Assignment Prompt & Instructions
– ## Discussion2.docx
– ## Sexualities.pptx
– ## SexandtheCityandMeToo_Armstrong2018.pdf
– GlobalSexualities_BodyPolitics.pptx
– AudreLordeUsesoftheErotic.pdf
– BlackfemalesexualityintheMisadventuresofAwkwardBlackGirl_Cruz2015.pdf
– PetersonQueeringofStates_Nations.pdf
**## Discussion2.docx**
**Discussion 2: Weeks 8-11**
**Discussion 2 is based on content from Weeks 8-11 (Body Politics; Violence; Sexualities & Sexual Politics). Unlike the first discussion, I am going to give you choices about which questions you would like to answer. This means you are answering 4 out of the 6 questions below. But you get to choose which questions to answer. You can choose any 4 questions you would like. I have labeled the questions according to where you can find this information in our course content.**
**Questions 3-6 require citations. You should also respond to two classmate's posts. To ensure you receive the grade you have earned, remember to number your responses so it is clear to me which question you are answering. See grading criteria link below for more information.**
***This discussion can be turned in 24 hours after the due date for a 20% late point deduction***
**Part A: Sexualities and Sexual Politics Readings**
You were assigned four "
[Personal Essays From Various Scholars](https://fiu.instructure.com/courses/235986/pages/readings-sexualities-and-sexual-politics)" to read. Choose
**one** and answer the following. Make sure to reference which article you are going to write about:
1. Summarize 2-3 main points the author made. (
**150 words minimum, 2 points**)
2. Describe your reaction to these points. What areas, if any, resonated with you? What areas, if any, did not sit right with you? Why? Did this have any impact on the way you think about sexuality and/or the body? (
**150 words minimum, 2 points**)
**Part B: Violence Readings**
3. Do you agree or disagree that violence against women is a massive global pattern? Why or why not? What factors do you believe contribute to violence against women? (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation must be from our class course content, 2 points**)
**Part C: Body Politics Readings and Sexualities and Sexual Politics Readings**
4. Choose 2 states/nations/territories and summarize reproductive health and laws in those areas. Are you satisfied with existing laws, or would you like to see those laws reformed? Why and in what way? In your opinion, are there any social, political, religious, or other forces that may impact the laws in these states/nations/territories? Please explain (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation can come from either our course readings or outside course content, 2 points**)
5. Choose 2 states/nations/territories and summarize laws that you believe are particularly relevant to LGBTQ+ folks. Are you satisfied with existing laws, or would you like to see those laws reformed? Why and in what way? In your opinion, are there any social, political, religious, or other forces that may impact the laws in these states/nations/territories? Please explain (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation can come from either our course readings or outside course content, 2 points**)
**Part D: Any Content from Weeks 8-11**
6. You learned about a lot of different concepts and perspectives in Weeks 8-11. Select one concept or perspective covered and expand on it in some way that was not covered in the course content. For example, you may have wanted to learn more about skin bleaching, the global gag rule, trafficking, or campus sexual assault. You can take this opportunity to do your own research and report back on what you find. (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; must be from outside course content, 2 points**)
**## Sexualities.pptx**
Sexual & Body Politics
Dr. Victoria Burns
There are various terms, ideas, theories, concepts, and perspectives that will be presented in this module. These are intended to be presented in an objective manner and not as an endorsement of what you should personally believe. You may decide that certain concepts/ideas are worthy of your personal belief. Understanding a concept/idea does not mean that you are required to believe it or agree with it.
In addition, there may be other definitions or perspectives you have heard for these concepts/terms. I encourage you to share with me additional or more comprehensive definitions you may have come across.
SEXUAL POLITICS*
When discussing pornography, prostitution, and trafficking, feminist scholars often consider supply and demand issues. They consider:
Why people are engaging in pornography, prostitution, commercial sex trafficking (all linked to the global economy)
Worldwide poverty and its relationship/facilitation of exploitation
Context why and how do people become involved?
Many scholars argue that folks who want to truly address these issues should aim efforts at decreasing poverty instead of criminalization
For example, production of pornography shifted towards countries with low labor costs and little state regulation to save money
Increase in webcam cyber sex trafficking and webcam pornography
*Lee & Shaw, 2011; Terre des hommes, n.d.
SEX TRAFFICKING
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age*
*Definition from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/fshumantrafficking#:~:text=Sex%20trafficking%3A%20the%20recruitment%2C%20harboring,attained%2018%20years%20of%20age%3B
Sex Trafficking vs Human Trafficking*
Human trafficking is the overall umbrella term used to describe different forms of trafficking
Sex trafficking is a certain form of human trafficking
People talk about sex trafficking but use the word human trafficking and this is confusing
Many times, people are talking about sexual exploitation only but use term human trafficking
Sex trafficking and human trafficking for regular labor are different
Statistics can be misleading because human trafficking and sex trafficking used interchangeably when they are different
*Lee & Shaw, 2011; U.S. Department of State, 2022
Sex trafficking potential causes
Globalization/poverty
Increasing reliance on women as low wage workers; women of color especially expected to bear social costs of globalization by working harder for less
Women forced to migrate to sell their labor: but barriers to legal migration may lead women to consent to be trafficked into another country in hopes of a better future
Documentation issues can prevent women from having rights once they consent to being trafficked
Destination countries helping undocumented trafficked women could essentially protect their well-being
War
Women abducted during military conflict
Poverty and danger of military conflict force women to search for work in other places
*Brewer, 2008; Government of British Colombia, 2014; Lee & Shaw, 2011
Sex trafficking vs. Sex Workers*
Many anti-trafficking laws and initiatives can hurt adult women and men sex workers
Some sex workers are in the profession because:
Long history of sex work in their communities
A way to stay competitive in the global economy
Of a sense of responsibility for the economic well-being of their families
Some sex workers do not feel “tricked” or “abducted” into sex work, but may feel forced into the profession due to poverty or discrimination that makes other employment difficult or non-existent
*Global Network of Sex Work Projects, 2018; Lee & Shaw, 2011
SEX TRAFFICKING
*Who gets trafficked?
Abducted and/or forced into it
Tricked into applying for jobs and but instead sold into brothels
Some poor families do sell their children
Poverty
Military conflict and war
“On any given day, an estimated 40.3 million people were victims of trafficking [modern slavery], 4.8 million of them in “forced sexual exploitation.” Over one million of those in “forced sexual exploitation” are children (ILO, 2016)
LGBTQ+ homeless youth comprise 20 to 40 % of the homeless youth population (Ray, 2006; Quintana, Rosenthal, & Krehely, 2010; Moreton, et al., 2018)
These youth are at high risk of being forced into sex work (U.S. Dept. Of State, 2017)
Discrimination in hiring has been linked to feeling forced into sex work for some transgender people (Fitzgerald, Patterson, Hickey, & Biko, 2015)
*Lee & Shaw, 2011
SEX TRAFFICKING
Less wealthy countries are often considered the source or origin countries
Affluent countries often serve as destination sites
Some countries are hubs or transit countries, where the women are actually bought and sold. Hubs usually have highly developed sex industries (Thailand, the Philippines) or powerful organized crime sectors (Albania, Turkey, Nigeria).
Some people believe this classification of soirce, destination, and transit countries is problematic because countries can fall under each of these categories at various points
Lee & Shaw, 2011; U.N. (2016)
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
*Florida has been cited as the third largest hub for human trafficking in the country
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (2021) Florida was third in the nation in calls to the Human Trafficking Hotline
*Within Florida, Miami ranks the highest followed by Tampa and Central Florida
*Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, 2021
References
Brewer, D. (2008). Globalisation and human trafficking. Topical Research Digest: Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/trafficking/Globalization.pdf
Global Network of Sex Work Projects.(2018).The impact of anti-trafficking legislation and initiatives on sex workers. Retrieved from https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/impact_of_anti-trafficking_laws_pb_nswp_-_2018.pdf
Government of British Colombia (2014). What makes someone vulnerable to human trafficking? Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-training/module-1/vulnerabilities
International Labor Organization (2016). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_854733.pdf
Lee, J. & Shaw, S.M. (2011). Women Worldwide: Transnational feminist perspectives on women. McGraw Hill
National Human Trafficking Hotline. (2021). Retrieved from https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics/florida
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. (2021). Human trafficking awareness. Retrieved from https://www.osceolasheriff.org/human-trafficking-awareness/#:~:text=Human%20trafficking%20is%20the%203,rd%20behind%20Miami%20and%20Tampa.
Terre des hommes, n.d. Retrieved from https://www.tdh.ch/en
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2016). Global report on trafficking in persons. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf
U.S. Department of State. (2022). Understanding human trafficking, Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/what-is-trafficking-in-persons/
**## SexandtheCityandMeToo_Armstrong2018.pdf**
ER KEISHIN ARMSTRONG
JENN IF
.,.;;. ♦ J4WWW@~OWSEX-A-rJ5"TAE c Y HCfLDSUP IN T E 1
I•. #f\11 ETOO ERA (2018)
..J•
I
·f Keishin Armstrong is a writer wh k
Jenni er . 0 spent a decade on staff at Entertainment Weekly. Since then, her wor
Peared in BBC Culture, The New Yo k r B · h
has ap . . r imes oak Review, Vice, New York Magazine, and Billboard. She is t e
of Semfe/d,a: How the Show Abo t N h ' haut or u at mg Changed Everyth ing (2016); a history of The Mary Tyler Moore
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted·(2013)· d d hShow, . · , an Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Change t e
Way We Think, Live, and Love.(2018)
S-ex and the City premiered on HBO [more than]
thesis: maybe women want sex as much as men do,
and maybe they don't need men for much else. This
represented a huge shift at the end of the millen
nium, a time when sex was on everyone's mind and
newscast: Independent Counsel Ken Starr's inves
tigation into President Bill Clinton had just taken
a prurient turn by focusing on Clinton's sexual
relationship with White House intern Monica
Lewinsky, and the nation was hanging on the in
timate details. But the dominant narrative was still
the tale of a powerful man taking advantage of a
much younger woman.
Sex and the City had a different story about sex
to tell. Over six seasons, the series presented its
case for Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha
as the models of a new kind of womanhood: they
supported themselves, they made their friends
their family, and they had lots of sex. Some of it
was good, some of it wasn't, but all of it was central
to Sex and the City's vision of female freedom.
But the show's landmark portrayal of women's
sexual freedom is exactly what can make it feel
anachronistic now, in the age of #MeToo. Amid the
four main characters' many encounters with men,
very few involve danger, nonconsensual sex, or
even harassment. Such incidents that do occur are
played off as jokes, "bad sex," or occasions warrant
ing no more than an eyeroll.
Sex and the City had a good reason to favor
the fun and frivolous side of sex: it was meant to
portray a glittery, glamorous version of the single
woman. Before the show, single women in media
were spinsters, cat ladies, and "Cathy" comic strips;
if they were lucky, they were Mary on the 1970s's
Mary Tyler Moore Show (required to be perfect in
exchange for her freedom), or Ally on Ally McBeal
(unhinged, baby-crazy …), which ran from 1997
to 2002. The last thing single women needed at
the time of Sex and the City was another Looking for
Mr. Goodbar (indiscriminate sex results in brutal
death, 1977) or Fatal Attraction (desperate single
women are coming to steal your husband and boil
your bunny, 1987). Sex and the City's unrealistically
positive depiction of women's sexual freedom was
one of its most revolutionary qualities.
In an era that has seen the rise of such shows
as Girls, Broad City, and The Bold Type, it's easy to
forget just how groundbreaking Sex and the City was
when it came to HBO on June 6, 1998. An adap
tation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column
turned-book, the show followed a fashionable,
Bushnell-like character named Carrie Bradshaw
and her three best friends: romantic Charlotte,
success-driven Miranda, and libertine Samantha.
The formula sounds familiar, right down to the
core foursome of distinct personalities. But this
wasn't just a younger version of The Golden Girls.
It included some of the most graphic sex talk ever
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong #How Sex and the City Holds Up in the #MeToo Era.w Vanity Fair, June 6, 2018. Copyright c Conde
Nast. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
169
170 SE UALITY
featured in a prime-tim t Jevision show targeted
t th ma . Its spot on premium cable allowed
thi , of course, but what made it even more radi
cal was that the sex talk happened among women
who were presented as the norm, not some fringe
exception.
The sex scenes themselves reflected the female
gaze. The women looked great during their bed
room romps, but they weren't objectified. The
scenes were played more for humor, insight, and
character development than for eroticism. Sex, the
show told us, was hardly ever perfect, but it was
often fun and/or funny. As show-runner Michael
Patrick King told me in an interview for my book,
Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women
Changed the Way We Think, Live, and Love, "Sex, up
until Sex and the City, was sort of dipped in black,
and it was dark and dirty and oily. After us, sex was
seen differently. We made it pink. And fizzy. We
took it into the light and made it something em
powering, but also funny."
At the time, it seemed impossible to pull sex out
of the dark depths and into the pink and fizzy
while still addressing its more dangerous side. So
there is very little #MeToo in Sex and the City sex.
This was of a piece with the many bargains Sex and
the City seemed to strike, intentionally or not, as
a show that raised hackles. It was sex-positive but
apolitical, and in one episode, even anti-political.
When Carrie dates a politician . . . she reveals
that she's not even registered to vote. The message
seemed to be: Don't worry, guys. We're only exercising
our newfound power in the bedroom; we're not coming
for your public sphere, too. The show demonstrated
women's financial independence, but mainly
through extravagant fashion and lifestyle spend
ing. Don't worry, guys. We'll just be over here shopping.
This approach worked: Sex and the City became
not just a hit, but a worldwide phenomenon. It
made rabbit vibrators, Manolo Blahniks, nameplate
necklaces, cosmopolitans, and cupcakes trends
across the globe. It was nominated for 54 Emmy
awards and won seven. It spawned two movies that
broke box-office records, even though they were
widely regarded as less than great.
Countless people have watched the show
in reruns, streaming, and on DVD since. It has
become a rite of passage for women and
&ay"'
in particular. ·11e~
Ofcourse, as younger generations have w
. h atch
and even as older generat10ns ave re-watched eq,
modern eyes can spot a few stray Sex and th '°lit
e c·moments worthy of #MeToo reflection. The 1ty
. . h d"d ' re asome passmg mstances t at 1 n t register .te
most of us at the time-like when the "mod 1~1th
. d I d . e IZer•films his sex with mo e s an uses 1t as art w· h
It OlJ
concern for consent, or when Charlotte wand t
"d . h ersiran older artist is cons1 enng a s ow at her &all
only because he finds her "charming." Carrie ery
"h ld h" . b asksif he wants her to o 1s pamt rush." Mir
anda
"If he so much as suggests what she's suggesr ·
you give me a call and we'll sue the hell
O
ing,
Ut of
him. That's the only proper way to trade sex t
,, or
power… .
The most classic #MeToo encounter happens in
the sanctity of the fashion closet at Vogue '"h , ·• ere
Carrie is freelancing. There, an editor who h as
taken a liking to her … drops his pants after plyin
her with martinis and rare shoes. She rejects hi~
and runs …
In another, murkier situation, Carrie puts u
with physically punishing-but consensual-se~
with Charlotte's husband Harry's best man. Carrie
shows up at the wedding hunched over with a "sex
sprain" and dismisses the experience as "jackrab
bit sex." She declines a second round with the per
petrator and incurs his wrath: "If I'd known you
were just using me," he says, "I wouldn't have made
love to you like that." Let's just say a lot of us have
been there, and it's exactly the kind of problem that
would be solved by more affirmative and enthusi
astic consent practices.1
All of these are perfect examples of typical in
cidents in many women's lives, the kinds of things
we've always assumed are just normal-because
they have been. The show models exactly this:
it doesn't imply that these guys are right, but it
shows how women have long dealt with such situ
ations. You complain about it to your girlfriends,
then move on. The #MeToo movement is liberating
because it allows us all to verbalize such experi
ences in public-to not explain them away or joke
about them, to acknowledge that they chipped
away at us.
sex and the City did give us one great tool for more
ered sex lives, whether we're seeking better
ernpoW .
eriences in bed or trying to process how sex has
:~n used against us in the past: brunch. The show's
classic girl-talk scenes were its most revolutionary
and lasting contribution to women's culture. They
modeled open and honest talk about sex positions,
kinks, and relationships, and-critically-they al
lowed each of the characters to debate and clearly
verbalize her own likes and dislikes.
This allowed them to create a conversational
version ofwhat's known as a yes/no/maybe list2-a
lengthy menu ofsexual options thatyou can peruse
alone or with a partner to determine what you're
into. If you're with a partner, it allows for the clear
est enthusiastic consent possible. If you're alone,
you're setting boundaries for yourself so you're
dearer about them in the heat of a moment, or
during the shock and confusion ofa nonconsensual
171How Sex and the City Holds Up
encounter. If you're with your friends at brunch, it
serves the same purposes, along with extra bonuses
like learning others' boundaries and alleviating
shame and guilt.
Carrie Bradshaw may not have been as enlight-
ened about sexual harassment and assault as we are
in 2018. But her couldn't-help-but-wonder attitude
did help us get here. .. .
NOTES
1. Samantha Cooney, "The Aziz Ansari Allegation
Has People Talking About 'Affirmative Consent."
What's That?" Time, January 17, 2018, http://time.
corn/5104010/aziz-ansari-affirmative-consent/
2. "OurFavoriteYes/No/ Maybe ListsAvailableOnline,"
Self Serve: Your Sexuality Research Center, n .d.,
http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/ favorite
yesnomaybe-lists-available-online/
[http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/favorite](http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/favorite)
[http://time](http://time/)
**GlobalSexualities_BodyPolitics.pptx**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/globalsexualities-bodypolitics-pptx)
**AudreLordeUsesoftheErotic.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/audrelordeusesoftheerotic-pdf-10428611)
**BlackfemalesexualityintheMisadventuresofAwkwardBlackGirl_Cruz2015.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/blackfemalesexualityinthemisadventuresofawkwardblackgirl-cruz2015-pdf)
**PetersonQueeringofStates_Nations.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/petersonqueeringofstates-nations-pdf)
**PetersonQueeringofStates_Nations.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/petersonqueeringofstates-nations-pdf)
**## Discussion2.docx**
**Discussion 2: Weeks 8-11**
**Discussion 2 is based on content from Weeks 8-11 (Body Politics; Violence; Sexualities & Sexual Politics). Unlike the first discussion, I am going to give you choices about which questions you would like to answer. This means you are answering 4 out of the 6 questions below. But you get to choose which questions to answer. You can choose any 4 questions you would like. I have labeled the questions according to where you can find this information in our course content.**
**Questions 3-6 require citations. You should also respond to two classmate's posts. To ensure you receive the grade you have earned, remember to number your responses so it is clear to me which question you are answering. See grading criteria link below for more information.**
***This discussion can be turned in 24 hours after the due date for a 20% late point deduction***
**Part A: Sexualities and Sexual Politics Readings**
You were assigned four "
[Personal Essays From Various Scholars](https://fiu.instructure.com/courses/235986/pages/readings-sexualities-and-sexual-politics)" to read. Choose
**one** and answer the following. Make sure to reference which article you are going to write about:
1. Summarize 2-3 main points the author made. (
**150 words minimum, 2 points**)
2. Describe your reaction to these points. What areas, if any, resonated with you? What areas, if any, did not sit right with you? Why? Did this have any impact on the way you think about sexuality and/or the body? (
**150 words minimum, 2 points**)
**Part B: Violence Readings**
3. Do you agree or disagree that violence against women is a massive global pattern? Why or why not? What factors do you believe contribute to violence against women? (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation must be from our class course content, 2 points**)
**Part C: Body Politics Readings and Sexualities and Sexual Politics Readings**
4. Choose 2 states/nations/territories and summarize reproductive health and laws in those areas. Are you satisfied with existing laws, or would you like to see those laws reformed? Why and in what way? In your opinion, are there any social, political, religious, or other forces that may impact the laws in these states/nations/territories? Please explain (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation can come from either our course readings or outside course content, 2 points**)
5. Choose 2 states/nations/territories and summarize laws that you believe are particularly relevant to LGBTQ+ folks. Are you satisfied with existing laws, or would you like to see those laws reformed? Why and in what way? In your opinion, are there any social, political, religious, or other forces that may impact the laws in these states/nations/territories? Please explain (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation can come from either our course readings or outside course content, 2 points**)
**Part D: Any Content from Weeks 8-11**
6. You learned about a lot of different concepts and perspectives in Weeks 8-11. Select one concept or perspective covered and expand on it in some way that was not covered in the course content. For example, you may have wanted to learn more about skin bleaching, the global gag rule, trafficking, or campus sexual assault. You can take this opportunity to do your own research and report back on what you find. (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; must be from outside course content, 2 points**)
**## Sexualities.pptx**
Sexual & Body Politics
Dr. Victoria Burns
There are various terms, ideas, theories, concepts, and perspectives that will be presented in this module. These are intended to be presented in an objective manner and not as an endorsement of what you should personally believe. You may decide that certain concepts/ideas are worthy of your personal belief. Understanding a concept/idea does not mean that you are required to believe it or agree with it.
In addition, there may be other definitions or perspectives you have heard for these concepts/terms. I encourage you to share with me additional or more comprehensive definitions you may have come across.
SEXUAL POLITICS*
When discussing pornography, prostitution, and trafficking, feminist scholars often consider supply and demand issues. They consider:
Why people are engaging in pornography, prostitution, commercial sex trafficking (all linked to the global economy)
Worldwide poverty and its relationship/facilitation of exploitation
Context why and how do people become involved?
Many scholars argue that folks who want to truly address these issues should aim efforts at decreasing poverty instead of criminalization
For example, production of pornography shifted towards countries with low labor costs and little state regulation to save money
Increase in webcam cyber sex trafficking and webcam pornography
*Lee & Shaw, 2011; Terre des hommes, n.d.
SEX TRAFFICKING
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age*
*Definition from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/fshumantrafficking#:~:text=Sex%20trafficking%3A%20the%20recruitment%2C%20harboring,attained%2018%20years%20of%20age%3B
Sex Trafficking vs Human Trafficking*
Human trafficking is the overall umbrella term used to describe different forms of trafficking
Sex trafficking is a certain form of human trafficking
People talk about sex trafficking but use the word human trafficking and this is confusing
Many times, people are talking about sexual exploitation only but use term human trafficking
Sex trafficking and human trafficking for regular labor are different
Statistics can be misleading because human trafficking and sex trafficking used interchangeably when they are different
*Lee & Shaw, 2011; U.S. Department of State, 2022
Sex trafficking potential causes
Globalization/poverty
Increasing reliance on women as low wage workers; women of color especially expected to bear social costs of globalization by working harder for less
Women forced to migrate to sell their labor: but barriers to legal migration may lead women to consent to be trafficked into another country in hopes of a better future
Documentation issues can prevent women from having rights once they consent to being trafficked
Destination countries helping undocumented trafficked women could essentially protect their well-being
War
Women abducted during military conflict
Poverty and danger of military conflict force women to search for work in other places
*Brewer, 2008; Government of British Colombia, 2014; Lee & Shaw, 2011
Sex trafficking vs. Sex Workers*
Many anti-trafficking laws and initiatives can hurt adult women and men sex workers
Some sex workers are in the profession because:
Long history of sex work in their communities
A way to stay competitive in the global economy
Of a sense of responsibility for the economic well-being of their families
Some sex workers do not feel “tricked” or “abducted” into sex work, but may feel forced into the profession due to poverty or discrimination that makes other employment difficult or non-existent
*Global Network of Sex Work Projects, 2018; Lee & Shaw, 2011
SEX TRAFFICKING
*Who gets trafficked?
Abducted and/or forced into it
Tricked into applying for jobs and but instead sold into brothels
Some poor families do sell their children
Poverty
Military conflict and war
“On any given day, an estimated 40.3 million people were victims of trafficking [modern slavery], 4.8 million of them in “forced sexual exploitation.” Over one million of those in “forced sexual exploitation” are children (ILO, 2016)
LGBTQ+ homeless youth comprise 20 to 40 % of the homeless youth population (Ray, 2006; Quintana, Rosenthal, & Krehely, 2010; Moreton, et al., 2018)
These youth are at high risk of being forced into sex work (U.S. Dept. Of State, 2017)
Discrimination in hiring has been linked to feeling forced into sex work for some transgender people (Fitzgerald, Patterson, Hickey, & Biko, 2015)
*Lee & Shaw, 2011
SEX TRAFFICKING
Less wealthy countries are often considered the source or origin countries
Affluent countries often serve as destination sites
Some countries are hubs or transit countries, where the women are actually bought and sold. Hubs usually have highly developed sex industries (Thailand, the Philippines) or powerful organized crime sectors (Albania, Turkey, Nigeria).
Some people believe this classification of soirce, destination, and transit countries is problematic because countries can fall under each of these categories at various points
Lee & Shaw, 2011; U.N. (2016)
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
*Florida has been cited as the third largest hub for human trafficking in the country
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (2021) Florida was third in the nation in calls to the Human Trafficking Hotline
*Within Florida, Miami ranks the highest followed by Tampa and Central Florida
*Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, 2021
References
Brewer, D. (2008). Globalisation and human trafficking. Topical Research Digest: Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/trafficking/Globalization.pdf
Global Network of Sex Work Projects.(2018).The impact of anti-trafficking legislation and initiatives on sex workers. Retrieved from https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/impact_of_anti-trafficking_laws_pb_nswp_-_2018.pdf
Government of British Colombia (2014). What makes someone vulnerable to human trafficking? Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-training/module-1/vulnerabilities
International Labor Organization (2016). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_854733.pdf
Lee, J. & Shaw, S.M. (2011). Women Worldwide: Transnational feminist perspectives on women. McGraw Hill
National Human Trafficking Hotline. (2021). Retrieved from https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics/florida
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. (2021). Human trafficking awareness. Retrieved from https://www.osceolasheriff.org/human-trafficking-awareness/#:~:text=Human%20trafficking%20is%20the%203,rd%20behind%20Miami%20and%20Tampa.
Terre des hommes, n.d. Retrieved from https://www.tdh.ch/en
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2016). Global report on trafficking in persons. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf
U.S. Department of State. (2022). Understanding human trafficking, Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/what-is-trafficking-in-persons/
**## SexandtheCityandMeToo_Armstrong2018.pdf**
ER KEISHIN ARMSTRONG
JENN IF
.,.;;. ♦ J4WWW@~OWSEX-A-rJ5"TAE c Y HCfLDSUP IN T E 1
I•. #f\11 ETOO ERA (2018)
..J•
I
·f Keishin Armstrong is a writer wh k
Jenni er . 0 spent a decade on staff at Entertainment Weekly. Since then, her wor
Peared in BBC Culture, The New Yo k r B · h
has ap . . r imes oak Review, Vice, New York Magazine, and Billboard. She is t e
of Semfe/d,a: How the Show Abo t N h ' haut or u at mg Changed Everyth ing (2016); a history of The Mary Tyler Moore
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted·(2013)· d d hShow, . · , an Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Change t e
Way We Think, Live, and Love.(2018)
S-ex and the City premiered on HBO [more than]
thesis: maybe women want sex as much as men do,
and maybe they don't need men for much else. This
represented a huge shift at the end of the millen
nium, a time when sex was on everyone's mind and
newscast: Independent Counsel Ken Starr's inves
tigation into President Bill Clinton had just taken
a prurient turn by focusing on Clinton's sexual
relationship with White House intern Monica
Lewinsky, and the nation was hanging on the in
timate details. But the dominant narrative was still
the tale of a powerful man taking advantage of a
much younger woman.
Sex and the City had a different story about sex
to tell. Over six seasons, the series presented its
case for Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha
as the models of a new kind of womanhood: they
supported themselves, they made their friends
their family, and they had lots of sex. Some of it
was good, some of it wasn't, but all of it was central
to Sex and the City's vision of female freedom.
But the show's landmark portrayal of women's
sexual freedom is exactly what can make it feel
anachronistic now, in the age of #MeToo. Amid the
four main characters' many encounters with men,
very few involve danger, nonconsensual sex, or
even harassment. Such incidents that do occur are
played off as jokes, "bad sex," or occasions warrant
ing no more than an eyeroll.
Sex and the City had a good reason to favor
the fun and frivolous side of sex: it was meant to
portray a glittery, glamorous version of the single
woman. Before the show, single women in media
were spinsters, cat ladies, and "Cathy" comic strips;
if they were lucky, they were Mary on the 1970s's
Mary Tyler Moore Show (required to be perfect in
exchange for her freedom), or Ally on Ally McBeal
(unhinged, baby-crazy …), which ran from 1997
to 2002. The last thing single women needed at
the time of Sex and the City was another Looking for
Mr. Goodbar (indiscriminate sex results in brutal
death, 1977) or Fatal Attraction (desperate single
women are coming to steal your husband and boil
your bunny, 1987). Sex and the City's unrealistically
positive depiction of women's sexual freedom was
one of its most revolutionary qualities.
In an era that has seen the rise of such shows
as Girls, Broad City, and The Bold Type, it's easy to
forget just how groundbreaking Sex and the City was
when it came to HBO on June 6, 1998. An adap
tation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column
turned-book, the show followed a fashionable,
Bushnell-like character named Carrie Bradshaw
and her three best friends: romantic Charlotte,
success-driven Miranda, and libertine Samantha.
The formula sounds familiar, right down to the
core foursome of distinct personalities. But this
wasn't just a younger version of The Golden Girls.
It included some of the most graphic sex talk ever
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong #How Sex and the City Holds Up in the #MeToo Era.w Vanity Fair, June 6, 2018. Copyright c Conde
Nast. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
169
170 SE UALITY
featured in a prime-tim t Jevision show targeted
t th ma . Its spot on premium cable allowed
thi , of course, but what made it even more radi
cal was that the sex talk happened among women
who were presented as the norm, not some fringe
exception.
The sex scenes themselves reflected the female
gaze. The women looked great during their bed
room romps, but they weren't objectified. The
scenes were played more for humor, insight, and
character development than for eroticism. Sex, the
show told us, was hardly ever perfect, but it was
often fun and/or funny. As show-runner Michael
Patrick King told me in an interview for my book,
Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women
Changed the Way We Think, Live, and Love, "Sex, up
until Sex and the City, was sort of dipped in black,
and it was dark and dirty and oily. After us, sex was
seen differently. We made it pink. And fizzy. We
took it into the light and made it something em
powering, but also funny."
At the time, it seemed impossible to pull sex out
of the dark depths and into the pink and fizzy
while still addressing its more dangerous side. So
there is very little #MeToo in Sex and the City sex.
This was of a piece with the many bargains Sex and
the City seemed to strike, intentionally or not, as
a show that raised hackles. It was sex-positive but
apolitical, and in one episode, even anti-political.
When Carrie dates a politician . . . she reveals
that she's not even registered to vote. The message
seemed to be: Don't worry, guys. We're only exercising
our newfound power in the bedroom; we're not coming
for your public sphere, too. The show demonstrated
women's financial independence, but mainly
through extravagant fashion and lifestyle spend
ing. Don't worry, guys. We'll just be over here shopping.
This approach worked: Sex and the City became
not just a hit, but a worldwide phenomenon. It
made rabbit vibrators, Manolo Blahniks, nameplate
necklaces, cosmopolitans, and cupcakes trends
across the globe. It was nominated for 54 Emmy
awards and won seven. It spawned two movies that
broke box-office records, even though they were
widely regarded as less than great.
Countless people have watched the show
in reruns, streaming, and on DVD since. It has
become a rite of passage for women and
&ay"'
in particular. ·11e~
Ofcourse, as younger generations have w
. h atch
and even as older generat10ns ave re-watched eq,
modern eyes can spot a few stray Sex and th '°lit
e c·moments worthy of #MeToo reflection. The 1ty
. . h d"d ' re asome passmg mstances t at 1 n t register .te
most of us at the time-like when the "mod 1~1th
. d I d . e IZer•films his sex with mo e s an uses 1t as art w· h
It OlJ
concern for consent, or when Charlotte wand t
"d . h ersiran older artist is cons1 enng a s ow at her &all
only because he finds her "charming." Carrie ery
"h ld h" . b asksif he wants her to o 1s pamt rush." Mir
anda
"If he so much as suggests what she's suggesr ·
you give me a call and we'll sue the hell
O
ing,
Ut of
him. That's the only proper way to trade sex t
,, or
power… .
The most classic #MeToo encounter happens in
the sanctity of the fashion closet at Vogue '"h , ·• ere
Carrie is freelancing. There, an editor who h as
taken a liking to her … drops his pants after plyin
her with martinis and rare shoes. She rejects hi~
and runs …
In another, murkier situation, Carrie puts u
with physically punishing-but consensual-se~
with Charlotte's husband Harry's best man. Carrie
shows up at the wedding hunched over with a "sex
sprain" and dismisses the experience as "jackrab
bit sex." She declines a second round with the per
petrator and incurs his wrath: "If I'd known you
were just using me," he says, "I wouldn't have made
love to you like that." Let's just say a lot of us have
been there, and it's exactly the kind of problem that
would be solved by more affirmative and enthusi
astic consent practices.1
All of these are perfect examples of typical in
cidents in many women's lives, the kinds of things
we've always assumed are just normal-because
they have been. The show models exactly this:
it doesn't imply that these guys are right, but it
shows how women have long dealt with such situ
ations. You complain about it to your girlfriends,
then move on. The #MeToo movement is liberating
because it allows us all to verbalize such experi
ences in public-to not explain them away or joke
about them, to acknowledge that they chipped
away at us.
sex and the City did give us one great tool for more
ered sex lives, whether we're seeking better
ernpoW .
eriences in bed or trying to process how sex has
:~n used against us in the past: brunch. The show's
classic girl-talk scenes were its most revolutionary
and lasting contribution to women's culture. They
modeled open and honest talk about sex positions,
kinks, and relationships, and-critically-they al
lowed each of the characters to debate and clearly
verbalize her own likes and dislikes.
This allowed them to create a conversational
version ofwhat's known as a yes/no/maybe list2-a
lengthy menu ofsexual options thatyou can peruse
alone or with a partner to determine what you're
into. If you're with a partner, it allows for the clear
est enthusiastic consent possible. If you're alone,
you're setting boundaries for yourself so you're
dearer about them in the heat of a moment, or
during the shock and confusion ofa nonconsensual
171How Sex and the City Holds Up
encounter. If you're with your friends at brunch, it
serves the same purposes, along with extra bonuses
like learning others' boundaries and alleviating
shame and guilt.
Carrie Bradshaw may not have been as enlight-
ened about sexual harassment and assault as we are
in 2018. But her couldn't-help-but-wonder attitude
did help us get here. .. .
NOTES
1. Samantha Cooney, "The Aziz Ansari Allegation
Has People Talking About 'Affirmative Consent."
What's That?" Time, January 17, 2018, http://time.
corn/5104010/aziz-ansari-affirmative-consent/
2. "OurFavoriteYes/No/ Maybe ListsAvailableOnline,"
Self Serve: Your Sexuality Research Center, n .d.,
http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/ favorite
yesnomaybe-lists-available-online/
[http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/favorite](http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/favorite)
[http://time](http://time/)
**GlobalSexualities_BodyPolitics.pptx**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/globalsexualities-bodypolitics-pptx)
**AudreLordeUsesoftheErotic.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/audrelordeusesoftheerotic-pdf-10428611)
**BlackfemalesexualityintheMisadventuresofAwkwardBlackGirl_Cruz2015.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/blackfemalesexualityinthemisadventuresofawkwardblackgirl-cruz2015-pdf)
**PetersonQueeringofStates_Nations.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/petersonqueeringofstates-nations-pdf)
**## Discussion2.docx**
**Discussion 2: Weeks 8-11**
**Discussion 2 is based on content from Weeks 8-11 (Body Politics; Violence; Sexualities & Sexual Politics). Unlike the first discussion, I am going to give you choices about which questions you would like to answer. This means you are answering 4 out of the 6 questions below. But you get to choose which questions to answer. You can choose any 4 questions you would like. I have labeled the questions according to where you can find this information in our course content.**
**Questions 3-6 require citations. You should also respond to two classmate's posts. To ensure you receive the grade you have earned, remember to number your responses so it is clear to me which question you are answering. See grading criteria link below for more information.**
***This discussion can be turned in 24 hours after the due date for a 20% late point deduction***
**Part A: Sexualities and Sexual Politics Readings**
You were assigned four "
[Personal Essays From Various Scholars](https://fiu.instructure.com/courses/235986/pages/readings-sexualities-and-sexual-politics)" to read. Choose
**one** and answer the following. Make sure to reference which article you are going to write about:
1. Summarize 2-3 main points the author made. (
**150 words minimum, 2 points**)
2. Describe your reaction to these points. What areas, if any, resonated with you? What areas, if any, did not sit right with you? Why? Did this have any impact on the way you think about sexuality and/or the body? (
**150 words minimum, 2 points**)
**Part B: Violence Readings**
3. Do you agree or disagree that violence against women is a massive global pattern? Why or why not? What factors do you believe contribute to violence against women? (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation must be from our class course content, 2 points**)
**Part C: Body Politics Readings and Sexualities and Sexual Politics Readings**
4. Choose 2 states/nations/territories and summarize reproductive health and laws in those areas. Are you satisfied with existing laws, or would you like to see those laws reformed? Why and in what way? In your opinion, are there any social, political, religious, or other forces that may impact the laws in these states/nations/territories? Please explain (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation can come from either our course readings or outside course content, 2 points**)
5. Choose 2 states/nations/territories and summarize laws that you believe are particularly relevant to LGBTQ+ folks. Are you satisfied with existing laws, or would you like to see those laws reformed? Why and in what way? In your opinion, are there any social, political, religious, or other forces that may impact the laws in these states/nations/territories? Please explain (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; citation can come from either our course readings or outside course content, 2 points**)
**Part D: Any Content from Weeks 8-11**
6. You learned about a lot of different concepts and perspectives in Weeks 8-11. Select one concept or perspective covered and expand on it in some way that was not covered in the course content. For example, you may have wanted to learn more about skin bleaching, the global gag rule, trafficking, or campus sexual assault. You can take this opportunity to do your own research and report back on what you find. (
**150 words minimum; 1 in-text citation and full reference required; must be from outside course content, 2 points**)
**## Sexualities.pptx**
Sexual & Body Politics
Dr. Victoria Burns
There are various terms, ideas, theories, concepts, and perspectives that will be presented in this module. These are intended to be presented in an objective manner and not as an endorsement of what you should personally believe. You may decide that certain concepts/ideas are worthy of your personal belief. Understanding a concept/idea does not mean that you are required to believe it or agree with it.
In addition, there may be other definitions or perspectives you have heard for these concepts/terms. I encourage you to share with me additional or more comprehensive definitions you may have come across.
SEXUAL POLITICS*
When discussing pornography, prostitution, and trafficking, feminist scholars often consider supply and demand issues. They consider:
Why people are engaging in pornography, prostitution, commercial sex trafficking (all linked to the global economy)
Worldwide poverty and its relationship/facilitation of exploitation
Context why and how do people become involved?
Many scholars argue that folks who want to truly address these issues should aim efforts at decreasing poverty instead of criminalization
For example, production of pornography shifted towards countries with low labor costs and little state regulation to save money
Increase in webcam cyber sex trafficking and webcam pornography
*Lee & Shaw, 2011; Terre des hommes, n.d.
SEX TRAFFICKING
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age*
*Definition from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/fshumantrafficking#:~:text=Sex%20trafficking%3A%20the%20recruitment%2C%20harboring,attained%2018%20years%20of%20age%3B
Sex Trafficking vs Human Trafficking*
Human trafficking is the overall umbrella term used to describe different forms of trafficking
Sex trafficking is a certain form of human trafficking
People talk about sex trafficking but use the word human trafficking and this is confusing
Many times, people are talking about sexual exploitation only but use term human trafficking
Sex trafficking and human trafficking for regular labor are different
Statistics can be misleading because human trafficking and sex trafficking used interchangeably when they are different
*Lee & Shaw, 2011; U.S. Department of State, 2022
Sex trafficking potential causes
Globalization/poverty
Increasing reliance on women as low wage workers; women of color especially expected to bear social costs of globalization by working harder for less
Women forced to migrate to sell their labor: but barriers to legal migration may lead women to consent to be trafficked into another country in hopes of a better future
Documentation issues can prevent women from having rights once they consent to being trafficked
Destination countries helping undocumented trafficked women could essentially protect their well-being
War
Women abducted during military conflict
Poverty and danger of military conflict force women to search for work in other places
*Brewer, 2008; Government of British Colombia, 2014; Lee & Shaw, 2011
Sex trafficking vs. Sex Workers*
Many anti-trafficking laws and initiatives can hurt adult women and men sex workers
Some sex workers are in the profession because:
Long history of sex work in their communities
A way to stay competitive in the global economy
Of a sense of responsibility for the economic well-being of their families
Some sex workers do not feel “tricked” or “abducted” into sex work, but may feel forced into the profession due to poverty or discrimination that makes other employment difficult or non-existent
*Global Network of Sex Work Projects, 2018; Lee & Shaw, 2011
SEX TRAFFICKING
*Who gets trafficked?
Abducted and/or forced into it
Tricked into applying for jobs and but instead sold into brothels
Some poor families do sell their children
Poverty
Military conflict and war
“On any given day, an estimated 40.3 million people were victims of trafficking [modern slavery], 4.8 million of them in “forced sexual exploitation.” Over one million of those in “forced sexual exploitation” are children (ILO, 2016)
LGBTQ+ homeless youth comprise 20 to 40 % of the homeless youth population (Ray, 2006; Quintana, Rosenthal, & Krehely, 2010; Moreton, et al., 2018)
These youth are at high risk of being forced into sex work (U.S. Dept. Of State, 2017)
Discrimination in hiring has been linked to feeling forced into sex work for some transgender people (Fitzgerald, Patterson, Hickey, & Biko, 2015)
*Lee & Shaw, 2011
SEX TRAFFICKING
Less wealthy countries are often considered the source or origin countries
Affluent countries often serve as destination sites
Some countries are hubs or transit countries, where the women are actually bought and sold. Hubs usually have highly developed sex industries (Thailand, the Philippines) or powerful organized crime sectors (Albania, Turkey, Nigeria).
Some people believe this classification of soirce, destination, and transit countries is problematic because countries can fall under each of these categories at various points
Lee & Shaw, 2011; U.N. (2016)
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
*Florida has been cited as the third largest hub for human trafficking in the country
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (2021) Florida was third in the nation in calls to the Human Trafficking Hotline
*Within Florida, Miami ranks the highest followed by Tampa and Central Florida
*Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, 2021
References
Brewer, D. (2008). Globalisation and human trafficking. Topical Research Digest: Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/trafficking/Globalization.pdf
Global Network of Sex Work Projects.(2018).The impact of anti-trafficking legislation and initiatives on sex workers. Retrieved from https://www.nswp.org/sites/default/files/impact_of_anti-trafficking_laws_pb_nswp_-_2018.pdf
Government of British Colombia (2014). What makes someone vulnerable to human trafficking? Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-training/module-1/vulnerabilities
International Labor Organization (2016). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_854733.pdf
Lee, J. & Shaw, S.M. (2011). Women Worldwide: Transnational feminist perspectives on women. McGraw Hill
National Human Trafficking Hotline. (2021). Retrieved from https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics/florida
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. (2021). Human trafficking awareness. Retrieved from https://www.osceolasheriff.org/human-trafficking-awareness/#:~:text=Human%20trafficking%20is%20the%203,rd%20behind%20Miami%20and%20Tampa.
Terre des hommes, n.d. Retrieved from https://www.tdh.ch/en
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2016). Global report on trafficking in persons. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf
U.S. Department of State. (2022). Understanding human trafficking, Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/what-is-trafficking-in-persons/
**## SexandtheCityandMeToo_Armstrong2018.pdf**
ER KEISHIN ARMSTRONG
JENN IF
.,.;;. ♦ J4WWW@~OWSEX-A-rJ5"TAE c Y HCfLDSUP IN T E 1
I•. #f\11 ETOO ERA (2018)
..J•
I
·f Keishin Armstrong is a writer wh k
Jenni er . 0 spent a decade on staff at Entertainment Weekly. Since then, her wor
Peared in BBC Culture, The New Yo k r B · h
has ap . . r imes oak Review, Vice, New York Magazine, and Billboard. She is t e
of Semfe/d,a: How the Show Abo t N h ' haut or u at mg Changed Everyth ing (2016); a history of The Mary Tyler Moore
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted·(2013)· d d hShow, . · , an Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Change t e
Way We Think, Live, and Love.(2018)
S-ex and the City premiered on HBO [more than]
thesis: maybe women want sex as much as men do,
and maybe they don't need men for much else. This
represented a huge shift at the end of the millen
nium, a time when sex was on everyone's mind and
newscast: Independent Counsel Ken Starr's inves
tigation into President Bill Clinton had just taken
a prurient turn by focusing on Clinton's sexual
relationship with White House intern Monica
Lewinsky, and the nation was hanging on the in
timate details. But the dominant narrative was still
the tale of a powerful man taking advantage of a
much younger woman.
Sex and the City had a different story about sex
to tell. Over six seasons, the series presented its
case for Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha
as the models of a new kind of womanhood: they
supported themselves, they made their friends
their family, and they had lots of sex. Some of it
was good, some of it wasn't, but all of it was central
to Sex and the City's vision of female freedom.
But the show's landmark portrayal of women's
sexual freedom is exactly what can make it feel
anachronistic now, in the age of #MeToo. Amid the
four main characters' many encounters with men,
very few involve danger, nonconsensual sex, or
even harassment. Such incidents that do occur are
played off as jokes, "bad sex," or occasions warrant
ing no more than an eyeroll.
Sex and the City had a good reason to favor
the fun and frivolous side of sex: it was meant to
portray a glittery, glamorous version of the single
woman. Before the show, single women in media
were spinsters, cat ladies, and "Cathy" comic strips;
if they were lucky, they were Mary on the 1970s's
Mary Tyler Moore Show (required to be perfect in
exchange for her freedom), or Ally on Ally McBeal
(unhinged, baby-crazy …), which ran from 1997
to 2002. The last thing single women needed at
the time of Sex and the City was another Looking for
Mr. Goodbar (indiscriminate sex results in brutal
death, 1977) or Fatal Attraction (desperate single
women are coming to steal your husband and boil
your bunny, 1987). Sex and the City's unrealistically
positive depiction of women's sexual freedom was
one of its most revolutionary qualities.
In an era that has seen the rise of such shows
as Girls, Broad City, and The Bold Type, it's easy to
forget just how groundbreaking Sex and the City was
when it came to HBO on June 6, 1998. An adap
tation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column
turned-book, the show followed a fashionable,
Bushnell-like character named Carrie Bradshaw
and her three best friends: romantic Charlotte,
success-driven Miranda, and libertine Samantha.
The formula sounds familiar, right down to the
core foursome of distinct personalities. But this
wasn't just a younger version of The Golden Girls.
It included some of the most graphic sex talk ever
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong #How Sex and the City Holds Up in the #MeToo Era.w Vanity Fair, June 6, 2018. Copyright c Conde
Nast. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
169
170 SE UALITY
featured in a prime-tim t Jevision show targeted
t th ma . Its spot on premium cable allowed
thi , of course, but what made it even more radi
cal was that the sex talk happened among women
who were presented as the norm, not some fringe
exception.
The sex scenes themselves reflected the female
gaze. The women looked great during their bed
room romps, but they weren't objectified. The
scenes were played more for humor, insight, and
character development than for eroticism. Sex, the
show told us, was hardly ever perfect, but it was
often fun and/or funny. As show-runner Michael
Patrick King told me in an interview for my book,
Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women
Changed the Way We Think, Live, and Love, "Sex, up
until Sex and the City, was sort of dipped in black,
and it was dark and dirty and oily. After us, sex was
seen differently. We made it pink. And fizzy. We
took it into the light and made it something em
powering, but also funny."
At the time, it seemed impossible to pull sex out
of the dark depths and into the pink and fizzy
while still addressing its more dangerous side. So
there is very little #MeToo in Sex and the City sex.
This was of a piece with the many bargains Sex and
the City seemed to strike, intentionally or not, as
a show that raised hackles. It was sex-positive but
apolitical, and in one episode, even anti-political.
When Carrie dates a politician . . . she reveals
that she's not even registered to vote. The message
seemed to be: Don't worry, guys. We're only exercising
our newfound power in the bedroom; we're not coming
for your public sphere, too. The show demonstrated
women's financial independence, but mainly
through extravagant fashion and lifestyle spend
ing. Don't worry, guys. We'll just be over here shopping.
This approach worked: Sex and the City became
not just a hit, but a worldwide phenomenon. It
made rabbit vibrators, Manolo Blahniks, nameplate
necklaces, cosmopolitans, and cupcakes trends
across the globe. It was nominated for 54 Emmy
awards and won seven. It spawned two movies that
broke box-office records, even though they were
widely regarded as less than great.
Countless people have watched the show
in reruns, streaming, and on DVD since. It has
become a rite of passage for women and
&ay"'
in particular. ·11e~
Ofcourse, as younger generations have w
. h atch
and even as older generat10ns ave re-watched eq,
modern eyes can spot a few stray Sex and th '°lit
e c·moments worthy of #MeToo reflection. The 1ty
. . h d"d ' re asome passmg mstances t at 1 n t register .te
most of us at the time-like when the "mod 1~1th
. d I d . e IZer•films his sex with mo e s an uses 1t as art w· h
It OlJ
concern for consent, or when Charlotte wand t
"d . h ersiran older artist is cons1 enng a s ow at her &all
only because he finds her "charming." Carrie ery
"h ld h" . b asksif he wants her to o 1s pamt rush." Mir
anda
"If he so much as suggests what she's suggesr ·
you give me a call and we'll sue the hell
O
ing,
Ut of
him. That's the only proper way to trade sex t
,, or
power… .
The most classic #MeToo encounter happens in
the sanctity of the fashion closet at Vogue '"h , ·• ere
Carrie is freelancing. There, an editor who h as
taken a liking to her … drops his pants after plyin
her with martinis and rare shoes. She rejects hi~
and runs …
In another, murkier situation, Carrie puts u
with physically punishing-but consensual-se~
with Charlotte's husband Harry's best man. Carrie
shows up at the wedding hunched over with a "sex
sprain" and dismisses the experience as "jackrab
bit sex." She declines a second round with the per
petrator and incurs his wrath: "If I'd known you
were just using me," he says, "I wouldn't have made
love to you like that." Let's just say a lot of us have
been there, and it's exactly the kind of problem that
would be solved by more affirmative and enthusi
astic consent practices.1
All of these are perfect examples of typical in
cidents in many women's lives, the kinds of things
we've always assumed are just normal-because
they have been. The show models exactly this:
it doesn't imply that these guys are right, but it
shows how women have long dealt with such situ
ations. You complain about it to your girlfriends,
then move on. The #MeToo movement is liberating
because it allows us all to verbalize such experi
ences in public-to not explain them away or joke
about them, to acknowledge that they chipped
away at us.
sex and the City did give us one great tool for more
ered sex lives, whether we're seeking better
ernpoW .
eriences in bed or trying to process how sex has
:~n used against us in the past: brunch. The show's
classic girl-talk scenes were its most revolutionary
and lasting contribution to women's culture. They
modeled open and honest talk about sex positions,
kinks, and relationships, and-critically-they al
lowed each of the characters to debate and clearly
verbalize her own likes and dislikes.
This allowed them to create a conversational
version ofwhat's known as a yes/no/maybe list2-a
lengthy menu ofsexual options thatyou can peruse
alone or with a partner to determine what you're
into. If you're with a partner, it allows for the clear
est enthusiastic consent possible. If you're alone,
you're setting boundaries for yourself so you're
dearer about them in the heat of a moment, or
during the shock and confusion ofa nonconsensual
171How Sex and the City Holds Up
encounter. If you're with your friends at brunch, it
serves the same purposes, along with extra bonuses
like learning others' boundaries and alleviating
shame and guilt.
Carrie Bradshaw may not have been as enlight-
ened about sexual harassment and assault as we are
in 2018. But her couldn't-help-but-wonder attitude
did help us get here. .. .
NOTES
1. Samantha Cooney, "The Aziz Ansari Allegation
Has People Talking About 'Affirmative Consent."
What's That?" Time, January 17, 2018, http://time.
corn/5104010/aziz-ansari-affirmative-consent/
2. "OurFavoriteYes/No/ Maybe ListsAvailableOnline,"
Self Serve: Your Sexuality Research Center, n .d.,
http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/ favorite
yesnomaybe-lists-available-online/
[http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/favorite](http://selfservetoys.com/resourcecenter/favorite)
[http://time](http://time/)
**GlobalSexualities_BodyPolitics.pptx**
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