Students salute 'Sex and the City,' triumphs of its heroines

Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda — what do these names mean to you? To many JMU students, these four names mean one thing — "Sex and the City." The well-known, award-winning, Sunday-night HBO series' recent end elicited mixed emotions about the show, its outcome and its effect on sex, love, fashion and friends.

The series, which ran for six seasons, aired its final episode Feb. 22 to an estimated 10.6 million viewers, according to www.nielsen-netratings.com. To some students, the last episode was an emotional event.

"I feel like I just got dumped by a person I was in a six-year relationship with," senior Kim Weirich said.

Another fan of the series, sophomore Amy Baker, asked, "What will I do on Sunday nights now?"

Junior Stephanie Yancone felt that HBO's decision to end the series was a smart choice. "I feel it was a good time to end the show; the writers have covered a lot, in terms of the content," she said.

Many students said they were satisfied with the show's final episode, despite the series' termination.

"It's unlike 'Sex and the City' for everyone to have a happy ending — but I still cried," junior Sarah Russell said.

Senior Ryan Rae said, "I was so glad to see Carrie break it off with Aleksandr and I loved how Carrie and Big got back together." Rae was also excited to have the mystery of Big's first name — John — revealed in the last episode.

Although the show targeted women, men also admitted they were fans of the show.

"It originally started as a show to hook up to," junior Matthew Varvaris said, "and then I started getting into it."

Many fans think "Sex and the City" had a large impact on its audience. "I think it put a lot out in the open that used to kind of be considered faux pas," junior Ben McKenzie said.

According to freshman Katherine Goodfellow, the show catalyzed societal change. "I think the show has modernized society in a way because it has made open many controversial topics that previously weren't discussed," she said.

Senior Sarah Siciliano said the series had quite an impact on society.

"This show has single-handedly revolutionized 20- and 30-something aged women (by addressing social taboos about sex)," she said. "It has liberalized how we think, talk and act regarding the subject of sex. Suddenly, it is OK to talk about sex and the nitty gritty details of it."

Many fans of the show agree that the main character, Carrie Bradshaw (played by actress Sarah Jessica Parker), provided the audience with a refreshing spin on real life.

According to junior Jillian Kelleher, "Carrie embodies the woman that we all want to be" — an independent, self-supporting woman who loves her job, enjoys the thrills of city life, is surrounded by her three best friends and mingles with the hottest men in the vicinity.