While other characters on “Sex and the City” were working glamorous jobs between dates, Miranda Hobbes was grinding away as a corporate lawyer. ꦏThey wore Manolo Blahniks, she wore sneakers and pantsuits. Their stories ended with romance and sex, hers ended with taking on responsibility for her aging mother in law.
Until recently, not wanting to be seen as the Miranda of y𝄹our friend group was a phenomenon so universal that satirical website Clickhole ran a piece in 2016 called
But now, in the #MeToo age of 2018, Miranda has emerged as the most admirable character on the show. And that could be very handy for Cynthia Nixon, the actress who played the character, as she runs for governor of New York.
Had Nixon played any other charact♛er on “Sex and the City,” her campaign to oppose Gov. Cuomo in the Democratic primary would be dead in the water. Samantha was so shallow she once quipped, “I don’t believe in the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. ⛄I just believe in parties.”
Carrie wasn’t eveไn registered to vote. Charlotte claimed to be interested in politics only bec🎉ause, “It’s a really great way to meet men.”
God. We should all be Mirandas.
It’s not that crazy to think a TV show could impact real life. Other Hollywood actors of the past have leveraged a reputation for playing strong, serious roles into a political caree𒁏r.
“I don’t know anyone in politics who played dark roles,” Democratic strategist George Artz told The Post. “Ronald Reagan was a cowboy, [Arnold] Schwarzenegger was a good guy who killed robotic villains.” And “Miranda was funny, a Harvard lawyer and a re🐓al professional.”
Already, the public is believing the “Cynthia is Miranda” narrative. On Instagram, through the accoཧunt @everyoutfitonsatc. Fifteen percent of the proceeds will ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚgo toward Nixon’s campaign. The shirt must be popular. According to the site, it’s already on back order.
Meanwhile, Bess Kalb, a writer for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” who came of age durin𒆙g “Sex and the City,” : “🍷As a proud Miranda, I endorse Cynthia Nixon for governor of New York.”
Nixon, meanwhile, has already proved she has small-donor support — in the first 24 hours of her campaign, she pulled in 2,214 donors giving less than $200 compared with a total ofꦑ 1,369 who’ve🦹 given to Cuomo since the start of 2011.
The take-no-nonsense༺ badass Miranda is the right symbol at the right time
Why the sudden enthusiasm for an actress who most famously played a joyless conservative next to her sexier, more enviable best friꦺends?
Because the ta༺ke-no-nonsense badass Miranda is the right symbol at the right time — especially for young women.
According to a 2016 Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, a whopping 63 percent of millennials identify as feminists, while only 51 percent of Gen-Xers did the same. And, since Donald Trump was elected, women increasingly want to see female candidates running for office or are becoming politically active th🍸emselves.
Between 2017 and 20꧙18, 26,000 women indicated their interest in running for office to Emily’s List, a group that helps elect pro-choice Democratic female candidates, compared with just 900 between 2015 and 2016, according to Time magazine.
It may seem silly to vote for a real-life candidate entirely on the basis of a fictional character, especially as people have grown less enchanted with celebrities in politics. President Trump and Al 𝕴Franken both seemed better liked as entertainers than as politicians. Even George Clooney has chimed in that celebrities shouldn’t run for president.
Having said that, every actor gives a part of themselves to a role. As she campaigned over the last couple days, hitting Gov. Cuomo🍬 on subway delays and using former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s “unqualified lesbian” slight to her advantage, it’s clear that Nixon is as unflappable and witty under pressure as M𒊎iranda. And though she has zero actual political experience, Cynthia — like Miranda — is committed to the causes close to her heart, including public schools, marriage equality and Planned Parenthood, all of which she has campaigned for for years.
She’s her own person, not Miranda Hobbes. And she should be judged on her own merits. But, so far, the new s🦂eason of “Cuomo vs. Nixon” feels as relevant as an episode of “Sex and the City” back in the late ’90s — and I can’t wait till next week.