'SEX' and the University

The PowerPoint slides are hot pink, Sarah Jessica Parker smiles from the cover of the novel-sized textbook and men are outnumbered seven to one. Portia Barker's American studies class, reading "Sex and the City," promises fun, with a side of feminism and fashion.

According to the syllabus, students in the five-week class will "explore third wavefeminism and postfeminist thought, sexuality and how it is 'defined' in our culture, how the ideas of fashion in New York shaped the series, [and] the mythic New York City created through the characters of the show."

"Sex and the City" was a popular HBO show about the often-complicated lives of four New York women with starkly different personalities, which included sex columnist Carrie, sexually aggressive Samantha, witty Miranda, and traditional Charlotte. The show garnered attention for the fantastical lifestyles of its characters and its frank portrayal of relationships.

The textbook, titled "Reading Sex and the City," is a collection of articles examining the show's influence on American society.

Barker, the course's instructor, said she created the class because she loved the show and she felt a lot could be taken from it.

"I want them to be able to analyze TV shows," she said, "not just take them blindly."

Barker said she anticipated a gender disparity in the class, and recruited men.

"My class ended up being very diverse," she said.

Blake Howard, a senior majoring in psychology, said he registered for the class because he loved the show.

"I'm fairly sure I've seen every episode," he said.

He said he sees the show as realistic, and he likes that the class gives him the "ability to relate it to real life."

Howard said he heard of the book before the class and feels that the "legitimate articles published by scholars" give the show more than an escapist appeal.

"They are trying to find love," he said. "They are trying to straighten their lives out."

Howard said he will concede that on a superficial level, it is fun to watch a show about women who "eat, shop, gossip and then have sex."

"It needed to be that outlandish," Howard said, pointing out that it has been a decade since its premiere.

"I hope that by the end of this class I will be able to see how [the show] changed things," he said.

Kim Garner, a senior majoring in English and telecommunication and film, said she started watching "Sex and the City" her freshman year of college.

"The show is incredibly clever," she said. "There's just so much going on."

"It's something that you can relate things to. Women have changed as a result of the show," she said.

Garner said changes in fashion and the popularity of Cosmopolitans, the cocktail preferred by the women on the show, are indicators of the show's continued influence.

"It also has given a lot of girls the freedom of knowing that they can talk about these things and not be ashamed of thinking about sex, talking about sex, having sex," she said.

Casey Cockrell, a senior majoring in criminal justice, said he never watched the show before he started the class.

"I figured there would be a lot of hot girls in it, which is the truth," he said.

Cockrell said by "playing on stereotypes," the show does a disservice to women.

"That makes it so guys can say, 'Oh, so that is who you are,'" he said. "They are mindless whores."

Ricky Winn, a sophomore majoring in public relations, was one of the men recruited to join the class.

"I'm very interested in this class. It gives me an insight to women, even if it's a bad one," he said.

"They're all sluts," he said of the women on the show.

Both Winn and Cockrell said they think "Sex and the City" presents an accurate portrayal of women.

"It's really up to each individual to decide [if they are promiscuous]," Barker said. "If it was a man, it wouldn't be a problem."

Barker said it is unfair to assume whether the show presents an accurate view of anyone other than the "small section of upper-middle class white women."

"I think it sends a lot of mixed messages about feminism and feminine sexuality," she said.

Though the class is closed, Barker said that she welcomes audits. The class meets at 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in 103 ten Hoor Hall.