unbreakable bond

Gen Z is attacking ‘Sex and the City’ & the gays aren’t having it

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Miranda, Samantha, Charlotte and Carrie from "Sex and the City."

After all of these years, Lexi Featherston was right: No one’s fun anymore!

Sex and the City, the iconic comedy-drama that inspired a generation of gays to sip cosmos and declare they’re in their “Carrie Bradshaw era,” is now streaming on Netflix.

Though SATC has been available on HBO for decades, the show’s move to the most popular streaming service in the world makes it accessible to a far wider audience.

That includes Gen Z, whose anticipated reaction to the show has dominated online discourse for two weeks. How would the most diverse generation on record identify with Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, four wealthy white women who spend their days cavorting around Manhattan?

Perhaps even more pressingly, how would a group of young people having less sex than their parents and grandparents respond to a show that revolves around the aforementioned characters’ sexcapades and romantic dalliances?

The answer is, exactly how you would expect! At least, that’s the case when it comes to one writer, who wrote about her grievances with the show in The Independent.

“I’m Gen Z watching Sex and the City for the first time. It’s not just outdated, it’s cringey,” the headline blares.

Before we go further, it’s worth noting that even SATC‘s most devout fans would admit there is plenty of cringe throughout the show’s six seasons: Carrie declaring that bisexuality is a “layover on the way to gay town,” Samantha using derogatory slurs when fighting with Black transgender sex workers, Miranda’s near-constant classism.

In other words, the SATC girls aren’t necessarily the best people. They’re greedy, promiscuous and in Carrie’s case, deeply self-indulgent.

And that’s the point! When the writer points out the irony of Carrie being a sex columnist with rigid views about sexuality, or Charlotte’s toxic ideas about dating, one phrase comes to mind: Duh!

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“Unlike Friends or The Office, which have their own problems when watched through a modern lens, there is not a single main character worth rooting for in Sex and the City,” the article says. “The bottom line is I can’t enjoy a show that’s supposed to be about female friendships when I have zero sympathy for characters who aren’t just terrible friends, but terrible people.”

At the risk of piling on, the writer seems to miss the groundbreaking premise of the show. Carrie and her pals aren’t just female protagonists. They’re flawed female protagonists, with bad judgment and a penchant for hurting others.

The latter part of Season 3, for example, is centered around Carrie cheating on her boyfriend at the time, Aidan. She cheats on generous, dotting Aidan with Big, her on-again off-again boyfriend, and full-time emotional tormentor.

And you know what? That’s what makes Carrie relatable. She’s the ultimate anti-hero, a walking contradiction with very expensive shoe habit.

Who among us hasn’t asked for money from a wealthier friend, only to become mean and passive aggressive when they refuse?

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“You Got the Love,” which is featured in the final scene of “Sex and the City,” has been remixed countless times.

Despite debuting 26 years ago, SATC remains at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. There’s no better example than the show’s widely panned reboot, And Just Like That.

SATC lovers have a myriad of complaints about AJLT: scattershot writing, no Samantha Jones, the mere existence of Che Diaz. But yet, we still watch, waiting with bated breath for Miranda’s next tired quip about aging.

And maybe that’s the main disconnect between Gen Z and SATC: they’re just not old enough! It can take years of heartbreak and disappointments to rally around Samantha’s awakening as a “try-sexual,” or Carrie dumping perfectly good men for no reason.

SATC would probably age better if the women were selfless and cognizant of others. But what would be the fun in that?

What do you think? Is Sex and the City too cringe to enjoy? Let us know in the comments below…

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