Women of color a "stretch" when compiling a list of feminist characters on TV.

Feminism's face continues to be very white.

Rinse and repeat.

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I also think Helen Girardi might qualify, although, technically, I don't know that she ever actually identified herself outright as a feminist on the show. All of the different parts of the story arc where she coped with her rape were really powerful.

And Joan did some dumb things, but I like to think that she embodied certain feminist principles. I miss that show!

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Man, that show was such cheese at times, but I miss it.

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This is why Third World Feminism and feminism for WOC has always (and will continue to) look different in different races. Yay equality?

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@mbot says Spock yeah!: Honestly, the fact that an all-white list went through at all is absolute bullshit and very revealing. Accept your bias, yes. Look at the list. And then maybe take a second to think about whether or not you've maybe, you know, overlooked some EXTREMELY OBVIOUS examples. Why was this pushed through?

Did the list began with whiteness as a criteria and work it's way backwards from there? I mean, really. I know this isn't Racialicious but . . . come on.

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this post was NOT about feminist "role models," "strong women," or who *I* think are feminists. instead i was trying to include only women who were either self-identified feminists or described by the show's creators as such. instead of doing a feel good post like "yay, strong women on television!" i wanted to do something a little more reflective of how pop culture views feminism, as many of the characters are annoying, man-hating, socially awkward, etc. instead of interpreting or cherry picking women who i think fit into *my* definition of feminism (since i believe that everyone has their own definitions of what that is).

again, this post was NOT about feminist heroes.

also, part of my intention with doing a post like this was to open up a discourse on how pop culture has depicted "feminists" (or television writers' ideas of them) over the years. and i think it's wonderful that people are debating in these comments who demonstrated feminist qualities on television and who did not.

so this was not a statement about what i think about feminism in pop culture, but rather, what pop culture thinks about feminism.

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And Ruth, by the end. I loved in the last episode when she finally realized she didn't need a man.

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I have problems with the stereotypes and rampant consumerism of SATC, but I think the show does get a lot of unfair criticism. It's also interesting to me many people prefer Carrie and Charlotte (who are probably the least representative of modern feminism), to Samantha and Miranda.

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I liked Charlotte at the very beginning, when she was a hopeless romantic and not the woman-child the writers quickly turned her into. A sexual fantasy involving a fairy princess, really?

Miranda was ultimately the main saving grace of that show and the only character I identified with.

The last character I would want to identify with is Carrie. I really just don't get that.

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I loved Sex and the City--yes, it had its problems, but I thought it had so much else going for it. And I definitely prefer Samantha and Miranda. Samantha was a player, true, but she didn't take shit from guys (and when she did, she quickly came to her senses). Her line, "I love you, but I love me more" (used in both the TV series and the movie) is one of my favorites ever.

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She really had the most interesting journey out of all four characters--started out totally hating men and using sex more as a weapon, fell for someone completely not her type, decided to become a single mother for herself, eventually got with Steve when it was right for HER (and not so Brady could have a normal family or whatever), and stepped it up by moving to Brooklyn and eventually helping to take care of Steve's mother. All this while owning her own place and being promoted to partner at her firm.

Miranda ROCKED.

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