Politics and the Single Woman: The "Sex and the City Voter" in Campaign 2004

Abstract

The "Sex and the City Voter" construct as it was deployed in political journalism and popular culture during the 2004 campaign is problematic. Although it seemingly promoted young women's political agency, the potency of the image came from its characterization of young women voters as a homogenous group of white, middle- to upper-class professionals, as consumers rather than citizens, and as sexually appealing and available. The construct's assimilation into popular culture and political journalism mirrored earlier attempts by the media to characterize feminism in the late 1990s, where emphasis was placed on young women as so-called "third wave" feminists. The 2004 campaign offers an important case study of third-wave feminist logic as it was appropriated and infused in campaign discourse and political journalism.