`Sex and the City' characters exemplify new feminists
By NATALIE BAILEY
News Writer
Astrid Henry, coordinator and assistant professor of Women Studies, presented her paper, "Orgasms and Empowerment: Sex and the City and Third Wave Feminism," to open a three-day symposium on Third Wave Feminism celebrating National Women's History Month Monday afternoon.
Third Wave Feminism, the movement of feminism beyond the sexual revolution of the 1960's, is focused on young women and men perpetuating and improving upon those rights gained in the past. The Third Wave is characterized by individualism and a lack of desire to conform to a definition.
"This is a new feminism in the United States," Henry said. "Third Wavers have never lived in a world without the women's movement."
Henry focused on the Third Wave's role in popular culture as seen in primetime television. Henry noted shows like "Rosanne" and "Murphy Brown" offered a liberated woman's perspective, but also had anti-feminist characters, while "Sex and the City" offers four characters as a representation of the archetypal modern woman.
"The show offers a variety of choices and characters without saying this is the right one or this is the wrong one," Henry said.
These four characters make up a close network of friends central to the show. The four women, with varying personalities and sexuality, end most shows sitting, laughing and talking. Henry sees this as a statement about the importance of such friendships.
"The platonic relationships [on `Sex and the City'] are more important than the sexual relations with men," Henry said. "Critics do not normally focus on this, they tend to focus more on the sexual content of the show."
The Third Wave has moved away from the belief that sexuality is dangerous for women, into the belief that sexuality is a source of power, Henry said. The idea that sexual assertiveness is praised in "Sex and the City" and that there is no sense that the characters are doomed or punished because of their sexual experience is very different from the way most feminine sexual acts are traditionally treated in television and film.
While the show offers a view of Third Wave Feminism in the activities and relationships of the independent, successful characters, Henry noted the limited view.
"The view of female empowerment is limited in that the four characters are white, similar in age, thin, conventionally beautiful and financially well-off," Henry said. "In this way, `Sex and the City' lacks a larger political agenda, but is still concerned with the effects of individual choices on individual lives."
The concern with the individual and choice is what makes the show intrinsically Third Wave, according to Henry.
"`Sex and the City' has created a world where women can be both feminine and sexual," Henry said.
All News Stories for Tuesday, March 25, 2003
