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When Sex and The City premiered in 1998, it was an instant hit. The show was groundbreaking for its time, depicting successful, intelligent, and independent women in their thirties as they navigated the uncensored ups and downs of dating in New York.
Sex and the City was frank about sex and women's experiences, portraying storylines that felt really bold at the time. But while the show only hit Netflix in April 2024 and continues to be a cultural phenomenon among younger generations, there's no denying that it has its own set of issues.
From stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community to racism and classism, here are 9 episodes of Sex and the City that have aged like milk.
1. 'Sex and the City' Season 1, Episode 2: Recording Without Consent
HBO
During the show's second episode, Carrie learns that her friend Barkley, played by Gabriel Macht, secretly records his romantic escapades with women. When she makes this discovery, she appears a bit disturbed but ultimately shrugs off the situation. In fact, she even lights up a cigarette and watches the tapes with him!
But then, Samantha took the disturbing subplot a step further. She actually found Barkley's (illegal) habit intriguing and asked to get filmed herself!
2. 'Sex and the City' Season 2, Episode 10: Classism & Racism
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Class and cultural insensitivity take center stage in this episode, entitled "The Caste System." Even that alone is problematic. First, Miranda struggles with the fact that her boyfriend, Steve, comes from a "working-class" background, and she tries to change his style.
Meanwhile, Samantha dates a man who has a live-in Southeast Asian "servant" named Sum. Sum is reduced to a one-dimensional antagonist. Her main role in the episode is to pretend to struggle with English in order to manipulate her employer and sabotage his relationship with Samantha.
3. 'Sex and the City' Season 2, Episode 11: Gay Stereotypes
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In Season 2, Episode 11, Charlotte begins dating a man who doesn't fit the stereotypical mold of traditional masculinity. For instance, he appreciates designer fashion, adores Cher, and is afraid of mice.
This led Carrie and the girls to debate whether he's a "gay straight man" or a "straight gay man," reducing his identity to outdated and shallow stereotypes. It reflects a time when rigid ideas about gender and sexuality were more widely accepted and perpetuated in mainstream media.
4. 'Sex and the City' Season 2, Episode 16: Alcoholism
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In Season 2, Episode 16, Carrie meets a man named Patrick Casey, a recovering alcoholic who's open about his struggles with addiction. Despite his sponsor's advice to avoid dating during his first year of sobriety, he and Carrie start going out anyway.
Well, it turned out that, instead of alcohol, Patrick developed a reliance on sex. When Carrie suggests they put their relationship on pause, he has a relapse, shows up outside her apartment in the middle of the night, takes his clothes off, and starts screaming her name.
The main issue with this episode is the lack of nuance when it comes to discussing addiction and recovery. Patrick's struggles were used as a spectacle in a way that wouldn't fly with contemporary audiences.
5. 'Sex and the City' Season 3, Episode 4: Bashing Bisexuality
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Sex and the City took a particularly dismissive approach to bisexuality in Season 3, Episode 4, treating it as a phase rather than a legitimate identity.
Carrie starts seeing a bisexual man, and she and her friends make a series of judgmental comments about it. She claims that bisexuality is a "layover on the way to gay town," and Charlotte said people needed to "pick a side and stay there." Miranda didn't disagree, labeling bisexuality as "greedy."
6. 'Sex and the City' Season 3, Episode 5: Racism
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The series attempted to tackle interracial dating but stumbled into problematic territory during Season 3 Episode 3. After Samantha started seeing a successful Black record producer named Chivon Williams, she was approached by his sister, Adeena, who disapproved of him going out with a white woman.
Spoiler alert: their argument goes off the deep end, and both women start to exchange racially charged remarks. This, coupled with the one-sided perspective, makes the episode feel extremely uncomfortable and tone-deaf.
7. 'Sex and the City' Season 3, Episode 18: Insensitivity Toward Sex Work
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One of the most controversial Sex and the City storylines emerged in Season 3, Episode 18 when Samantha became frustrated by loud sex workers outside her apartment in the Meatpacking District, and the main characters of the show speculate that the workers are transgender.
Noise complaints are frequent and understandable in New York City, but Samantha's reaction wasn't. She resorted to using a derogatory slur for transgender people and actually tossed a bucket of water on them.
8. 'Sex and the City' Season 4, Episode 4: Problematic Language Surrounding Sexuality
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Once again, Sex and the City mishandled conversations surrounding sexuality in this episode. Rather than supporting Samantha after she started dating a woman, Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda just began mocking her and implying she was only seeing a woman since she "ran out of men."
They treat Samantha's relationship as a joke and completely ignore the concept of bisexuality or sexual fluidity. There was an opportunity for nuance here, but Samantha's experience was reduced to a punchline instead.
9. 'Sex and the City' Season 6, Episode 12: Ethnocentrism
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Finally, in Season 6, Episode 12, the show entered xenophobic territory when Carrie first met Aleksandr Petrovsky. She gets a phone call from him and immediately assumes he must've dialed the wrong number. Why? She simply didn't understand his Russian accent.
Then, for the rest of the season, she continues referring to Aleksandr as "the Russian." To make matters worse, when Mr. Big finds out that Carrie plans to move to Paris with Aleksandr, he responds with a derogatory slur.
What did you think the first time you watched these Sex and the City episodes? Let us know on Instagram!
