Sex and the Insta city
Twenty years since the show began, Instagram is awash with fans obsessing over Miranda’s moods, Carrie’s outfits and ‘woke’ Charlotte, discovers Hannah Flint
When Dan Clay, a New York-based strategy consultant, dressed as Carrie Bradshaw in drag for Halloween 2016, he had no idea he was about to become an Instagram sensation. But @Carriedragshaw was born, and he’s since recreated hundreds of Carrie’s most iconic outfits, amassed more than 113,000 followers – including Sarah Jessica Parker (the pair met recently on live TV, and it was hard to tell who was most starstruck) – and even a collaboration with Marc Jacobs.
And Dan isn’t alone. There is @Mirandamondays, an account ‘dedicated to spreading the gospel according to Miranda Hobbes’, @Samanthajonespr, in celebration of the show’s most outrageous character, and @Everyoutfitonsatc, lauding the legendary work of the show’s costume designer Patricia Field.
Then there’s @Sexandthecityquotes, @Satclines and @Sexandthecity_ Newyork (the founder of the latter is so mysterious that a response for an interview request read, ‘ There’s only one person who knows who I am, and that’s SJP. I like to keep it that way’). So, what’s behind our continued fascination with the show? Yes, the fashion is perfect for Instagram and the scripts lend themselves, almost too easily, to memes. But according to Dan/dragshaw, it’s more than that. ‘Every time you revisit Sex And The City, you connect with totally different parts,’ he says. ‘ There are bits that you didn’t get the first time around, which resonate when you’re older. And because they were tackling timeless relationship things, it’s like, “I’ve been on that date!”’
The popularity of such accounts is also fuelled by the fact that the show’s stars are still so much part of our lives, says Stephen Lang, a journalist who set up @Samantha Jonespr last summer after spotting a gap in the Instagram market for the most ‘memeable’ of the SATC characters. Cynthia Nixon’s recent bid to become the governor of New York State has also piqued interest, he adds, as well as the ongoing (and very addictive feud) between SJP and Kim Cattrall. ‘ The most popular posts are when I’m bitchy about Carrie,’ he laughs.
Despite its popularity, much has been made of the shortcomings of Sex And The City, with its all-white female cast. Last month, Sarah Jessica Parker admitted, ‘ There were no women of colour, and there was no substantial conversation about the LGBTQ community’ (she went on to admit that the show would be ‘different’ if it were made today). But on Instagram, fans can actively correct such failings. #Wokecharlotte is arguably the most popular SATC meme yet, created by @Everyoutfitonsatc. When Samantha calls her neighbourhood ‘trendy by day and tranny by night’, Woke Charlotte responds, ‘ The correct term is “trans” and trans sex workers deserve respect. After all, they’re not the ones who are gentrifying the neighbourhood. Please check your cisgender privilege, Samantha’ (44,185 likes). And to a sexist comment by her first husband Trey, she replies, ‘I strongly encourage you to examine how sexist belief systems about the roles of women have impacted your ability to get it up.’ ( Yes!)
These accounts are all also about a sense of community. Thousands of people who, 20 years on, are no less touched by a show that revolutionised the way we think about our sex lives, relationships and friendships. ‘I find it so refreshing,’ says Dan. ‘ The community is earnest and completely not cynical. We all just love this show.’