Tuesday, August 24, 2010

"Sex and the City" and the Empowerment of Women









It's obvious that our society is highly sexualized and women are depicted more often than not as sexual objects. Women are continuously shown in the media in sexualized positions and half-naked, or sometimes fully in their birthday suits. The television show "Sex and the City," which later became a movie, is a great example of how women have contested the naturalized stereotype of them being portrayed as sexualized objects. The television show does promote sex, but at the same time it contests the sexual stereotype of women by having the four main women characters in powerful positions in society with high paying jobs. The four women are hard working, dedicated, independent women who don't need a man to support them. This television show and movie promotes the empowerment of women in society and shows women partaking in a more active role in society. As much as the media does portray women as easy on the eye, passive and sexualized, there is media out there that is promoting the empowerment of women and contesting the sexism and "Sex and the City" is one of them.

4 comments:

  1. I think that "Sex and The City" does a great job at reversing the typical rolls between men and women. It shows that women can be educated and successful while still being sexy and feminine. These women are not dependent on men for emotional or financial support, and in many cases they are supporting their "love interest" in the show. "Sex and The City" is a great example of the empowerment of women in our era and encourages women to be successful and to not be dependent on men.

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  2. I agree with what Meghan said. I think Sex and the City is a great show for women to show how women can be successful, with or without a male to support them. These four women in this show are all very strong, of course there are times when they are not, but for the majority of the television and movie series these women all work hard, and it goes to show that it can in fact pay off!

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  3. I think that Sex and The City can be seen in two different ways-1) it can be seen as women taking control over their sexuality and using it in their own ways in order to empower themselves and all women (as the cast includes many different types of female personalities); or 2) as a direct exploitation of women's sexuality and even a mock of it. I can lean either way, but I tend to lean towards the 2nd. If we analyze anything in too much depth, we will see stereotypes with deep historical roots.

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  4. Ok, who watches this show?? Women! So why are they overly sexualizing them? I think it's because women also want sexuality to be prevalent in the media, and seeing shows like this allows their own sexuality to be validated and 'owned'. I don't think shows like this do harm at all, if nothing else, the sex in this movie makes guys like me who have to watch it with my girlfriend, a little easier to get through.

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