Why Every Young Woman Should (Re)Watch Sex And The City

From Manolo Blahniks to empty Chinese containers, cosmopolitans to one night stands, this iconic HBO series has it all. Whether you’re struggling with your career path, going through a tough breakup or in love with Manhattan and high-end fashion, Sex and the City is the show for you.

Originally published in 1996 as a novel by author Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City quickly gained attraction and in 1998 became one of the most famous TV shows of the late 90s and early 2000s. The show continued for 6 seasons, followed by two movies and in 2021 a sequel show And Just Like That…

The show perfectly encapsulates the importance of female friendships, the challenges of navigating relationships and sex and allows the four bombshell protagonists to make mistakes, change and adapt over time. But why should every young woman watch Sex and the City? And why is it the perfect show to rewatch throughout your adult life?

For those who haven’t seen the show, you may already be a fan of Sex and the City without being aware of it. Over the last few years the show has become more recognisable to the younger generation through TikTok and Instagram. Trending sounds of 2024 included Ms. Bradshaw’s iconic quote, “And suddenly, there he was wearing Armani on Sunday, Mr. Big”.

@joandhana i have a really hard crush on him 🤤 #mrbig #carriebradshaw #satc #john #satctiktok #mrbigandcarrie #aidan #joandhana ♬ original sound – alex

Another sound includes Carrie referring to her endless shopping addiction and deep love for heels, “So I walked. I walked 48 blocks in 400 dollar shoes.” We can also see aspects of the show being implemented into modern day fashion like point toed stilettos, simplistic clean-girl makeup and early 2000s midi dresses, low rise jeans, ruched tops and classic, voluminous blowouts.

Although there are certain aspects of the show that may be considered outdated, the running theme of female friendship and how it’s ok to be a little bit messy lives on. We see the friend group’s constant misfortune with finding love and how they deal with this disappointment by turning to each other, and sometimes shopping.

This makes Sex and the City the perfect watch for any young women struggling to deal with her career, love life, friendships or herself. For anyone who hasn’t yet watched the show, it’s enlightening and refreshing to see these striking women’s lives and all the flaws that come with them. It may help you navigate your relationships and feelings throughout early adulthood and also help to not take life so seriously.

For those who have seen the show one too many times, like myself, it provides a feeling of comfort, a feeling that it’s ok to be a bit messy and that you have plenty of time to figure it all out. In moments of need turning to Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte for advice can be reassuring.

Each character has stark differences which allows every member of the audience to relate, or even partially relate, to one of the four female leads. As time goes on, and as I and others rewatch this show throughout adult life, there are different lenses to look upon each character and plot line as you grow.

 

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During my most recent rewatch, I found listening to Samantha’s crude jokes to only get funnier as time goes on. Watching Charlotte endure pregnancy complications equally breaks my heart each time. Carrie’s affair infuriates me to new levels and watching Miranda learn to finally trust men shows me there is hope.

The show allows each of the characters to have distasteful qualities and highlights how not everyone is perfect as we all have our faults. It allows women who are watching the show in their 20s and early adult life to see it is ok to make mistakes and not have everything figured out yet, as the show portrays women in their 30s and 40s who don’t yet have their lives fully ‘together’… whatever that means.

In particular, Sex and the City highlights the importance of female friendships at every age throughout a woman’s life, and inevitably emphasises how men will come and go but the friendships we make are forever.

As Charlotte says: “Don’t laugh at me, but maybe we could be each other’s soulmates. Then we could let men be just these great, nice guys to have fun with.”

Words by Emma Gleeson