie's friends, on the other hand, never called her out.
The Antisemitic Tropes
As if trans-phobia and racism weren't enough, the show also took the opportunity to deliver some cheap jokes on the account of Jewish people. When Charlotte first meets Harry Goldenblatt, a wealthy Jewish attorney who she later on married, he shouts, spits, and gesticulates like a maniac.
Like all other Jewish men on the show, he is portrayed in an almost predatory way due to having such a high sexual appetite. If fans ever hated Harry, it's because of the insensitive way he was portrayed. Throw in his hairy back and his sweating all over Charlotte's divorce papers and you have got yourself an antisemitic trope in a nutshell.