The Gay Guide to "Sex and the City"

Being set in New York and about sexual freedom and fashion, the ladies not surprisingly make several trips to gay bars during the run of the show. The most memorable outing led to Miranda accidentally outing a co-worker, and Carrie meeting her ultimate man…a gay shoe buyer. He quickly became her close, albeit temporary confidante, much to the consternation and jealousy of Stanford.

The issue of male bisexuality even came up in a provocative episode from Season 3. Carrie dates Sean (Eddie Cahill) a bisexual man, but ultimately she can’t come to terms with the fact that he’s attracted to both women and men (however, she does get a kiss from Alanis Morrissette out of it). And back in Season 2, Charlotte dates Stephan (Dan Futterman), a pastry chef she’s convinced is gay, but is actually just an effeminate heterosexual.

Indeed, SATC frequently addressed issues of sexual identity and fluidity as the four women dabbled in issues gay men have long confronted.

Not all of these gay portrayals and storylines are the most flattering (in less able hands than King and Star’s they could’ve been downright offensive), but then again no one in Sex and the City comes off without being rather flawed and insecure in one way or another. It's also true that both Stanford and Anthony are definitely supporting characters with storylines mostly there to reflect what was happening in Carrie and Charlotte's lives as their "best gay friends".

But they were there and the show, while not afraid to have fun with them via over-the-top storylines, always took their feelings seriously, never robbing them of their basic humanity (though the same can't be said for poor Stanford's dignity).

When it comes to gay representation, what matters is that gay people exist in Sex and the City's world and are part of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda’s lives and experiences. The fact that so many gay men have taken the show to heart like few others in television history is a testament to the underlying theme in the show — that what really makes up a family are those who support us for being who we truly are.

And as Carrie Bradshaw might muse, "In the end, isn't that what love is really about?"