'Sex and the City' Didn't Revolutionize A Darn Thing

In a couple of weeks the movie version of "Sex and the City" will be released in
theaters nationwide. Here's the trailer:



I've repeatedly heard this show described as "revolutionary" and "empowering" by
commentators on culture and television. Take, for example, this quote from a
Newsweek article :

Yet for all the hype and adoration, was "Sex and the City" really
all that revolutionary? The show definitely, and loudly, explored
uncharted TV territory. It was naughty and bawdy and was one of
the rare shows— along with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and
"Murphy Brown"—to ask the provocative question: is it OK for a
woman to be alone? The fact that the four characters—the thoughtful
writer Carrie, the razor-witted lawyer Miranda, the defiantly romantic
Charlotte and the sexually voracious Samantha—demanded sexual
satisfaction was refreshing, even empowering.

Or take this statement from a sex therapist who appearing on "Good Morning
America":

Sex therapist Laura Berman said the show helps women feel
more comfortable when talking about sex and relationships.

"I think the greatest thing about Sex and The City is it's really
bringing sex out of the closet, so to speak," Laura said on
ABC New's Good Morning America. "Women are feeling more
empowered. The message it gives is that women should take
control of their sexuality.

Give me a break! "Sex and City" didn't revolutionize or empower a single thing
and for the news media to continually portray it as so shows their stance on loose
sexual standards. All the show did was glorify women having rendezvous after
rendezvous with men (and sometimes other women).

Some feminists will celebrate such sexually "free" depictions of single women. I,
however, will not. We now live in a country where 1 in 4 teenage girls have an STD.
So, I will not celebrate. We live in a country where 28.4 percent of households
headed by single women are poor, according to this source. If these two statistics
show empowerment for females, then perhaps we need a little less of it.

There are plenty of women out there doing wonderful things and fighting real
oppression. However, I see not such example in the characters of Carrie, Miranda,
Charlotte, and Samantha. Earlier this week I read this horrific story out of Iraq.
These are they type of women who need a revolution and empowerment.