I admit it...

Okay, I'm finally ready to admit it. I like "Sex and the City." Whew, that was a load off my chest.

See, here's the thing. I had a one-woman boycott of the show because of 2 reasons. One was my ex-roommates' obsession with it and their silly attempts at feeling like somehow the show was like them... statements like, "I'm so Carrie" or "you're just like Samantha" made my stomach turn. My roommates were constantly trying to be a clique and I would have no part. "Sex and the City" was associated with that, sorry Mr. Pavlov's dog.

Second on my list was everyone else's obsession with the show and their trumpeting of its feminism, of its reality, of its link to their lives not living in New York. The show has some feminist elements, it's true. Openness about sexuality, the communities women build with their female friends, conversations about power struggles between men and women in relationships, careers, and sex... but at the core of the show was each of the character's search for a male partner... in the end, each one of them, including Samantha, had been domesticated into a heterosexist relationship. Okay, it's better than most shows at showing female characters, but "feminist"? Definitely not radical, I'll say that. As to the "reality" of the show, I admit it, I've never lived in Manhattan. I can't say if the show's portrayal is realistic or not... but I can say that it seems to me that in a lot of cases these women are parodies of Manhattanites...maybe the show is even partly satire? Finally, I definitely thought the show lacked any diversity in terms of this being "realistic" to women... there were only two main black male characters and they both served as fleeting love interests as opposed to three-dimensional partners. There were only about four black women featured in the show and in all cases, they served to buttress the emotional value of the white characters (Miranda and her crying baby; Carrie after her book opening; Samantha and her lack of racism; "Strong arms" dance teacher). In fact, this would make a good article topic...

But...

I decided to put my money where my mouth was and watch the show and I mean, watch it. Every single episode, in order, over the course of a month. Which, of course, is how I know roughly how many African-Americans were featured, you naysayers. And you know what? I like the series... I really do. If you stop kidding yourself about its social value and just watch it, you'll find a good romantic comedy about men, friends, and shoes. It often has a simple plot, with somewhat three-dimensional characters who are sometimes touching and sometimes stereotypical... but, in the end, I'm as much a sucker for a romance (and shoes) as the next person...

So there, I reneg, kinda. I still have the same critiques, but I'm able to get off my high-horse long enough to want Big and Carrie to make it.

PS I'm a mix between a Miranda and a Carrie. You know you couldn't wait until I told you.