I'm a Guy and I Love 'Sex and the City.' All Of It

By Zach Dionne Posted May 20th 2010 08:30AM

Pop-Ed: I'm not trying to be ironic. I'm not trying to be proud. I'm not even trying to score points with the ladies. And I'm certainly not apologizing. I'm just saying I'm a (straight) man, I've seen and enjoyed all of 'Sex and the City,' dug the movie and I'm psyched for the sequel. And I feel like I'm the only one.

I sometimes wish I could write off the fashiony, gossipy adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte as a guilty pleasure, but in truth I spend more time shrugging my shoulders, misunderstanding why guys avoid the show the way they avoid buying tampons or watching 'The Bachelorette.'

Read about my love affair with 'Sex' after the jump.

When the complete DVD set turned up on my then-girlfriend's doorstep in all its pink, velvet glory, I'd never seen an episode. I grumbled and tried to make jokes at the show's expense -- this was being forced to watch 'Moulin Rouge' all over again -- and, like that fabulous musical that charmed me when I least expected it, 'Sex and the City' surprised the hell outta me. It was like finding my sister's Cosmopolitan (the magazine, not the Carrie-and-co-endorsed cocktail), making sure no one was looking and pawing through pages from the minds of women, for women. It was like that, only much more entertaining, less obsessed with 75 boilerplate bedroom tips and with nudity galore. I laughed a lot, became invested in the characters and just really enjoyed the show.

The glitzy New Yorkiness of it all, watching in small-town Maine and dreaming of moving to the city, was intensely alluring. Since living and writing in New York, I've seen firsthand that Carrie's columnist-in-a-huge-apartment-buying-thousands-of-shoes lifestyle is fantasy BS (and that cabs do go to Brooklyn, Miranda, and real-life people commute from that supposed nether-realm each and every day), but I just don't care. Carrie and her ilk are well-written characters who, when you move past the headlines and the misconceptions, can span more demographics than reason would suggest.

This isn't to say I couldn't see the show's flaws, and the same went for the 2008 movie. There was plenty not to like -- after six seasons of Carrie and Big's will-they-won't-they, I just wanted to see them together, not fighting and being depressed -- but, just like I approach my Stephen King fanaticism (which is way out of hand), I treat the movie and the series like a relationship: Recognize the major imperfections, ignore the small ones and try to love it as a whole. I thought the movie rocked a fairly unblazed trail in taking a TV serial and continuing its thread on the silver screen. When it came to critics' opinions -- particularly as time has passed these two years -- and even regular old friends, I felt more and more like a loner in my unrepentant fandom of the flick.

Now the sequel. Again, I'm excited. When I saw the first trailer with my gal, I nudged her and said we'd need to go, even if it was under the guise of her wanting to see it. I gasped -- a little, just a little, guys! -- when I saw Aidan pop up. I sunk into the familiar viewing groove when I heard Carrie's narration over the shimmery shots of Manhattan. Hell, I'm excited to see Liza Minnelli's take on Beyonce's 'Single Ladies.'

I'll be there on opening weekend, sticking out like a sore thumb and not caring, but still wondering ... where are the others like me?

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Tags: Sex and the City

Comments

(71)

Sunday 23 May

By heather

Vote down Vote up Report this

since when does watching tv shows dictate your sexuality?

By C.W.

How 'bout the acting and the show? The writing? Favorite characters? Why am I seeing a lot of kiddie "your gay" crap??? Guy's gay? Okay. Move on, rednecks!

By Martin

I watched the show just to find out what women were saying when we weren't around. After three seasons I was wondering why each character was so one dimensional. Then it occurred to me that (maybe) each was one-forth of the four aspects of a woman: Madonna, Mother, Courtesan and Amazon. I have suggested this to
other fans but it seems no one else agrees. Any thoughts?

By Tomas

Guys - If you sit through this, you'll definitely get some.

By Rich

The reason why most men don't like SatC is because men have testosterone and women have estrogen. Men enjoy Robocop, Predator,and Rambo. You know, man stuff. Stuff with balls. And women like The Notebook and lovey dovey crap. We both like unrealistic things, you see, but men like seeing guys who are indestructible and get all the poontang in the world, and women like seeing men who don't exist and will love them and not get upset when they slept with ten thousand guys just to find, "The one." So, either or is fine. I'm not judging, but the fact of the matter is, is that the guys don't WANT to see four New York socialites wearing expensive clothes and talking about sex. Where are the explosions and car chases in that?

By billy

You may be a guy,but you are also a gay guy (not that there's anything wrong with that!)Any guy who watches this garbage is gay,any guy who goes to the movies with his "girlfriend" to watch this junk is gay,or at least bisexual.No real man could sit thru this trash,only women.You know what I say is true.

He'll get some allright,he'll get some D#%K,which is what he wants all along.

By Steve

We men took a vote and. We don't give a s**t!

Martin,you left out skanky unatractive hag.

By Carole

Maybe a smart man knows that watching a show like this helps him better understand women. Each of these women have different personalities, but form a close bond. Some men are just secure enough in their masculinity that they don't worry about being "tagged" by the shows they watch. Others....well, they just mock and probably have poor male-female relationships. Marc - get laid much?

Tuesday 01 June

By concerned female

wow i seriously cant believe all the ridiculous homophobic pre-school bs u "men" are spouting. what utter nonsense it is that men who want to watch a show with tons of nudity from hot women and maybe a little insight into how woman think must be gay. grow up and worry about yourselves and personally i think the guys who are always calling other guys gay for things like a tv show they watch are usually the ones that are actually gay or bisexual or have creepy sexual fantasies and mommy issues.

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