Media Blog 4

Sex and the City is a Television show that can be watched on TBS Wednesday nights at 9:00.

Sex and the City is a television show that is about four women who live in New York City. The main character is Carrie, who had an article in the New York Sun newspaper that is titled Sex and The City. Carries three best friends are Miranda a layer, Charlotte works in an art gallery, and Samantha who is in public relations. The shows are about relationships and use the girl’s lives as examples and stories. Most of the shows talk about problems the women have with relationships and finding and dealing with men. The four girls stick together and are always there for each other. In these shows there are a lot of privilege, domination, matrix, and gender issues that take place. I choose this specific media because this is one of my favorite shows and I saw how Johnson’s article related to what I was watching. In the third season Samantha apply for a job at a hotel management office for a client of her PR firm. A man named Richard Wright was the man in charge and turned Samantha down, even with her excellent qualities, recommendations, and experience.
Samantha got turned down for a position that she was clearly qualified for. When she asked the reason why he did not hire her Richard responded I have heard rumors about you and some of my male staff members. Samantha answered with you mean because I am not a man, and you do not feel comfortable working with an independent woman. Samantha stated, “Those rumors you heard about me, if I was a man you would poor me a drink and congratulate me on my success as a man and as a businessman” (Sex and the City). Johnson sates in chapter three, “Capitalism also shares and makes use of gender inequality. The cultural dividing of women, for example, has long been used as an excuse to pay them less and exploit them as a source of cheap labor, whether in the corporate secretarial pool in New York or garment sweatshops in Los Angeles or electronics industry assembly plants in Asia” (49). Johnson is saying capitalism is helping improve gender inequality and no matter where or what the woman does she will be treated unfairly because she is a woman and not a man. The privilege a man has overpowers a woman to a great amount, Samantha said to Richard “If I were a man you would be handing me a drink and celebrating my success with me, but since I am a woman you are turning me down for that reason and that reason only” which is an example how men have privilege for just being a man. Johnson states, “Women’s supposed inferiority has also been used as a basis for the belief that much of the work that women do isn’t work at all and therefore isn’t worthy of anything more than emotional compensation” (49). What Johnson is explaining is that women are looked down upon and thought as weak and inferior; whatever they do they will never amount to men. In the Sex and the City episode Samantha being the successful woman that she is fought what Richard said to her went back the next day and got herself the job, by showing him she has power and belief in herself as a woman. This episode of Sex and the City was a perfect example to explain to he how capitalism, privilege, domination, and gender all tie together.
After reading Johnson then watching the episode in Sex and the City I really understand what Johnson point is. In chapter three Johnson is trying to explain how capitalism, domination, matrix, privilege, gender and racism are in our lives and people are treated unfairly. The episode in Sex and the City with Samantha being turned down for a job because she was not a man really opened my eyes and helped me understand Johnson’s issues a lot better. I disagree with racism, gender issues, and treating people unfairly. Johnson makes good points and I am more aware of what is going on in the world around me.