The Evolution of My Opinions of Carrie Bradshaw

I feel like I owe Carrie Bradshaw a thank you note. She is one of my inspirations that got me into blogging over seven years ago, where I would question the high school dating scene by contemplating nearly everything that happened to me. Back then, I would write about whether or not someone actually liked me based on their actions, despite them not actually liking me.

Seven years later, I’m still blogging, but the subjects of my posts differ. Instead of concentrating heavily on dating, my posts have shifted to talking about mental illness, current events, feminism, and so forth. However, I’d like to believe that my ‘columns’ or blog posts are a modern version of Sex and the City.

Recently, Sex and the City celebrated 19 years since its debut on HBO. Upon hearing that, it instantly put me in the mood to watch a few episodes.

As I rewatched the show, I realized that my perception of the characters has changed. This makes sense, because I first watched the show when I was 16 years old. For example, when I first watched the show, I thought that Bradshaw was relatable to all of the single women who weren’t going to settle for anything less than the butterflies that come along with real love. However, watching it again, I thought that while I could relate to some of the problems that she goes through, i.e. why won’t Mr. Big put a ring on it/it sucks being single, she seemed narcissistic and immature.

Every episode of the show, Carrie has a problem, and her friends constantly have to hear her bitch about it during their lunches, usually cutting them off from one of their problems. While listening to your friend’s problems and lending a supportive ear is all part of being a good friend, after a while, I felt that if I were one of the other three ladies, I probably would have told her to shut up about Mr. Big.

Which leads me to my next point.

When it came to Carrie’s relationships, the big (get it) problem was that Big was Carrie’s problem. Carrie constantly fell into the trap that so many women before her have fallen into — the relationship is always on his terms, the guy won’t commit, etc. She was always insecure, and constantly needed reassurance from her partners.

However, I believe that some of the relationship’s problems were caused by Carrie. Remember when she thought he was shutting her out because she farted in bed? She then decided to show up to his place unannounced, where he was watching the game. Carrie then wanted him to focus on her, which of course he wasn’t, and resulted in her being upset. I think that she shouldn’t have the right to be, since he was just watching a game, and it had absolutely nothing to do with his feelings for her.

With that being said, many real human beings have their own flaws, so I won’t hold it against Miss. Bradshaw for having her own.

However, despite the change in my opinions about Miss. Bradshaw, I still love the show. That show is definitely one of the most relatable shows for women in their teens through 40’s. I believe that it helped contribute to shift of female empowerment, as well as really helped women become more comfortable talking about women’s issues that those women did. And, in all honesty, it’s a good show.

And despite the changes of my opinion of her character, I still have Carrie to thank, though. Without Carrie, there wouldn’t be no blog post for you to read today. Without Carrie, I wouldn’t want to write, and I wouldn’t have an obsession with my initials. (Does anyone besides me want a Carrie-style name necklace?) Without Carrie, I wouldn’t have chosen to study journalism to become a writer. 

So, with that being said, thank you Carrie. You have become the face of the single woman, all who are people who are just looking for love.