Independant Women...

Girl Power

After the recent emergence of the ever powerful girl band 'The Spice Girls', I have begun to consider the female role models that are present in today's society. It would be interesting to consider who or rather what is considered to represent the feminine ideals of the 21st Century. If one was to consider the influential female figures of in popular culture, Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbs and Charlotte York instantly spring to mind. YES! The Sex and The City ladies that have shaped how women are viewed and most importantly view themselves in this society. From our obsession with fashion and beauty to difficulties with love, careers, health and of course friendship - the series (and indeed the new blockbuster movie) seems to provide for all the feminine needs of the modern woman. 

One of the main reasons that the concept of the show has been popular with the likes of men and women alike is perhaps the honest thread that runs throughout the entirety of the six series. Realistic issues that are ever present in society are presented refreshingly in such a way that helps viewers to deal with them. For instance, the obvious Big and Carrie relationship has been interpreted in so many different ways to fit with the expectations of individual women worldwide. Or even Samantha's battle with breast cancer against Miranda's inability to allow herself to love another person to Charlotte's intense hope for  that ultimate romantic happy ending that women have been programmed to expect. Even though the movie has been criticised for being another marketing tool to encourage brand ideology through its passion for fashion, such viewers fail to see the realistic journey that these four fictional characters allow for the millions of viewers. 

It would seem that the ideals of traditional feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Virginia Woolf are channelled through the modern archetypal woman known as the fictional 'Carrie Bradshaw'. From the political defiance of Wollstonecaft, woman have been encouraged to see themselves as independent individuals who can achieve equality through their own development. That is: through education, cultivation of natural feminine reason and wit and most importantly to have the belief that the female sex can rise against patriarchy. Eighteenth century literature was affected greatly by Wollstonecraft's celebrated text A Vindication of The Rights of Woman,proving how influential one woman can be. It would seem that Wollstonecraft began to lay the bricks for the path that powerful, independant women have and indeed will continue to follow.