Sex and the City 101

We live in a new America, a veritable war zone, with intimidating players on every New York street. What we need is a new group of heroes. Soldiers of fortune who take no prisoners. We've got to get tough, Yo Gio!\n…as in Giovanni Versace. And our soldiers of fortune? Perhaps soldiers of fashion who take slow pedicures and definitely face countless players on the New York scene, fighting the battle of the sexes.\nTheir D-Day? July 21st. The drama begins again, as season five of "Sex and the City" airs on HBO.\nI'm a heterosexual, single male who enjoys NBA basketball and manual labor. Yet, I can't get enough of the trendy outfits and sexual escapades of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Neither can my two female roommates, my mom, my sister or any woman I have met who has access to HBO programming.\nWhat's the secret sauce employed by this critically acclaimed television series?\nThese thoughts began to waft through my head because of a conversation I had with a male friend who was chastising the show for its "glorification of casual sex." There have been critics of the series spouting similar reservations, but if that's all they know of the show, I doubt that they've ever seen an entire episode. \nNo sex scene is ever gratuitous, and above all, the show has gone where no television show has gone before and shamefully so -- for the industry. You see, the shame lies not in the sex but in the fact that never before has a series tapped into the female struggle with monogamy that before had been relegated solely to men. Finally, women across the nation are able to empathize with a television show dealing with their own diverging interests in prospective mates and it doesn't involve the female leads stressing over convincing some beefcake to grace them with his presence. \nYou see, the group of women on this show never seem to have a problem finding a man. It's finding the right man, keeping that man or deciding whether the wrong man may be the right man after all! A television show emerges that removes the stereotype of the blindly loyal girlfriend. Even in "love" with another, the main character Carrie is forced to suppress her primal urges for the "Big" ex-love of her life. And when it comes to monogamy of fairy tales, no one suffers more than Charlotte. She, with the most monogamous tendencies, in the end falls victim to the 21st Century America "marriage fantasy."\nThese women provide for each other an incredible support group, where the dialogue serves as an outlet for their emotional stories. This kind of dialogue could never occur with a show about men. When we're with friends, it's a battle of trivia or jokes. If you want to learn to share and really talk to your loved one, these women provide stellar examples. \nTop it all off with the chic New York environment, gorgeous outfits and exquisite true-to-life banter, it's no wonder that ratings and video sales are chart toppers. I know I'm not the only one who's been to Blockbuster only to find tape two of season three checked out before me.\nIf you guys out there truly want to know what women are thinking, what they're after or what they talk about when we're not around, watch the show. We can truly use the lessons. It won't give us pick-up moves but offers much more than an understanding of why your girlfriend buys so many shoes. \nAnd knowing is half the battle.