Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Attack of the 5-foot-10 Woman By: Faryn Wegler


The Rush to Marry (An Anti-Feminist View) vs. The Importance of Career (Feminist Attitude)
•    At Sunday brunch, the ladies flip through the latest New York Times wedding section and Charlotte says, “This is so depressing. The oldest woman on this page is 27.” The entire goal of dating according to Charlotte is to land a husband, and being single past a certain age is considered taboo. Miranda comments, “Now I’m depressed and I haven’t even had my coffee yet,” and Carrie reminds her, “at least you have a boyfriend.” In this scene the women take an anti-feminist stance in their views on marriage. They see getting married as a “race” and feel and immense amount of pressure to beat other women to the finish line.

•    When Charlotte reads about a 24 year old bride who quits her job once she gets engaged, Miranda sarcastically adds, “that’s so retro…I’ve got a rock on my finger now I can stop pretending to care about my career.” Samantha adds, “Until recently the bride had a life of her own.” The anti-feminist attitude the women displayed a few minutes before is counteracted by their disbelief over an unknown woman’s choice to quit her job. Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, are all high-powered career women, and have a feminist attitude when it comes to career success.

Women Judging Other Women
Although the show mostly focuses on how women perceive (and believe they are perceived) by men, this particular episode emphasizes the attention women pay to judging one another. Women worrying how other women perceive them can be considered a form of anti-feminism. Instead of empowering one another, women allow their insecurities to get the best of them.

•    Carrie: After seeing a picture of Big and his new wife Natasha in the wedding section of the New York Times, Carrie becomes extremely insecure. When she finds out Natasha will be attending the “Women of the Arts” luncheon, Carrie buys an expensive outfit to impress her. Natasha does not even end up showing, and Carrie feels even more insecure than before. After receiving a thank you note in which Natasha misspells a word, Carrie feels validation that Natasha may not be better than her after all, and calls her an “idiot”

•    Miranda: Miranda hires a housekeeper who disapproves of her lifestyle. Miranda tells Carrie, “I hate when she’s home when I’m home because I should be cleaning or making pies. She says that’s what women do.”

•    Charlotte: Charlotte is insecure at the spa about taking off her towel. Carrie tells her, “sweetie, who cares how you look to other women” (which is a contradiction since she cares how she appears to Natasha.)

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