Faculty Spotlight

Professor Suzanne Leonard Discusses “Sex and the City’s” Toxic Masculinity in Los Angeles Times

Sex and the City Cast
Principal cast members of HBO's “Sex and the City”. Photograph by Martamenchini, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Creative Commons.

On April 1, HBO’s Sex and the City became available for streaming on Netflix. Despite the resurgence of ’90s fashion, certain gender constructs depicted in the series should be retired.

As Suzanne Leonard, Professor of Literature and Writing and Director of the Graduate Program in Gender and Cultural Studies, told The Los Angeles Times, “We’ve been in a long, 20-year process of undoing the allure of Mr. Big [a love interest of Carrie Bradshaw/Sarah Jessica Parker played by Chris Noth],” says Leonard. “Audiences [today] are much more aware of the dangers of toxic masculinity, and that doesn't read as sexy anymore. I think you have more sophisticated feminist viewers.”

Read the full article in The Los Angeles Times

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Kathryn Dickason