Sex and Not the City? The Aspirations of the Thirty-something Working Woman

摘要

In addressing the 'sex and the city' theme, this paper begins by suggesting that British women's lives have altered substantially since the late 1960s, given their rapidly increasing uptake of paid employment ('the city') and several important changes in their personal lives ('sex'). Moreover, 'the city' in its more literal sense of urban expanse is growing in world-wide importance. Other factors such as changing cultural representations of female urbanite professionals also point to it being an interesting juncture at which to explore this group's experiences. The paper therefore analyses female respondents' accounts of their relationships, their careers and their lives in London. It seeks to contribute to debates concerning urban (dis)content, liberal feminism and life-stages by connecting these stories to the relevant literatures.