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CONTENTSAcknowledgements viiContributors ixRegular cast list (and the classic cosmopolitan) xiiiIntroduction: Welcome to the age of un-innocence 1PART I SEX, SEXUALITY AND RELATIONSHIPS1 ‘What’s the harm in believing?’: Mr Big, Mr Perfect, andthe romantic quest for Sex and the City’s Mr Right 17Joanna di Mattia2 The museum of unnatural history: male freaks andSex and the City 33David Greven3 Sexuality in the city 48Mandy MerckPART II SOCIO-SEXUAL IDENTITIES AND THE SINGLE GIRL4 Orgasms and empowerment: Sex and the Cityand the third wave feminism 65Astrid Henry5 Sister Carrie meets Carrie Bradshaw: exploringprogress, politics and the single woman in Sex andthe City and beyond 83Ashley Nelson6 Sex and the citizen in Sex and the City’s New York 96Susan ZiegerPART III FASHION AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES7 ‘Fashion is the fifth character’: fashion, costumeand character in Sex and the City 115Stella Bruzzi and Pamela Church Gibson8 Sex and the City:a fashion editor’s dream? 130Anna König9 ‘My Manolos, my self ’: Manolo Blahnik, shoesand desire 144Sarah NiblockPART IV NARRATIVE, GENRE AND INTERTEXTUALITY10 Neurotic in New York: the Woody Allen touchesin Sex and the City 149Tom Grochowski11 Sex, confession and witness 161Jonathan Bignell12 Ms Parker and the Vicious Circle: female narrativeand humour in Sex and the City 177Kim Akass and Janet McCabePART V FANDOM, FLÂNERIE AND DESIRING IDENTITY13 In love with Sarah Jessica Parker: celebratingfemale fandom and friendship in Sex and the City 201Deborah JermynFLÂNERIE, SEX AND THE CITY AND TOURING AROUND MANHATTANLocation guide with map 21914 Through a glass, malarkey 228Lucia Rahilly15 Outsiders in the city 231Ashley Nelson16 Carried away in Manhattan 234Kim Akass and Janet McCabe17 Coulda’, shoulda’, Prada: shopping for Satori andstrappy sandals in Sex and the City 237Mark W. BundyAPPENDICESEpisode guide 241Film and TV guide 249Bibliography 253Index 265I have no personal affinity for this TV show.  Heck, I don’t even watch TV shows except on rare ocasions.  I’m too busy.  But… I know this much…  SITC was VERY important to ALL women who had access to watch it.  I once had a FB who each week would go over to her friend’s house who had HBO, the American cable TV network that carried the show, to be able to see the show each week.  (This actually was quite common when the show was really popular; women did what they had to do to make sure they saw it.)  Anyway I remember one time they were not getting along.  You know how women are when they are in a squabble, neither wants to back down, they will hold a grudge for Eternity… but guess what… she STILL went over there that week to watch the show… this silly(?) TV show was actually MORE important than real life personal relationships!  After that I started to wonder what was so special about this program.  Fortunately our rendezvous time at my place was on Tues nights.  The show aired on Sun nights.  I like to think my mojo could take precedence if we were to meet on Sun night, but I wasn’t about to test that theory.