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Student Number: 200707558
Module: COMM3250, Feminism, Identity and Media
Assignment: In what ways do the television shows Shameless (Channel 4,
2004-2011) and Sex and the City (HBO 1998-2004) foreground feminist ideas
and politics through female sexual desire?
Word Count: 3845

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The media is useful in providing representations that give insight into various aspects of our
culture, allowing us to analyse, interpret and understand the values, perspectives and
ideologies of others (Skeggs, 2004). There have been continuous scholarly debates within
media analysis that centre on the representations of women, particularly of female
sexuality. Therefore, in this essay I shall analyse the differing ways that HBO’s Sex and the
City (1998 – 2004) and Channel 4’s Shameless (2004 – 2011) foreground feminist ideas and
politics through female sexual desire. Sex and the City (SATC) follows four affluent, thirty-
something female friends as they negotiate their sex lives whilst working and living in New
York, whereas, Shameless is set in a council estate in Manchester, England and focuses on
life within a working-class suburban setting. As both texts are based in a post-feminist
setting they feature elements of female sexuality that are innovative and refreshing in
comparison to most mass media depictions of women (Arthurs, 2003). Akass and McCabe
(2004) claim that in order to represent female sexuality positively, media texts need to
challenge negative assumptions and taboos forced onto women, which both Shameless and
SATC do, yet in contrasting ways that shall be explored in this essay. There are three
dominant themes to this analysis, the first being the ways that both texts represent female
sexual desire and agency, the second being the ways that the texts present classed elements
of female sexuality, and finally the absence of shame and punishment linked to female
sexuality within the texts.
In Sex and the City, female sexual desire is masculinised in that most of the main female
characters take on traditional masculine roles of independence, activity, ambition,
aggressiveness and sexual explicitness as opposed to conforming to sexual passivity and
emotional receptiveness commonly associated with female gender norms (Game & Pringle,
1979). For example, one of the main subjects, Samantha, is often characterised as having

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male views on sex and relationships, telling her friends that they need to start having sex
‘like a man…without feelings’ in order to fulfil their sexual desires (S1E1). She is also
described by the show’s narrator, Carrie, as a well-known PR executive who ‘routinely slept
with good looking guys in their twenties’ and who ‘had the kind of deluded self confidence
that caused men…to run for president’ (S1E1). From this description in the narration it is
suggested that Samantha is represented as undertaking masculinised roles of sexual
confidence, ambition and lack of romantic emotion.
All four female subjects of SATC are continuously depicted to enjoy having casual sex with
different men highlighting their sexual agency. In the first episode, the show’s protagonist
Carrie decides to have sex ‘like a man’ and so suggests casual sex to Kurt, who she has had
previous but few relations with. During the sex scene with him, it depicts her receiving oral
sex, an act commonly associated with explicit female sexual pleasure (Backstrom et al,
2012). Only her face is shown enjoying the moment (see figure 1), therefore the scene
focuses solely on her sexual pleasure and not the male’s, subverting traditional notions of
sexual pleasure being only for men (Crawford & Popp, 2003). As soon as she reaches her
climax she immediately leaves his apartment whilst her narration claims ‘I’d just had sex like
a man, I left feeling powerful potent and incredibly alive’. To Halberstam, masculinity is the
social and cultural expression of maleness and “inevitably conjures up notions of power and
legitimacy and privilege” (1998, p, 2). The exampled scene featuring Carrie resonates with
Halberstam’s argument that masculinity is associated with power as Carrie’s supposed
fulfilment of male characteristics, such as acting sexually egotistical and unemotional, leaves
her feeling empowered.

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Another example of female masculinity are the character’s frank and explicit discussions
about sexual pleasure. They use crass terms typically associated with male sexual discussion,
such as ‘fucking’, and describe sexually available women as ‘pussy’, highlighting their
unashamed desire and drive for sex (S1E1) (Skeggs, 2004). Gerhard (2005) argues that the
explicit sex talk in SATC is powerful as it has the potential to disrupt confining gender
constructions and expel heterosexual instability, subscribing to Akass & McCabe’s (2004)
earlier argument that for stereotypes to be lifted, taboos must be challenged.
Interestingly, by contrasting female and male representations in SATC it could be argued
that female sexual desire is represented through the humiliation of men as there are
ongoing patterns of male vilification and degradation. For instance, the majority of the first
episode features the four female subjects degrading male characters by calling them
sexually inadequate - ‘they can’t perform the way that they’re supposed to’ (Miranda, S1E1)
- and referring to them as ‘assholes’, ‘scum’, and ‘mistakes’. Likewise, single women are
introduced as ‘unmarried woman’, whereas men are entitled ‘toxic bachelors’, automatically
vilifying them. Male characters are also represented as disposable, with the female
characters losing interest in them if they do not perform to their expectations. For instance
when the four are discussing men being sexually inadequate Samantha states ‘well then you
dump them’ (S1E1). Few male characters are introduced by their name and are instead
given objectifying labels, such as Mr. Big, by the female subjects. It is apparent within the
text that men are often objectified in ways that women usually are, such as being described
solely by their appearance, occupation or sexual abilities, going as far as Samantha claiming
she likes to ‘treat men like sex objects’ (S1E1) (Arthurs, 2003). From this, it could be argued
that female depictions in SATC reject typical media representations of women being the
object of sexual desire and instead portray them as sexual subjects (Stillion Southard, 2008).

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As well as being vilified and degraded, male characters are also bound by traditional
gendered stereotypes of masculinity and are denounced if they don’t conform to them. For
example, in a scene between Carrie and her male friend Skipper, he claims ‘I just have so
much feeling’, to which Carrie responds with ‘are you sure you’re not gay?’ (S1E1) implying
that in order to be a heterosexual man, explicit masculinity must be performed, therefore
emotions cannot be expressed. Similarly, when Carrie is discussing having casual sex ‘like a
man’ in the back of a taxi with her love interest Mr Big, he expresses that he doesn’t enjoy
unemotional sex ‘like a man’, to which Carrie queries ‘what’s wrong with you?’ which again
implies an abnormality with a man not conforming to gendered stereotypes of masculinity
(S1E1). Drawing from the idea that female sexuality is masculinised in SATC, the above
examples suggest that male sexuality is feminised as the men are represented with a desire
to be emotionally receptive, a characteristic of femininity (Game & Pringle, 1979). In both of
these scenes, Carrie’s response denigrates the men for these expressions, reaffirming the
idea that “a hint of femininity sullies or lowers the social value of maleness while all
masculine forms of femaleness should result in an elevation of status” (Halberstam, 1998, p,
28).
Despite this masculinised and empowered femininity, there are aspects to the female sexual
desire represented that reaffirm traditional gendered values. For instance, Nash and Grant
claim that SATC presents a “post-feminist irony” in the sense that whilst providing
empowering representations of female sexuality, the characters continually return to “the
safety of normative femininity” as despite their casual sexual relationships, they are still
depicted to be in search for romance and ‘the one’ (2015, p, 983). For example, the central
characters in SATC end up either married or in committed relationships by the end of the
final series. It could therefore be argued that this reinforces traditional gender norms and

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“reproduces the enduring message that woman’s ultimate personal and sexual liberation
lies with men” (Gerhard, 2005, p, 45).
Parallel to SATC, the female sexuality in Shameless is also masculinised, with the female
characters undertaking sexually dominant and aggressive roles. For example, teenager
Karen “engages in sexual activity as a means of personal empowerment and commercial
exchange” (Johnson, 2012 p, 4). She gives oral sex in return for physics tutoring with fellow
teenager Lip, after which he excitedly tells his brother about it in awe, stating ‘I didn’t even
know [what she was doing] until she yanked it out’; his adoration for her actions highlighting
her sexual power (S1E1). She also engages Lip’s father, Frank, in a game of sexual
debauchery for her own pleasure during which she is represented as forceful in her sexual
agency, using it to control him into fulfilling her desires (S1E5). For example, highly aware of
her sexuality she teases Frank into engaging in sexual relations with her by using sexual
innuendos and her body suggestively, going as far as grabbing his hand and placing it on her
body (see figure 2). She is represented to ultimately be in control of the situation,
threatening him with revealing their secret if he attempts to avoid her sexual demands.
Like SATC, in Shameless female sexual desire is accentuated more than male, with most of
the women depicted as having much higher sex drives then men (Johnson, 2012). For
example, Shelia is represented as an agoraphobic nymphomaniac, whose obsession with
fetishized sex becomes one of the reasons why her husband leaves her in the first episode.
When Shelia engages in sexual relations with Frank, like her daughter Karen, she is sexually
dominant, handcuffing him to the bed and controlling the encounter from on top (S1E2)
(see figure 3). Again, similar to Karen, Shelia has to have her sexual demands met by Frank,
for example, in order for her to ring his ex-wife and trick her into thinking she has won a

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teddy in the local raffle, Frank has to allow her to carry out her sexual desires on him (S1E6).
Johnson argues that the ‘sexual dominance of the female characters…demonstrates and
determines a shift away from patriarchal power” enabling “a more democratic repositioning
of sex” (2012 p, 3). However, Halberstam argues that female masculinity is often viewed “as
a pathological sign of misidentification and maladjustment, as longing to be and to have a
power that is always just out of reach” (1998, p, 9). With this concept in mind, it could be
argued that in order to fully achieve sexual agency the female characters in both texts have
to perform a masculinised female sexuality, and that their empowerment is dependent on
the aggressive denigration of men.
In contrast to SATC, the female characters of Shameless are not represented to be actively
looking for romance or ‘the one’ and instead are depicted to be freely enjoying their
friendships and sexual freedoms (Johnson, 2012). For example, one of the central characters
Fiona, after a one night stand with Steve informs him that she’s ‘just not looking’ for a
relationship, despite his romantic advances (S1E1). Similarly, when Tony the police officer
asks Fiona to start a relationship after a one night stand they had she states that sex is ‘all it
was’ and ‘that’s the whole point isn’t it, one night stand no strings’ (S1E2). From this, it
could be argued that Shameless presents “constructions of women as powerful sexual
subjects” that do not need traditional gender conventions of romance in order to achieve
sexual liberation (Johnson, 2012 p, 3).
Another dominant theme in the texts are the classed elements of the depictions of female
sexual desire. Class often intersects with gender and sexuality, for example, explicit female
sexuality and desire has been commonly associated with working-class women, such as with
representations of prostitutes, as they supposedly “signify lack of discipline and self-control”

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(Skeggs, 2004, p, 102). Consequentially, femininity is seen as to be delicate, demure and
never sexually explicit which is something that working-class women are routinely
positioned as being the opposite of (Skeggs, 2004), however, the fact that the women of
SATC also oppose such characteristics not only challenges the idea of working-class women
opposing femininity, but also correlates to the ideas that sexually explicit female desire
conjures new democratic representations of women (Arthurs, 2003, Johnson, 2012).
Attwood argues that sexuality and identity are “expressed through fashion and leisure”
which is heavily depicted in SATC as the women’s sexual desire appears centred around
consumerism (2007, p, 242). For example, Carrie is represented as having an obsessive
knowledge of and desire for heels and designer fashion. During her narration in the first
episode, when discussing the ‘great’ single women of New York she states ‘they
travel…they'll spend $400 on a pair of Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals, and they're alone’,
suggesting the absurdity for these women to be single as their consumerism should deem
them as desirable. The women of SATC are continuously depicted in expensive bars, clubs
and restaurants as well as shopping for designer labels highlighting their economic affluence
and sexual desire (see figure 4). Bignell (2004) argues that SATC shares similar discourses to
women’s magazines as they both centre on confession, sexual identity and commodity
fetishism. Carrie’s narration commonly contains self-doubt, confession and discussion on
self-improvement, for example, she asks herself ‘if I was really having sex like a man, why
didn't I feel more in control?’. From this it could be argued that the consumerisation of
female representations and discursive links to women’s magazines in SATC propagate
assumptions that the female identity is centred on continuous dissatisfaction and self-
policing narcissism (Game & Pringle, 1979; Bignell, 2004; Gill, 2008).

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However, according to Arthurs, female consumerism has “been considered as a source of
pleasure and power that is potentially resistant to male control” and “can offer women an
alternative route to self-esteem and autonomy” (2003, p, 87). Equally, in their study
Gleeson and Frith (2004) found that the sexual significance in clothing allows women to
publically explore and present their sexual identity, for example, high heels have become
symbolic of female confidence, power and sexuality (Gill, 2008) and in the words of Berger,
“to be able to buy is the same thing as being sexually desirable’ (1972, p, 144).
Interestingly, Skeggs claims that higher class etiquette is centred on “restraint, repression,
reasonableness, modesty and denial” (2004, p, 99). Despite the women of SATC not
restraining or denying their sexual exploration and desires, there are strong elements of
modesty present in their sexual representations. For instance, they rarely fumble in the
bedroom and their appearance, such as, makeup and hair, always remains intact. From this,
Nash and Grant argue that while the clean cut images of the female characters are
“momentarily interrupted” during sex scenes, they ultimately remain “perfectly posed and
sexually desirable” (2015, p, 982). Linking to these ideas that SATC represents a perfected
image, Gill (2008) argues that in light of consumer culture, women’s sexual agency and
empowerment seems dependent on her commodified physical appearance of being slim,
young, affluent, attractive and white; characteristics that the main female characters of
SATC fit, along with the majority of the audience addressed (Arthurs, 2003). From this, it
could be argued that SATC foregrounds exclusionary feminist politics by only representing
female sexual desire and agency from a certain perspective that excludes those who do not
fit into such category (Brasfield, 2006).

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Contrasting to SATC, there is lack of female consumerism present within Shameless and
female sexuality is juxtaposed with constant discourse of having a lack of money. For
example, during a scene with her sexual partner, Steve, Fiona is shown having to keep her
foot pressed against the washing machine door to keep it running, implying that despite the
situation being far from ideal, she cannot afford to buy a new one (see figure 5). When a
new washing machine mysteriously turns up at the house, her friend Veronica asks ‘I
thought you’d no money’ to which Fiona responds ‘I don’t!’ highlighting that the women are
not attempting to conceal their lack of income in an attempt to impress each other or
potential male partners. Likewise, Fiona is frequently shown wearing the same tracksuit
bottoms which implies that she does not possess the funds for or own another pair.
From her study, McRobbie (2007) argues that the main way that working class girls “combat
class-based oppressive features” is to “assert their ‘femaleness’” and their sexuality in a bid
to attract men. She found that the way to assert this ‘femaleness’ and sexuality was to wear
make-up and buy certain clothes, spending as little on their ‘keep’ as possible so that they
could afford to do so. Resonating with this, despite their lack of money, the female
characters in Shameless still work on their physical appearance. For example, Monica is
represented as highly aware of her sexuality as she parades in front of the local supermarket
wearing cheap looking heels, a pink jumpsuit, big hoop earrings and a face full of makeup
whilst her girlfriend films her in awe (S1E6). Her clothes are represented as age
inappropriate which Johnson argues “demonstrates her will to be young and carefree again”
(2012, p, 7). Her representation correlates with McRobbie’s (2007) findings of working class
women spending as much on their appearance as possible as Monica expresses more
interest on her physical appearance than she does with her children.

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Unlike the slick aesthetic of SATC, there is a lack of perfection in the aesthetics of the sexual
encounters represented in Shameless. For example, Fiona’s first encounter with Steve takes
place on a sticky kitchen floor, both of them only half undressed as if passion took over
(S1E1). The kitchen is incredibly cluttered and when Fiona grabs one of the kitchen drawer
handles for grip, it flies open with a loud clattering of cutlery, allowing a mass of plastic bags
to spring free (see figure 6). Fiona also slams the drawer shut on Steve’s hand to add to the
imperfection of the moment. However, neither of them are fazed by the distractions as
they, particularly Fiona, are represented to be in the height of pleasure. Johnson argues that
unlike SATC, female “pleasure is integral to the social-realistic environment represented in
Shameless rather than being achieved in spite of it” (2012 p, 3, italics in original). She argues
that sexual desires are removed from glamour and that the female characters are
represented as having ‘real’ enjoyment in their sexuality without being held back by their
environment (Johnson, 2012). Subscribing to this, Creeber claims that “rather than being
reduced to an anthropological ‘social problem’, Shameless allows its characters to implicitly
celebrate their own culture and society” (2009, p, 436). She argues that the characters are
represented to believe that “their life does not need political or social intervention and they
refuse to feel the ‘shame’ placed on them by the discourses of class” (2009, p, 435). For
example, although he never asks her to, Fiona constantly refuses to apologise for her social
class and upbringing to Steve who is from a middle class background (S1E1). Similarly, when
Tony asks her to move in with him, telling her she will never be in debt again and claiming ‘I
can change your life’ she replies with ‘I’ve got the life I want’ (S1E6). From this it could be
argued that rather than portraying Fiona’s class status as a position she longs to escape
from - a common representation of working-class life - she is represented as having a

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subjective perspective of her class that she is inherently comfortable with (Creeber, 2009;
Johnson, 2012).
It should be noted that previously popular ideas on women’s sexuality viewed women who
were aware of and expressive of their sexual desires as perverse and shameful, whereas
women who appeared innocent to their sexuality were thought to be pure and acceptable
(Crawford & Popp, 2003; Akass & McCabe, 2004; Gleeson & Frith, 2004; Skeggs, 2004;
McRobbie, 2007). These ideas introduce the final theme present in both texts which is the
absence of female sexual shame and punishment. Johnson claims that “traditionally,
televisual texts featuring strong, sexual, desiring women frequently culminate and conclude
in the punishment and demise of such characters” (2012, p, 16). However, both of the texts
subvert this, for example, in SATC, whilst walking down a busy New York street, Carrie drops
her bag and condoms fall out on the pavement. Despite their lack of formal introduction,
Carrie’s love interest, Mr Big, picks them up and hands them to her. Instead of being
represented as ashamed, Carrie smiles suggestively at him whilst thanking him (see figure
7). His reaction is that of intrigue as opposed to disgust at her sexual preparation, which
opposes McRobbie’s findings that women are vilified for using contraceptives as “such a
calculated, premeditated action totally contravenes the dominant code of romance” (2007,
p, 98). It is in this way that SATC “rejects the traditional patriarchal dichotomy of virgin and
whore” by exploring and insisting on female “rights to seek sexual satisfaction without
shame” (Arthurs, 2003, p, 93).
Equally, the women of Shameless take control in their performance of their sexualities
without shame and receive no punishment. For instance, Karen’s illicit sexual affair with
Frank results in consequences but only on Frank as his son Lip, Karen’s boyfriend, physically

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attacks him, however, Karen is never punished from an outside party (S1E5). Similarly, when
Fiona walks in on her best friend Veronica having sex, neither of the parties retreat in
repulsion or shame, nor does Veronica attempt to cover herself up in denial of the situation
(S1E2). It is in this way that the true desires of the female characters in Shameless are
represented to be “invested in sexual pleasure, sexual freedom and unashamed play”
(Johnson, 2012, p, 15).
In conclusion, from the analysis of both texts, it could be argued that there are some
problematic representations of female sexual desire which foreground exclusionary feminist
politics and conform to idealised expectations of women. For instance, in SATC female
sexual desire is represented through consumerism and exclusionary perceptions of
perfection in that all the characters are white, slim, attractive and affluent and therefore
present a highly glamourized and commodified depiction of female sexuality that conform
to ideas of female narcissism. Shameless contrasts these problematic representations as the
female subjects are depicted to enjoy their sexual freedoms without excessive dependence
on consumerism and perfection. The analysis also found problematic depictions of men
within the texts, particularly in SATC, as they either vilified and degraded them, or forced
male sexuality to conform to gendered norms. As well as this, women were represented
with masculinised female sexualities in both texts. The representations of both male and
female sexualities in the texts foreground ideas around traditional gender codes and create
the argument that to fully achieve female sexual agency, women’s sexualities need to be
masculinised and men need to face social and sexual vilification and denigration. Scholars
argue that many media representations of women still “operate to undermine, erase or de-
legitimize” female sexual agency by vilifying and punishing female characters who engage
with their sexuality (Gill, 2008, p, 37). However, in their absence of female condemnation, it

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could be argued that both Shameless and SATC are subversive to most other media texts
and bring “a new and exciting trend in positive female representation” to feminist debates
(Johnson, 2012, p, 16).
References
Akass, K. & McCabe, J. (2004) Reading Sex and the City, I.B. Tauris: London
Arthurs, J. (2003) ‘Sex and the City and Consumer Culture: Remediating Postfeminist Drama’,
Feminist Media Studies, 3 (1), pp.83-98
Attwood, F. (2007). Sluts and Riot Grrrls: Female Identity and Sexual Agency. Journal of Gender
Studies, 16(3), pp.233-247.
Backstrom, L., Armstrong, E. and Puentes, J. (2012). Women's Negotiation of Cunnilingus in College
Hookups and Relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 49(1), pp.1-12.
Bignell, J. (2004) Sex, Confession and Witness, in Akass, K. & McCabe, J. (eds) Reading Sex and the
City, I.B. Tauris: London, pp.161-176
Brasfield, R. (2006). Rereading: Sex and the City: Exposing the Hegemonic Feminist Narrative. Journal
of Popular Film and Television, 34(3), pp.130-139.
Crawford, M. and Popp, D. (2003). Sexual double standards: A review and methodological critique of
two decades of research. Journal of Sex Research, 40(1), pp.13-26.
Creeber, G. (2009). ‘The truth is out there! Not!’: Shameless and the moral structures of
contemporary social realism. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 7(4), pp.421-439
Game, A. and Pringle, R. (1979). Sexuality and the Suburban Dream. Journal of Sociology, 15(2), pp.4-
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Gerhard, J. (2005). Sex and the City. Feminist Media Studies, 5(1), pp.37-49.
Gill, R. (2008). Empowerment/Sexism: Figuring Female Sexual Agency in Contemporary Advertising.
Feminism & Psychology, 18(1), pp.35-60.
Gleeson, K. & Frith, H. (2004) ‘Pretty in Pink: Young Women Presenting Mature Sexual Identities’ in
Harris, A. (ed). All about the girl: Culture, Power and Identity. New York: Routledge, pp.103-114
Halberstam, J. (1998). Female masculinity. Durham: Duke University Press.
Johnson, B. (2012). Shameless: situating sex beyond the City. In Aston, J. Glynn, B. & Johnson, B.
(Eds.), Television, sex and society: analyzing contemporary representations. New York; London:
Continuum Press. pp. 3-16
McRobbie, A (2007) ‘Working class girls and the culture of femininity’, in Bland, L. (ed). Women take
issue: aspects of women's subordination.

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Nash, M. and Grant, R. (2015). Twenty-Something Girls v. Thirty-Something Sex And The City
Women. Feminist Media Studies, 15(6), pp.976-991.
Sex and the City, Episode 1, Sex and the City, (1998) HBO, 6 June
Shameless, Episode 1, ‘Meet The Gallaghers’ (2004) Channel 4, 13 Jan
Shameless, Episode 2, ‘We're Going to The Moon’ (2004) Channel 4, 20 Jan
Shameless, Episode 5, ‘Affairs’ (2004) Channel 4, 10 Feb
Shameless, Episode 6, ‘Monica Comes Home (Part 1 of 2)’ (2004) Channel 4, 17 Feb
Skeggs, B. (2004). Class, self, culture. London: Routledge.
Stillion Southard, B. (2008). Beyond the Backlash: Sex and the City and Three Feminist Struggles.
Communication Quarterly, 56(2), pp.149-167.

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Appendix
Figure 1
Figure 2

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Figure 3
Figure 4

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Figure 5
Figure 6

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Figure 7