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Why It’s Important For Miranda to Explore Her Sexuality in And Just Like That…
Instagram / @justlikethatmax
**This article contains spoilers from episode three of And Just Like That…**
There have been murmurs about Miranda’s sexuality in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That… ever since the preview was released just over a month ago, showing Miranda in an intimate dinner scene with Che Diaz — played by non-binary, bisexual actor Sara Ramirez.
Miranda Hobbes has only ever been shown to date men, throughout all six seasons of Sex and the City and the two films. The only time her sexuality was addressed, was in episode three of season one, where Miranda’s boss assumes she is a lesbian because of her single status and the way she looks (a sentiment that did not age well) and sets her up with a woman. Miranda takes this woman, Syd, to her work dinner, they kiss, and Miranda realises she isn’t into it. “Yep, definitely straight,” she says, post-kiss.
In hindsight, this slight plot deviation seems more like an explanation to the audience. They’re telling us that Miranda is straight. Back in the late ’90s, single women like Miranda, with short haircuts, minimal interest in fashion and who were extremely career-driven, were often stereotyped to be gay.
However, the internet has always seemed to get behind the idea that Miranda Hobbes would follow a similar path to the actress that plays her — Cynthia Nixon — who openly came out as bisexual in 2012 and later, as queer.
As it stands, Miranda is still married to her husband Steve, with whom she has a son, Brady. But in one of the first episodes of And Just Like That… Miranda reveals that she and Steve haven’t had sex “for years”, in a conversation with Charlotte. She wonders if she and Steve are “more friends” than a couple and if this is just what happens in some marriages.
This perfectly sets Miranda up for some sexual self-discovery, if you ask me. I mean sure, it’s very reasonable to assume that in a long marriage, a couple goes through stages of not having sex or their sex life changes. It’s also common (and some would argue necessary) for a marriage to turn into more of a friendship as time goes on. But in my opinion, you’d still want to be sexually attracted to each other at least some of the time. Otherwise, where does all your sexual energy go? We know that sex drive can decrease as you get older, but sex and sexuality are always a part of you that needs to be expressed from time to time.
Then, in episode two of And Just Like That… Miranda meets Che Diaz — podcast host, comedian and Carrie’s new boss — at Big’s funeral and dare we say; sparks fly. It’s clear by the sheer time that is given to this flirtatious interaction, that something is going to happen between these two characters.
That brings us to now, episode three, where Carrie takes Charlotte and Miranda’s to Che’s comedy show. This is an iconic scene. One that will go down in history for non-binary and queer representation on television for sure.
Titled Check the Box, Che’s stand-up is all about gender individuality and the lack of representation in mainstream media. It’s about how society feels the need to label people and put them in a box, but that that box isn’t always right. Actually pretty damn often, it’s wrong. Che talks about coming out to their family, and we see Miranda totally transfixed. When Che says “it’s better to be confused than to be sure, because when you’re sure, then nothing can change…” we can literally see the clogs in Miranda’s brain turning. “Some of us have something she really needs to change,” Che goes on, “…so do it; change! You’re not happy with who you are? Step out of that box and change it! Change!” As Che gives the audience permission to change, Miranda nods her head, as if she’s realising something about herself. She has tears in her eyes. She’s realising that change is sometimes necessary and that it can be a really good thing. It’s a powerful moment.
When the show is over, Miranda tells the girls that she’s waiting for an Uber, but then goes to the after party. Keeping it from Carrie and Charlotte is telling within itself, as it shows that Miranda is in a period of exploration; she’s not ready to explain anything just yet. The party is an unfamiliar space for her, as it’s full of queer people. She nervously gushes to Che about their performance. Che tells her to breathe. She offers her some weed. Miranda kinda-but-not-really declines. Che asks if she can shotgun her (where you exhale smoke into someone else’s mouth). Miranda says okay. It’s a very intimate moment.
We can feel Miranda’s storyline echoing Cynthia Nixon’s life more and more, little by little… and we’re living for it.
Cynthia Nixon’s first marriage was to a man named Danny Mozes, between 1988–2003. They had two children together. In 2004, she began dating education activist Christine Marinoni. They got engaged in April 2009 and married in 2012. They have one child together.
Nixon came out as bisexual at first, and later, as queer. Of her sexuality she told Attitude magazine: “Falling in love with my wife was one of the great delights and surprises of my life, but it didn’t seem like I became a whole new person, or like some door had been unlocked,” she said. “It was like: ‘I have fallen in love with different people in my life and they’ve all been men before. Now this is a woman and she is amazing.'”
“I could call myself a lesbian, gay, bisexual. But none of them seems really particularly right. To say ‘queer’ means, ‘I’m over there, I don’t have to go into the nuances of my sexuality with you.'”
Could she be on a similar journey in And Just Like That…?
Even her political career IRL is starting to show similarities with her character’s move towards human rights. In And Just Like That… Miranda is embarking on a career change, ditching her commercial law job, to study for a master’s in human rights ‘become an advocate for women who need one.’
Similarly, in Nixon’s involvement in politics; running for New York Governor against Andrew Cuomo, was an act of activism, to shed light on issues such as political corruption, women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of people of colour.
What can we say? We love Cynthia Nixon just as much as we love Miranda Hobbes. And who better to play a woman discovering her queerness than a woman who has been through that exact journey?
It’s such an important story to explore. I get the feeling that if Sex and the City had been made during different times, Miranda would’ve been queer from the beginning. But now, with the opportunity to make this storyline happen and give queer communities at every age the representation that they deserve, it’s awesome to see that Michael Patrick King is taking that direction.
We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Miranda in And Just Like That. We have a feeling that this is only the beginning.
Keep up to date with episodes of And Just Like That… as they come out every Thursday Night at 7pm AEST on BINGE.
