I'm a straight and single man, with a pretty large number of female friends. That said, I don't understand women for anything. They confuse me and fluster me and leave me shaking my head constantly. Just when I think I've finally come to some understanding of why they do this or that, I'll be contradicted by a story or comment or laugh or smirk.
I don't understand women, but I want to.
More than once I've had female friends suggest to me, "If you really want to understand women, you should watch SEX AND THE CITY." I've resisted this notion because television by default presents a distorted funhouse-mirror view of anything it attempts to reflect. I've rarely watched television and found myself believing I'd come across anything profound.
Although it has happened. One of my favorite all-time quotes belongs to Lisa Simpson, sadly stating that "You'll never go broke appealing to the lowest common denominator." And the success of any television show rests on its ability to appeal to the largest number of whatever target audience it's aiming at.
And I know from being friends with a sizable number of women that SEX AND THE CITY has enormous appeal and a huge audience. So there's something to this notion of SATC speaking to it's audience. It wouldn't exist if it didn't.
My friend Rachael has listened to me ramble endlessly about the unfairness of dealing with the fairer sex. Recently she joined the chorus of women suggesting I needed to get on the subway car with Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda. "Marcel, every guy should watch it," she said. "It will teach you everything you need to know when dealing with women. It's right there!"
After some reflection and realizing I truly had nothing to lose except hours of my life I'd spend looking up internet porn, I've decided to give it a go and tackle the series. Rachael was so happy to help that a couple days later I found a bag at my desk, containing her collection of all six seasons worth of episodes. So as I go through my discs on loan at as brisk a pace as possible (so I can get them back to her!), I've decided to share my musings with you.
It should be mentioned, while I was never an ongoing fan of SATC, I managed to see episodes here and there. The show is popular enough that I'm at least passingly familiar with the characters and their archetypes, and the whole ongoing Mr. Big storyline. I couldn't quote you chapter-and-verse about their dating lives, but I've seen the show.
Last weekend I obliged an urge to watch an episode in the middle of the series, just to get my feet wet before I took the plunge and started at the beginning. It was one from Season Three, and sure enough all four of our female musketeers were acting true to form. So already, I'm wondering if I'll get anything of worth from this venture, considering the characters are, to some degree, predictable. To be fair though, even when women are predictable, they'll still throw you some of the craziest-ass curveballs you've never seen coming.
I also would never claim to speak on behalf of the entire male gender...for the most part. While I believe men to be far less complex creatures, and just being one helps me understand what we all go through, we have our individual opinions too. Every now and again I think there are universal agreements most men will side with me on, and I'll point those out as they occur. Otherwise, it's just me and my questions and issues.
So, I don't understand women, but I'm willing to try and learn. If nothing else, I hope I'll earn credit for trying to walk a few hours in their $400 shoes.
In private, of course, where all self-abuse should take place.
More to come...
