Why "Sex and the Cy" is bad for the gays |

Contents:

• WILLIE GARSON, CARRIE'S GAY BTIE ON SEX AND THE CY, HAS DIED
• WHEN SEX AND THE CY RETURNS, WILL IT FALLY GET QUEER PEOPLE RIGHT?THE CLASSIC EDY HAS A TERRIBLE TRACK RERD ON QUEER ISSU, PECIALLY FOR A SHOW WRTEN BY WOMEN AND GAY MEN.BY CASSIE DA COSTAJANUARY 13, 2021FROM GETTY IMAG.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEON SUNDAY, HBO MAX NFIRMED THAT A SEX AND THE CY REBOOT LLED AND JT LIKE THAT… IS OFFICIALLY THE WORKS—AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT SPIRED FERVENT SPECULATN AMONG FANS AND CRICS. (NOT LEAST BEE THE SHOW IS, TRAGILLY, DOWN ONE LEAD: KIM CATTRALL’S SAMANTHA.) THE ORIGAL SERI WAS FAMOLY NDID, AND OFTEN CLEVER, AS FOLLOWED FOUR IENDS—SAMANTHA, SARAH JSI PARKER’S CARRIE, CYNTHIA NIXON’S MIRANDA, AND KRIST DAVIS’S CHARLOTTE—SNAPPILY DISCSG THE TAILS OF THEIR SEX LIV, DATG PREFERENC, AND PERSONAL ASPIRATNS. BUT S QUIPPY, CY-GIRL TONE HAS AGED UNEVENLY. THOUGH THAT APPROACH WAS WELL-SUED TO A STORY ABOUT PROUDLY IMPERFECT WOMEN, THE SHOW ALSO ED AS A CHEAP EXCE TO CENTER A VERY SPECIFIC VIEWPOT: STRAIGHT WHE AFFLUENCE, AS WRTEN BY STRAIGHT WHE WOMEN AND GAY WHE MEN.FOR THOSE WHO STILL WATCH THE ORIGAL SERI WHENEVER THEY’VE GOT FIVE HOURS TO WASTE AWAY ON THE UCH, ’S NOT HARD TO ACKNOWLEDGE S WRONGHEADNS WHILE ENJOYG S TENACY AND EXTREME WATCHABILY. MUCH LIKE S SCENDANT GIRLS, SATC DRILLED TO EVEN THE MOST SHARPLY CRIL LENNIALS THAT MAY BE ELS TO TRY TO UNTANGLE THOSE CHARACTERISTICS—AND ANYWAY, ’S ALL JT TELEVISN, RIGHT? WHO DON’T ENJOY AN ELEVATED MS?NEWS OF A REBOOT, THOUGH, V TO RENSIR THE SHOW’S TONE AND IAS—AND OFTEN, SEX AND THE CY’S JIB TOOK THE FORM OF HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA. THROUGHOUT THE URSE OF THE SERI, SAMANTHA GLEEFULLY ED A TRANSPHOBIC SLUR A DIG AGAST SEX WORKERS; CARRIE DOUBTED THE VALIDY OF BISEXUAL MEN; MORE THAN ONE EPISO, LBIANS WERE PORTRAYED AS EXCLIVELY WHE, RICH, AND POWER-HUNGRY. STANFORD (WILLIE GARSON), CARRIE’S TOKEN GAY MALE IEND, WAS MORE OF AN ACCSORY THAN A PERSON; THE SEND SEX AND THE CY MOVIE, HE END UP MARRYG THE ANCHISE’S ONLY OTHER GAY MALE REGULAR, EVEN THOUGH HIS FUTURE HBAND ONCE CHASTISED HIS IEND CHARLOTTE FOR ASSUMG HE’D EVEN BE TERTED STANFORD. (“WHY, BEE HE’S GAY AND I’M GAY?” MAR CANTONE’S ANTHONY ASKED SEASON FOUR. “CHARLOTTE, LET ME CLEAR SOMETHG UP FOR YOU…I ULD DO A LOT BETTER.”)EVEN WHEN SAMANTHA, THE MOST SEXUALLY ADVENTURO OF THE BUNCH, DATED A WOMAN (PLAYED BY THE BELOVED BRAZILIAN ACTOR SôNIA BRAGA), SEX AND THE CY FUMBLED. THE SHOW ED LBIANISM AS A NARRATIVE VICE, PATG AS A STRATEGY BORN OUT OF DATG FATIGUE; THE POSSIBILY THAT SAMANTHA WAS LEGIMATELY CUR OR BISEXUAL WAS NEVER EXPLORED. HER IENDS’ SLY, SELF-CENTERED MENTARY ABOUT HER NEW RELATNSHIP—THAT SAMANTHA WAS SIMPLY A PHASE, THAT SHE WAS DOG THIS FOR ATTENTN—WAS AMED NOT AS GOSSIP, BUT SIGHT.TO THOSE OUTSI OF QUEER MUNI, SUCH A READG MAY E AS A SURPRISE; HOW ULD SEX AND THE CY GET GAY PEOPLE SO WRONG? HOW ULD S OPENLY GAY WRERS—PRIMARILY CREATOR DARREN STAR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MICHAEL PATRICK KG—SORELY MISREPRENT A GROUP THEY’RE A PART OF?BUT ’S OLD NEWS TO NOTE THAT (UALLY UPPER-CLASS) WHE GAY MEN HAVE A SERVED REPUTATN FOR TAKG NSERVATIVE AND EVEN BIGOTED POSNS ABOUT THEIR TRANS, BLACK, LBIAN, OR FAT BRETHREN, ACTG AS IF A MIX OF SELF-HATRED AND DISDA OF THE OTHER IS A CHARMG PERSONALY TRA. ACRDGLY, SEX AND THE CY’S MOST REACTNARY PERSPECTIV ARE NEVER PORTRAYED AS A SOURCE OF SHAME FOR THE CHARACTERS OR THEIR ACQUATANC; THEY’RE ALWAYS MEANT AS LIGHT ENTERTAMENT. SIARLY, STRAIGHT WHE WOMEN—LIKE THE BULK OF SEX AND THE CY’S WRERS—N OFTEN ACT AS ACPLIC AND AVATARS FOR THIS EXCLN. IN MANY WAYS, SEX AND THE CY ED THE MUCH-STEREOTYPED DYNAMIC OF IENDSHIP BETWEEN STRAIGHT WHE WOMEN AND GAY MEN TO PROP UP SELF-ASSUREDLY IGNORANT WORLDVIEWS.IT’S THIS AGE-OLD MIX OF GAY PATRIARCHY AND WHE SUPREMACY THAT ADDS A LAYER OF TREPIDATN TO ANYONE ANTICIPATG HBO’S LIMED-SERI REVIVAL OF THE SHOW. STAR, NOW HELMG THE POPULARLY HATE-WATCHED EY PARIS, IS OUT, WHILE KG, WHO WROTE AND DIRECTED SATC’S CRILLY MALIGNED BUT LUCRATIVE FILM SEQUELS, IS . STAR AND KG WORKED ALONGSI EACH OTHER FOR YEARS ON THE ORIGAL SERI; THE TERIM, KG PRODUCED THE CBS S 2 BROKE GIRLS, WHICH RECEIVED CRICISM FOR BLATANT RACISM. THE SKILL WILL TAKE TO ISSUE A REBOOT THAT IS SELF-AWARE WHOUT BEG SELF-NSC REQUIR MORE THAN EXPERIENCE OR SELF-HELP REVELATNS—IMAGATN IS SENTIAL.BUT AND JT LIKE THAT… WILL BE A H CREATN, EXISTG FIRMLY THE PRENT—A PRENT WHERE, FOR EXAMPLE, CYNTHIA NIXON IS NOW MARRIED TO A WOMAN AND THE MOTHER TO A TRANS CHILD. IT’S UNLIKELY THAT SHE, AT LEAST, WOULD SIGN ONTO AND JT LIKE THAT… IF S SCRIPTS WERE AS VALIER ABOUT QUEER ISSU AS THE ORIGAL SERI SO OFTEN WAS. COULD A REPRISAL FORCE KG TO EXAME HOW HIS CHARACTERS’ FLAWS WERE OFTEN ROOTED AN ANTI-QUEER MENTALY? OR WILL THE NEW SERI SIMPLY PAPER OVER THE SHOW’S HISTORY BY MAKG CARRIE, MIRANDA, AND CHARLOTTE PARAGONS OF MIDLIFE EMOTNAL AND MORAL GROWTH? PERHAPS, THE END, OUR FAN FICTN ABOUT A LBIAN NEW YORK ERNOR MIRANDA HOBB ULD E TO UN—AS AN DIENCE-PANRG PLOT THAT ATON FOR SEX AND THE CY’S PAST SS.MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIR— INSI BRIDGERTON’S SEXY, MORN MAKEOVER OF THE REGENCY PERD DRAMA— BORAT’S MARIA BAKALOVA HAD A SWEET RNN WH JEANISE JON— TA FEY AND ROBERT CARLOCK WRTLE CLUMSILY WH POLICS MR. MAYOR— BLAZG BLON BOMBSHELL: BARBARA PAYTON’S BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS— BRYAN CRANSTON DANC WH THE DEVIL YOUR HONOR— MEET BRIDGERTON’S DREAMBOAT DE, REGé-JEAN PAGE— STEPHEN COLBERT ANSWERS THE PROT QUTNNAIRE— FROM THE ARCHIVE: SAN SIMEON’S CHILD— NOT A SUBSCRIBER? JO VANY FAIR TO RECEIVE FULL ACCS TO AND THE PLETE ONLE ARCHIVE NOW.MOST POPULARRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHSOUND OF FREEDOM: THE WILD TE STORY BEHD 2023’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL FILMBY EVE BATEYCASSIE DA COSTA
• WHY "SEX AND THE CY" IS BAD FOR THE GAYS

WILLIE GARSON, CARRIE'S GAY BTIE ON SEX AND THE CY, HAS DIED

Willie Garson, the actor known for playg Carrie Bradshaw's gay bt iend, Stanford Blatch, on Sex and the Cy, has died at age died "after a short illns, " People reports. His character, a talent agent, was always well-drsed and ready wh a wty was straight but stayed the closet about his sexualy durg the n of the show, sayg he didn't want to offend gay people. In a Page Six terview last year, he referred to "people playg gay characters jumpg up and down screamg that they're not gay, like that would somehow be a bad thg if they were.

WHEN SEX AND THE CY RETURNS, WILL IT FALLY GET QUEER PEOPLE RIGHT?THE CLASSIC EDY HAS A TERRIBLE TRACK RERD ON QUEER ISSU, PECIALLY FOR A SHOW WRTEN BY WOMEN AND GAY MEN.BY CASSIE DA COSTAJANUARY 13, 2021FROM GETTY IMAG.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEON SUNDAY, HBO MAX NFIRMED THAT A SEX AND THE CY REBOOT LLED AND JT LIKE THAT… IS OFFICIALLY THE WORKS—AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT SPIRED FERVENT SPECULATN AMONG FANS AND CRICS. (NOT LEAST BEE THE SHOW IS, TRAGILLY, DOWN ONE LEAD: KIM CATTRALL’S SAMANTHA.) THE ORIGAL SERI WAS FAMOLY NDID, AND OFTEN CLEVER, AS FOLLOWED FOUR IENDS—SAMANTHA, SARAH JSI PARKER’S CARRIE, CYNTHIA NIXON’S MIRANDA, AND KRIST DAVIS’S CHARLOTTE—SNAPPILY DISCSG THE TAILS OF THEIR SEX LIV, DATG PREFERENC, AND PERSONAL ASPIRATNS. BUT S QUIPPY, CY-GIRL TONE HAS AGED UNEVENLY. THOUGH THAT APPROACH WAS WELL-SUED TO A STORY ABOUT PROUDLY IMPERFECT WOMEN, THE SHOW ALSO ED AS A CHEAP EXCE TO CENTER A VERY SPECIFIC VIEWPOT: STRAIGHT WHE AFFLUENCE, AS WRTEN BY STRAIGHT WHE WOMEN AND GAY WHE MEN.FOR THOSE WHO STILL WATCH THE ORIGAL SERI WHENEVER THEY’VE GOT FIVE HOURS TO WASTE AWAY ON THE UCH, ’S NOT HARD TO ACKNOWLEDGE S WRONGHEADNS WHILE ENJOYG S TENACY AND EXTREME WATCHABILY. MUCH LIKE S SCENDANT GIRLS, SATC DRILLED TO EVEN THE MOST SHARPLY CRIL LENNIALS THAT MAY BE ELS TO TRY TO UNTANGLE THOSE CHARACTERISTICS—AND ANYWAY, ’S ALL JT TELEVISN, RIGHT? WHO DON’T ENJOY AN ELEVATED MS?NEWS OF A REBOOT, THOUGH, V TO RENSIR THE SHOW’S TONE AND IAS—AND OFTEN, SEX AND THE CY’S JIB TOOK THE FORM OF HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA. THROUGHOUT THE URSE OF THE SERI, SAMANTHA GLEEFULLY ED A TRANSPHOBIC SLUR A DIG AGAST SEX WORKERS; CARRIE DOUBTED THE VALIDY OF BISEXUAL MEN; MORE THAN ONE EPISO, LBIANS WERE PORTRAYED AS EXCLIVELY WHE, RICH, AND POWER-HUNGRY. STANFORD (WILLIE GARSON), CARRIE’S TOKEN GAY MALE IEND, WAS MORE OF AN ACCSORY THAN A PERSON; THE SEND SEX AND THE CY MOVIE, HE END UP MARRYG THE ANCHISE’S ONLY OTHER GAY MALE REGULAR, EVEN THOUGH HIS FUTURE HBAND ONCE CHASTISED HIS IEND CHARLOTTE FOR ASSUMG HE’D EVEN BE TERTED STANFORD. (“WHY, BEE HE’S GAY AND I’M GAY?” MAR CANTONE’S ANTHONY ASKED SEASON FOUR. “CHARLOTTE, LET ME CLEAR SOMETHG UP FOR YOU…I ULD DO A LOT BETTER.”)EVEN WHEN SAMANTHA, THE MOST SEXUALLY ADVENTURO OF THE BUNCH, DATED A WOMAN (PLAYED BY THE BELOVED BRAZILIAN ACTOR SôNIA BRAGA), SEX AND THE CY FUMBLED. THE SHOW ED LBIANISM AS A NARRATIVE VICE, PATG AS A STRATEGY BORN OUT OF DATG FATIGUE; THE POSSIBILY THAT SAMANTHA WAS LEGIMATELY CUR OR BISEXUAL WAS NEVER EXPLORED. HER IENDS’ SLY, SELF-CENTERED MENTARY ABOUT HER NEW RELATNSHIP—THAT SAMANTHA WAS SIMPLY A PHASE, THAT SHE WAS DOG THIS FOR ATTENTN—WAS AMED NOT AS GOSSIP, BUT SIGHT.TO THOSE OUTSI OF QUEER MUNI, SUCH A READG MAY E AS A SURPRISE; HOW ULD SEX AND THE CY GET GAY PEOPLE SO WRONG? HOW ULD S OPENLY GAY WRERS—PRIMARILY CREATOR DARREN STAR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MICHAEL PATRICK KG—SORELY MISREPRENT A GROUP THEY’RE A PART OF?BUT ’S OLD NEWS TO NOTE THAT (UALLY UPPER-CLASS) WHE GAY MEN HAVE A SERVED REPUTATN FOR TAKG NSERVATIVE AND EVEN BIGOTED POSNS ABOUT THEIR TRANS, BLACK, LBIAN, OR FAT BRETHREN, ACTG AS IF A MIX OF SELF-HATRED AND DISDA OF THE OTHER IS A CHARMG PERSONALY TRA. ACRDGLY, SEX AND THE CY’S MOST REACTNARY PERSPECTIV ARE NEVER PORTRAYED AS A SOURCE OF SHAME FOR THE CHARACTERS OR THEIR ACQUATANC; THEY’RE ALWAYS MEANT AS LIGHT ENTERTAMENT. SIARLY, STRAIGHT WHE WOMEN—LIKE THE BULK OF SEX AND THE CY’S WRERS—N OFTEN ACT AS ACPLIC AND AVATARS FOR THIS EXCLN. IN MANY WAYS, SEX AND THE CY ED THE MUCH-STEREOTYPED DYNAMIC OF IENDSHIP BETWEEN STRAIGHT WHE WOMEN AND GAY MEN TO PROP UP SELF-ASSUREDLY IGNORANT WORLDVIEWS.IT’S THIS AGE-OLD MIX OF GAY PATRIARCHY AND WHE SUPREMACY THAT ADDS A LAYER OF TREPIDATN TO ANYONE ANTICIPATG HBO’S LIMED-SERI REVIVAL OF THE SHOW. STAR, NOW HELMG THE POPULARLY HATE-WATCHED EY PARIS, IS OUT, WHILE KG, WHO WROTE AND DIRECTED SATC’S CRILLY MALIGNED BUT LUCRATIVE FILM SEQUELS, IS . STAR AND KG WORKED ALONGSI EACH OTHER FOR YEARS ON THE ORIGAL SERI; THE TERIM, KG PRODUCED THE CBS S 2 BROKE GIRLS, WHICH RECEIVED CRICISM FOR BLATANT RACISM. THE SKILL WILL TAKE TO ISSUE A REBOOT THAT IS SELF-AWARE WHOUT BEG SELF-NSC REQUIR MORE THAN EXPERIENCE OR SELF-HELP REVELATNS—IMAGATN IS SENTIAL.BUT AND JT LIKE THAT… WILL BE A H CREATN, EXISTG FIRMLY THE PRENT—A PRENT WHERE, FOR EXAMPLE, CYNTHIA NIXON IS NOW MARRIED TO A WOMAN AND THE MOTHER TO A TRANS CHILD. IT’S UNLIKELY THAT SHE, AT LEAST, WOULD SIGN ONTO AND JT LIKE THAT… IF S SCRIPTS WERE AS VALIER ABOUT QUEER ISSU AS THE ORIGAL SERI SO OFTEN WAS. COULD A REPRISAL FORCE KG TO EXAME HOW HIS CHARACTERS’ FLAWS WERE OFTEN ROOTED AN ANTI-QUEER MENTALY? OR WILL THE NEW SERI SIMPLY PAPER OVER THE SHOW’S HISTORY BY MAKG CARRIE, MIRANDA, AND CHARLOTTE PARAGONS OF MIDLIFE EMOTNAL AND MORAL GROWTH? PERHAPS, THE END, OUR FAN FICTN ABOUT A LBIAN NEW YORK ERNOR MIRANDA HOBB ULD E TO UN—AS AN DIENCE-PANRG PLOT THAT ATON FOR SEX AND THE CY’S PAST SS.MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIR— INSI BRIDGERTON’S SEXY, MORN MAKEOVER OF THE REGENCY PERD DRAMA— BORAT’S MARIA BAKALOVA HAD A SWEET RNN WH JEANISE JON— TA FEY AND ROBERT CARLOCK WRTLE CLUMSILY WH POLICS MR. MAYOR— BLAZG BLON BOMBSHELL: BARBARA PAYTON’S BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS— BRYAN CRANSTON DANC WH THE DEVIL YOUR HONOR— MEET BRIDGERTON’S DREAMBOAT DE, REGé-JEAN PAGE— STEPHEN COLBERT ANSWERS THE PROT QUTNNAIRE— FROM THE ARCHIVE: SAN SIMEON’S CHILD— NOT A SUBSCRIBER? JO VANY FAIR TO RECEIVE FULL ACCS TO AND THE PLETE ONLE ARCHIVE NOW.MOST POPULARRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHSOUND OF FREEDOM: THE WILD TE STORY BEHD 2023’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL FILMBY EVE BATEYCASSIE DA COSTA

I never particularly intified wh any member of the show’s central, expertly iffed quartet—all thgs nsired, I’m more of a Steve moon, Magda risg—but even g of age the Girls generatn, was near impossible to pe the long shadow st by Carrie Bradshaw’s I grew up and began to grapple wh my sexualy, I realized I was even further afield of the Sex and the Cy gals than I’d thought; they were, wh very ocsnal exceptns, shg emblems of pulsory heterosexualy, and the show was part of a blarg set of societal msag tellg me I uldn’t have the life I saw onscreen unls I was fact, as I watched Carrie repeatedly overlook and disappot her “gay boyiend” (aka obligatory gay BFF) Stanford Blatch whout ever beg forced to reckon wh the realy of what she was dog, I was all the more torn.

As I watched Carrie drag Stanford to parti between boyiends, ignore his problems, and blow him off om a big night out by tellg him that “tonight is jt the girls, ” I unwtgly absorbed the ia that beg gay meant beg siled om the real story. The girls are openly skeptil when Samantha starts datg a woman, and male bisexualy is dismissed as “a layover on the way to Gaytown.

” Then, of urse, there’s the episo which Samantha wag an all-out war agast the trans women sex workers her is that one betifully aspiratnal, L Word–adjacent episo that se Charlotte get soped up by a posse of gallery-gog power lbians, but general, the dated sexual polics of Sex and the Cy were, as Salon wrer Thomas Rogers put 2010, “bad for the gays. She shows up late to a shoot his boyiend anized, snappg at Stanford when he dar to exprs disappotment; she ignor Stanford’s new relatnship to whe about herself, promptg a rare nontatn (over bnch, natch) that don’t actually end wh her changg her issue wh Carrie’s treatment of Stanford isn’t that lacks realism; after all, the show was created by openly gay wrer and director Michael Patrick Kg, who, if he’s like many queer people, might have been on the receivg end of a siar dynamic wh a straight iend who se them as a sequed accsory.

WHY "SEX AND THE CY" IS BAD FOR THE GAYS

Still, this stale dynamic between a girl and her gay btie n be seen as a benchmark we’ve surpassed; today’s generatn of TV shows fally allow queer characters to occupy space beyond the gay bar or the Bergdorf’s drsg haven’t perfected the art of reprentg the queer experience onscreen—whe, cis narrativ still le the roost—but if Sex and the Cy premiered today, ’s likely Stanford would be ls “straight-om-central-stg gay guy” and more “actual human beg.