Sex and the Semiotics?

She embodies all that is woman-beauty, brains, class, and not to mention the $400 pair of Manolo Blahniks. She is the epitome of perfection. She is sophistication and charm, yet innocence all at once. Who is this mystery woman I speak of? None other than the eternally fabulous Manhattanite, Carrie Bradshaw.



When we think ‘Carrie Bradshaw’, we instinctively have an image triggered in our minds: flawless, timeless, FABULOUS. Although a fictional character, Bradshaw unmistakably embodies very desirable and enviable traits, however realistic and attainable they may be. Not only does she have the fabulous job, she has the fabulous apartment, the fabulous friends, the fabulous wardrobe, all of which essentially construct the fabulous life. Not only does she possess qualities that are undeniably desirable, she herself is desired by men. Throughout time, she’s dated the insecure novelist, the affluent and successful Russian artist, the handsome nice guy, and most notably, “Big”, the sexy, successful, brooding businessman, with whom Carrie has had an extensive on and off relationship.
However fictional the character may be, rest assured there are many Carrie Bradshaw hopefuls. Yes, to a certain extent, we’d all like to attain the perfect ‘Barbie and Ken’ lifestyle, but why? Are we so incredibly dissatisfied and unhappy with our own lives that we resort to measuring our lives against a fictional character’s? Jonathan Culler in “The Linguistic Foundation” responds best by saying, “the cultural meaning of any particular act or object is determined by a whole system of constitutive rules; rules which do not regulate behavior so much as create the possibility of particular forms of behavior” (56). We see Bradshaw as an icon who must be idolized and eventually reproduced and imitated. She is no longer a person, but rather a representation; a symbol, upon which others construct themselves. Our culture (from above) dictates that one must act a certain way, dress a certain way, listen to a certain genre of music, etc. Only the privileged, however, are lucky enough to be socially and culturally oppressed in this manner. Those who are not as privileged, or merely choose to deviate from this culturally accepted behavior, are consequently shunned and looked down upon.
In contrast to the all-American, girly girl, we can consider Bradshaw’s binary in opposition to be Juno MacGuff, the accidentally impregnated 16 year-old from a small town in Minnesota. Far from fabulous, Juno represents the complete foil of Bradshaw. Juno is tomboyish, vulgar, outspoken and anything but ladylike. Her fashion sense is incomparable to that of Bradshaw’s, and in general, Juno hardly matches up to the symbols we identify with Bradshaw. Once we are able to mentally capture an image of Bradshaw and what she epitomizes, no longer is she the successful columnist with impeccable fashion sense. She is now a representation; a symbol.