Editing Sex and the City (section)

==Reception==
''Sex and the City'' premiered on [[HBO]] on June 6, 1998, and was one of the highest-rated comedies of the season.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Akass|editor-first1=Kim|editor-last2=McCabe|editor-first2=Janet|title=Reading Sex and the City|date=2004|publisher=I.B. Tauris|location=London|isbn=1850434239|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/readingsexcity00akas}}</ref>

===Awards and recognition===
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Sex and the City|l1=List of awards and nominations received by ''Sex and the City''}}
Over the course of its six seasons, ''Sex and the City'' was nominated for over 50 [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] and won seven: two for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series (Jennifer McNamara), one for Outstanding Costumes, one for Outstanding Comedy Series, one for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Sarah Jessica Parker), and one for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Cynthia Nixon).

The show was also nominated for 24 [[Golden Globe Awards]] and won eight: three for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, four for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (Sarah Jessica Parker), and one for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film (Kim Cattrall).

In 2007, ''Sex and the City'' was listed as one of [[Time (magazine)|''TIME'']] magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-''TIME''."<ref name="Time 100" /> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' included it in its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, stating, "The clothes from ''SATC'' raise your cosmos! A toast to the wonderful wardrobe from ''Sex and the City'', which taught us that no flower is too big, no skirt too short, and no shoe too expensive."<ref>Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84</ref>

For its 65th anniversary, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked the episode "My Motherboard, My Self" as the eighth-best episode of the 21st century.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Holbrook |first=Damian |date=April 2–15, 2018 |title=65 Best Episodes of the 21st Century |magazine=TV Guide}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Variety (magazine)|''Variety'']] ranked ''Sex and the City'' as the sixth-greatest TV show of all time.<ref name="variety.com"/>

===Fashion===
In 2013, ''The New York Times'' credited ''Sex and the City'' and its costume designer [[Patricia Field]] with "starting crazes for [[nameplate|nameplate necklaces]], [[Manolo Blahnik]] shoes, flower corsages, and [[visible bra-straps|visible bra straps]]." Field described the show's influence as "like sitting at the bottom of an atom bomb."<ref name="meltzer20130919">{{Cite news |last=Meltzer |first=Marisa |date=2013-09-19 |title=Get Me Wardrobe! |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/fashion/costume-designers-for-tv-have-a-big-impact-on-fashion.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106052757/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/fashion/costume-designers-for-tv-have-a-big-impact-on-fashion.html |archive-date=January 6, 2020 |access-date=February 28, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=E1}}</ref> A 2018 feature in ''[[The Guardian]]'' highlighted the show's enduring impact, quoting fashion editor Chelsea Fairless: "I would venture to say that the mix of [[high fashion]] and [[fast fashion]] that Patricia Field brought to the show influenced most people who work in fashion in one way or another."<ref>{{cite news |author=Ellen E. Jones |date=2018-04-21 |title='That show was as white as it gets!' Sex and the City's problematic legacy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/21/that-show-was-as-white-as-it-gets-sex-and-the-citys-problematic-legacy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820113454/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/21/that-show-was-as-white-as-it-gets-sex-and-the-citys-problematic-legacy |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |access-date=2018-04-23 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> The article also noted fan accounts on [[Instagram]], such as "Every Outfit on ''Sex and the City''" and "Carrie Dragshaw," as evidence of the show's continued popular appeal and influence on fashion.

===Criticism===
Criticism has been expressed regarding the influence ''Sex and the City'' has on adolescents and how the images portrayed on the show affect the way women and young girls [[Body image|view themselves]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baxter |first=Judith |year=2009 |title=Constructions of Active Womanhood and New Femininities: From a Feminist Linguistic Perspective, is ''Sex and the City'' a Modernist or a Post-Modernist TV? |journal=Women & Language |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=91–98}}</ref>

Tanya Gold of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' stated, "''Sex and the City'' is to feminism what sugar is to dental care" and argued that the show was dominated by images of women as either childlike or as sex objects. She pointed to the opening credits, where the protagonist wears a ballet skirt—"the sort that toddlers wear"—and is then passed by a bus ad featuring a scantily clad photo of herself. "In another [episode], Carrie realizes she is homeless because she has spent $40,000 on shoes and does not have a deposit for an apartment. (In this crisis, she cries and borrows the money for the deposit—what child would do anything else?)."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gold |first=Tanya |date=May 21, 2010 |title=Sorry Sisters But I Hate ''Sex and the City'' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7746119/Sorry-sisters-but-I-hate-Sex-and-the-City.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130112746/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7746119/Sorry-sisters-but-I-hate-Sex-and-the-City.html |archive-date=January 30, 2011 |access-date=February 2, 2011 |newspaper=The Telegraph (UK)}}</ref>

In addition to focusing on finding and keeping a man, the lead character also routinely hides her true thoughts and feelings from the men she dates. The show uses voiceovers to reveal Carrie's inner thoughts, which often conflict with how she expresses herself externally. Pop culture expert Ashli L. Dykes notes that "... [the] fear that men will no longer find a woman attractive if she reveals her true self is in contrast to the relationships among the four main female characters..."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dykes |first=Ashli L. |date=2011 |title="And I Started Wondering....": Voiceover and Conversation in "Sex and the City" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23416350 |journal=Studies in Popular Culture |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=49–66 |jstor=23416350 |issn=0888-5753}}</ref>

Academic critics, however, are divided on whether ''Sex and the City'' is [[Antifeminism|anti-feminist]], [[Feminism|feminist]], or [[Postfeminism|post-feminist]]. Some argue that regardless of the label applied, the show contributed significantly "to ongoing dialogue"<ref>Hermes, Joke (2002). "Television and Its Viewers in Post-Feminist Dialogue Internet-mediated Response to 'Ally McBeal' and 'Sex and the City'". ''Ethnofoor''. p. 1.</ref> and that it "shows women in a world where they can be feminine, attractive, and feminist at the same time ... the series gives a forum to a renewed postfeminist debate."<ref>Adriaens, Fien and Sofie Van Bauwel (2011). "Sex and the City: A Postfeminist Point of View? Or How Popular Culture Functions as a Channel for Feminist Discourse". The Journal of Popular Culture, p. 18.</ref>

Andrea Press criticized the show for its handling of topics such as unexpected pregnancy, arguing that it contrasts with progressive feminist thought. In one episode, Miranda faces an [[unexpected pregnancy]], prompting Carrie to reflect on her own experience with pregnancy and [[abortion]]. Press contends that Carrie's shame when sharing this story with her boyfriend serves to "undermine" the hard-won freedoms that allowed her choice, presenting "multiple critical perspectives toward the act."<ref name="jstor.org">{{Cite journal |last=Press |first=Andrea |date=2009 |title=Gender and Family in Televisions Golden Age and Beyond |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40375911 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=625 |pages=139–150 |doi=10.1177/0002716209337886 |jstor=40375911 |issn=0002-7162}}</ref> Press also argued that while the show is often lauded as a champion of progressive feminism, its characters adhere to traditional views of female gender roles, focusing heavily on appearance, glamour, and consumerism.<ref name="jstor.org" /> She pointed out that the outfits worn by the characters are as central to the show as the storyline itself, with a significant emphasis on consumption and constant marketing messages throughout the series.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carroll |first=Noël |date=2010 |title=Consuming Passion: "Sex and the City" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23960986 |journal=Revue Internationale de Philosophie |volume=64 |issue=254 (4) |pages=525–546 |jstor=23960986 |issn=0048-8143}}</ref>

In retrospective analyses of the show, critics have reassessed Carrie Bradshaw as an unsympathetic protagonist, despite her portrayal as a positive figure. In 2013, [[Glamour (magazine)|''Glamour'']] called Carrie "the worst" character on the show, stating that "her brattiness and self-absorption eclipsed her redeeming qualities and even her awesome shoes."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Angelo |first=Megan |date=January 14, 2013 |title=Confession: I've Never Been Able to Stand Carrie Bradshaw |url=http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/01/carrie-bradshaw.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422233120/http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/01/carrie-bradshaw.html |archive-date=April 22, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2014 |newspaper=Glamour}}</ref> In a 2010 retrospective on the previous two decades of pop culture, [[ABC News (United States)|''ABC News'']] named Carrie one of the ten worst characters of the past twenty years, describing her as a "snippy, self-righteous Manhattan snob" and citing her actions in ''[[Sex and the City 2]]'' as evidence that she was beyond personal growth or redemption.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marikar, Sheila |first=Heron, Liz |date=June 4, 2010 |title=Top 10 Worst TV and Film Characters in the Last 20 |url=http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/01/carrie-bradshaw.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422233120/http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/01/carrie-bradshaw.html |archive-date=April 22, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2014 |newspaper=ABC News}}</ref> Emily Nussbaum of ''[[The New Yorker]]'', reflecting on the show a decade after it ended, argued that Bradshaw was "the unacknowledged first female anti-hero on television," who began as a "happy, curious explorer, out companionably smoking with modellizers," but from the second season on, she "spun out, becoming anxious, obsessive, and, despite her charm, wildly self-centered." Nussbaum also asserted that the show's reputation has "shrunk and faded" over time, largely due to disappointment that the series "gave in" to the limits of romantic comedy in its later seasons. She contended that until then, ''Sex and the City'' "was sharp, iconoclastic television." In addressing why the show is now "so often portrayed as a set of empty, static cartoons, an embarrassment to womankind," Nussbaum suggested: "It's a classic misunderstanding, I think, stemming from an unexamined hierarchy: the assumption that anything stylized (or formulaic, or pleasurable, or funny, or feminine, or explicit about sex rather than about violence, or made collaboratively) must be inferior." Nussbaum also challenged criticism of ''Sex and the City'' as anti-feminist, advocating for a more nuanced view of the characters as situated within different waves of feminism: "Miranda and Carrie were [[Second-wave feminism|second-wave feminists]], who believed in egalitarianism; Charlotte and Samantha were [[Third-wave feminism|third-wave feminists]], focused on exploiting the power of femininity, from opposing angles."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nussbaum |first=Emily |date=July 29, 2013 |title=How "Sex and the City" Lost its Good Name |url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2013/07/29/130729crte_television_nussbaum?currentPage=all |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411005612/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2013/07/29/130729crte_television_nussbaum?currentPage=all |archive-date=April 11, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2014 |newspaper=The New Yorker}}</ref>

A 2018 article in ''[[The Guardian]]'' titled "'That show was as white as it gets!': ''Sex and the City's'' problematic legacy," highlighted the lack of non-white series regulars and "racial insensitivities" in the show, such as Carrie's reference to "ghetto gold" and Samantha's wearing of an [[afro]] wig to cover her baldness from [[chemotherapy]].<ref name="Ellen E. Jones">{{cite news |author=Ellen E. Jones |date=2018-04-21 |title='That show was as white as it gets! Sex and the City's problematic legacy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/21/that-show-was-as-white-as-it-gets-sex-and-the-citys-problematic-legacy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820113454/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/21/that-show-was-as-white-as-it-gets-sex-and-the-citys-problematic-legacy |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |access-date=2013-04-23 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> The article also referenced the #wokecharlotte memes that gained popularity on [[social media]] in 2017, in which Charlotte chastises Carrie for comments that retrospectively appear insensitive and ignorant (e.g., Carrie's labeling of [[bisexuality]] as a "layover on the way to Gay Town" and Samantha's use of [[transphobia|transphobic]] language to refer to the sex workers outside her apartment).<ref name="Ellen E. Jones" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Ryan Butcher |date=2018-01-01 |title='Woke Charlotte' is the socially conscious Sex and the City meme we all need right now |url=https://www.indy100.com/article/woke-charlottle-new-favourite-sex-and-the-city-meme-racism-transphobia-8122271 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424135359/https://www.indy100.com/article/woke-charlottle-new-favourite-sex-and-the-city-meme-racism-transphobia-8122271 |archive-date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=2018-04-23 |publisher=indy100.com}}</ref> The creator of the memes stated that "it is satisfying to see the show get called out for the stuff that wouldn't hold up in 2017. It's true that it was progressive for its time, but that doesn't mean contemporary viewers should be dismissive of some of its more problematic content."<ref>{{cite news |author=Rebecca Fishbein |date=2017-12-15 |title=The "Woke Charlotte" Instagrams Take This 'Sex and the City' Character to a Whole New Level in 2017 |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/the-woke-charlotte-instagrams-take-this-sex-the-city-character-to-a-whole-new-level-in-2017-7611022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424135757/https://www.bustle.com/p/the-woke-charlotte-instagrams-take-this-sex-the-city-character-to-a-whole-new-level-in-2017-7611022 |archive-date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=2018-04-23 |publisher=Bustle magazine}}</ref> On the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere, ''The Guardian'' published an opinion piece by Rebecca Nicholson, arguing that the show should not be discounted because of its retrospective flaws but should still be appreciated for being "a brilliant, daring, pioneering show."<ref>{{cite news |author=Rebecca Nicholson |date=2018-06-08 |title=Sex and the City is too good to be written off as just 'dated' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/08/sex-and-the-city-dated-jokes-diversity |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609064217/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/08/sex-and-the-city-dated-jokes-diversity |archive-date=June 9, 2018 |access-date=2018-06-09 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>