This paper will inform about the demographic situation in New York City and the U.S. as a whole as it was during the time SatC aired, namely around the turn of the millennium. What follows will be an analysis of how the characters are presented in the series in a twofold way. First, emphasis will be on the four heroines of the series and their representational status. Then the focus will be on the supporting cast of SatC and it will be shown in how far they, too, are misrepresentative of New York City’s population.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Diversity in the City of New York
3. The People in Sex and the City
3.1. “The Everywoman”- the Series’ WEHRFs
3.2 A Cross Section through New York’s Population?
4. Conclusion
5. Works Cited
1. Introduction
Already after a few episodes of HBO’s Sex and the City[1] it becomes obvious that the New York City portrayed in the program does not have much in common with the city in the real world. The city in the series is depicted in an exaggerated and, referring to the different parts of it, restricted and thus distorted way. As said by Beatriz Oria Gómez, the New York on TV is “not real New York, but an A-list New York two degrees removed from reality” (166). She stresses this fact again by stating that “[i]t is not the over-crowded, dirty, expensive and dangerous city it is generally assumed to be” (175). So if the city is not shown in a realistic way, what about its inhabitants?
The four main characters of Sex and the City[2] are Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York, Samantha Jones and Carrie Bradshaw. They are presented as the typical New York women that we could encounter everywhere in the city. This is done by different cinematic and narrative means some of which will be reflected upon. As the title anticipates, this paper will critically examine the notion that in the series “Carrie and her friends [stand] in as the Everywoman” (Dykes 56). But are they the Everywoman? Are they representatives of the female population of New York City? HBO manages to present them in a way which makes us believe that millions of women in New York City share the characters’ experiences, but “[w]hat remains more hidden from view is the gap between the lifestyle depicted and the experience of the majority of the women in the world” (Arthurs 96).
When it comes to the other characters on the show, one is unable to avoid realizing that most of them are, too, white, affluent and belong to the social elite. Minorities are nearly invisible when it comes to religion, class, race, immigration or ethnical background and sexual orientation. The few characters that do belong to a minority are shown in a distinctly stereotypical[3] way. Since they do appear in some episodes, one could almost think that the series offers a cross-section through New York City’s diverse population. This is not the case. SatC offers a cultural misrepresentation of New York’s population.
To begin with, this paper will inform about the demographic situation in New York City and the U.S. as a whole as it was during the time SatC aired, namely around the turn of the millennium. What follows will be an analysis of how the characters are presented in the series in a twofold way. First, emphasis will be on the four heroines of the series and their representational status. Then the focus will be on the supporting cast of SatC and it will be shown in how far they, too, are misrepresentative of New York City’s population.
2. Diversity in the City of New York
In an essay for Ethnic and Racial Studies, Nancy Foner states that “New York’s remarkable ethnic and racial diversity, its immigrant history, and institutions have combined to make it a receiving city, in many ways, like no other in the United States. Multiculturalism, it is argued, has evolved there in what might be called a particular New York way” (999).
According to the official website of the New York City government, in the year 2000 the city’s total population accounted to 8,8008,278 people.[4] Only a relatively small share of this number was made up of people who are white alone,[5] namely 35%. For comparison: in the same year, 69.1% people in the whole of the U.S. belonged to this ethnic group. The African American population of the city amounted to 24.5%, which visibly exceeds the 12.9% that it came to in the U.S. altogether. Asian people and those of the Pacific Islands added up to 9.8% in New York City and 4.5% in the U.S. All of these statistics refer to the year 2000 and therefore reflect the city’s demography at the time SatC aired.
From 1990 until 2000 a clear trend towards an increasing diversity was visible as a research paper by the Brookings Institution shows. During this period, the white population of New York City decreased by 8.2%, while there was an increase in the percentages of all of the above mentioned minorities. New York City therefore was and still is a ‘minority-majority’ city, which means that minorities account for more than half of the total population.[6]
The sexual orientation of New York City’s inhabitants is much harder to be described accurately. As Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute stresses in his paper, all numbers are based on estimations only (1). In the United States, 3.5% of the people identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual; 0.3% are transgender. As a specific figure this would be nine million Americans. It is likely that gay people[7] account for a bigger share of the population since many of the people who were questioned might have been cautious about providing such personal information. In a survey held by the Gallup Incorporation in 2002, Americans were asked to estimate the numbers of homosexual women and men in the U.S. The results were guesses that 22% of women and 21% of men are homosexual which might argue that percentages in the U.S. are potentially higher.
Another essential factor is the amount of immigrants living in the City of New York. New York City has always been a first refuge for immigrants coming to the U.S. A statement by the Immigration Policy Center states: “Immigrants account for more than 1 in 5 New Yorkers”; 20.4% of the total population were immigrants in 2000. Not only was the number of immigrants in New York City quite high at that time, but it also gave the city a special position within the U.S. An article in the The New York Times of 2005 states that “[t]he majority of the state’s immigrants are concentrated in New York City.”
The last issue of importance is the poverty rate in New York City. In the year 2000, 21.2 % of its population lived below the poverty level. Especially in comparison with the U.S., where in the same year 11.3 % of the population classified as poor,[8] this is a shockingly high percentage.
3. The People in Sex and the City
This chapter will analyze in how far the characters in Sex and the City reflect the real demographic situation in New York City. This is done with regard to the four heroines and then with focus on characters that belong to one minority group.
3.1. “The Everywoman”- the Series’ WEHRFs
Generally, there are several cinematic devices[9] by which HBO tries to make the viewers believe the female main characters are typical, representative New York women. This already becomes obvious before the actual episodes start: in the opening sequence, the character Carrie Bradshaw is introduced to us as the American, or more specifically, the New York woman. One of the methods used here is the alternation of shots of typical New York sights - the Chrysler Building, the World Trade Center and Brooklyn Bridge - with close-ups of Carrie. Thus the image of Carrie as ‘city-girl’ is constructed and her connection to the city becomes evident. Furthermore, she is walking through the streets among many other people and thus her affiliation to the rest of the population is stressed. In the last few seconds of the introductory credits, a bus with an image of Carrie on its side drives by. The image serves as an advert for her column. Through this image on the bus Carrie is depicted as an observer, as someone who gets around town and visits different areas; it makes us think she sees and meets many different people living all over New York City. To put it with the words of Stefanie Hoth: “Thus Carrie’s discourse is informed by her self-concept as an urbanite New Yorker and the stories she relates are said to be typical of this city and no place else” (90).
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[1] All reference in this paper will be to Sex and the City; The Complete Series. Writ. Darren Star. Prod. HBO. Paramount Pictures, 2004. Germany.
[2] The series will from here on be referred to as SatC.
[3] For examples see 3.2.
[4] All further information on the New York City demographics regarding ethnicity will be drawn either from this website or the official website of the U.S. Census Bureau.
[5] This refers to people who are white non-Hispanics.
[6] Since it would exceed the purpose of this paper to take into account all the minorities in New York, only a few different groups of people of distinct ethnic backgrounds will be used to exemplify its diversity. Also statistics about the numbers of people with a mixed ethnic background will be ignored. This chapter is to give a general overview only.
[7] “Gay” in this paper refers to homosexual males and females.
[8] For information on the definition of poor see the official website of the U.S. Census Bureau.
[9] “WEHRFs” will in this paper be used as an acronym for white, educated, heterosexual, rich females