Sex and the City’s most poorly aged moments as it airs on Netflix for the very first time
It’s getting hard to defend Carrie
Sex and the City is finally on (US not UK, sob) Netflix. And, obviously – as you might expect of a show that’s over 25 years old – there are some scenes and episodes which have become seriously questionable. Tbh, certain moments and plot lines have aged worse than milk— and the Twitter/X discourse is inevitably already onto them.
Still, “how exciting that a young person gets to discover Sex and the City for the first time,” tweeted one fan. “The glamorous journey they are about to embark on that many of us once took. And I mean look at me now (insane, completely out of touch, blinded by the idea of love, great coats),” added another, amidst “can’t wait to see what Gen-Z make of this” posts alongside the show’s most uncomfortable scenes.
So, in case you’re curious about which quotes and episodes from the six-season-long series about Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha have got the timeline talking right now, here’s a round up of all of the most poorly-aged Sex and the City moments as it streams on Netflix for the very first time:
Samantha getting slut shamed, fat shamed and ridiculed for dating another woman
For a group of women whose USP was enjoying sexual liberation in a metropolitan utopia, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte spend a good chunk of six seasons judging Samantha for her life choices. When Carrie walked in on her giving a blow job to a delivery guy, she was furious. There was even an episode titled “Are we sluts?”.
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But sex wasn’t the only area of her life Samantha was judged for. The girls also had something to say when she gained 15 pounds. Despite the fact she was nowhere near overweight, they intensely fat shamed her for daring to step out in a crop top a stone heavier. And when Samantha started dating a woman called Maria, not one of her friends supported the relationship. Yikes.
Carrie claiming being bisexual wasn’t even a real thing but shrugging off revenge porn
All in all, Carrie was way too judgemental to ever be a sex columnist. But, not only that, her moral compass was all over the place. When she dated a guy who said he was bisexual, she wouldn’t stop slagging him off behind his back and claiming bisexuality didn’t even exist. Yet, when a different guy she dated (Barkley) revealed he recorded all of his sexual experiences with models without their consent, she brushed it off like it was no big deal. Like, wtf?
She also at one point breaks up with a musician because he has ADHD.
Constant slurs and that one episode where Samantha throws water on a group of trans women
Throughout the six seasons of Sex and the City, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha all casually use anti-trans slurs. And in one particularly uncomfortable episode, Samantha throws water on a group of trans women outside of her window because she doesn’t like that they’re near her apartment: “Friendly neighbourhood pre-op transsexual hookers. Half man, half woman, totally annoying.”
Racism and a severe overload of white privileged characters in every episode
Basically 99 per cent of the Sex and the City characters are white – and when they’re not, their storylines are brief and rely heavily on offensive stereotyping. When Samantha starts dating a Black music producer called Chivon, she makes racist comments throughout their relationship while claiming “I don’t see colour I see conquests”. Later, when Chivon’s sister is introduced, she’s portrayed as “the angry Black woman” who fights Samantha and pulls her hair when they get into an argument. Great.
@llikmahballz it’s the blackccent for me. and the transphobia. #sexandthecity #sexandthectiy #transphobia #carrieyoucunt #carrie
Elsewhere, when Miranda is apartment hunting in Brooklyn, she tells her son they need to follow “the white guy with a baby” in order to find a “good home” for them to live in.
Romanticising emotionally unavailable men and treating the good ones like crap
Carrie and Big’s relationship was made out to be some right person wrong time star-crossed lovers-esque entanglement. But the truth is, Big was toxic and almost emotionally abusive to Carrie. She would have done anything for him and he just walked all over her.
When a good guy did come along, Carrie threw the adoration back in his face. Remember when she told Aidan they should spend more time apart so they could miss each other more? Then she cheated on him with Big while he was still married to Natasha.
Honestly, they were as evil as each other.
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• Let’s settle this once and for all: Which Sex and the City gal are you?
• Quiz: Which of the guys from Sex and The City would you end up with?
• All the moments in Sex and the City 2 that proved it was an actual crime against humanity
Featured image credit via HBO/Netflix
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