Every Generation's Girlhood-Defining TV Series (& Why It Resonated)
Every Generations Womanhood Defining TV Series (& Why It Resonated)
Welcome to MsMojo, and today were taking a closer look at the TV shows centered on women in their 20s and 30s over the years and why these series became so defining for their generation. Whether they reflected the lives women were actually living, the ones they dreamed of, or just finally voiced the conversations theyd been waiting to hear.
Gen X: Sex and the City (1998-2004)
Is it any wonder that when two Sex and the City fans meet, one of the first questions is, Are you a Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, or Samantha? Thats how deeply the show resonated with audiences in the late 90s and early 00s. The fab foursomes lives felt tied to the cultural and social shifts happening for women at the time. With its roots in third-wave feminism, the series brought once-taboo topics into living roomssexual agency, delaying marriage for careers, and exploring female desire in ways that wouldve made older shows clutch their pearls.
But that boldness was exactly what women craved, and one way they showed it was a surge in sales of a certain Rabbit companion. The show mirrored a growing openness in society and pushed back on outdated expectations around how women were supposed to live. It wasnt the first show about single, successful womenbut it was the one that made it clear womanhood wasnt just about diamond rings. With New York as the fifth main character, Sex and the City invited viewers to join the inner circle, navigating love, heartbreak, and career moves as if they were the honorary sixth friend.
In many ways, the show was groundbreaking, talking frankly about pleasure, fertility, motherhood, illness, grief and more. It made female friendship a central force, suggesting that fulfillment could come from personal growth and connection rather than a wedding aisle ending. Still, for all its forward-thinking, the series had some major blind spots. From Samanthas feud with her trans sex worker neighbors to Carries bi-erasure and tone-deaf portrayals of queerness and race. It could be shockingly clumsy, especially for Gen X women of color or LGBTQIA+ viewers who saw themselves nowhere.
Thats where Girlfriends came in. It offered what Sex and the City couldnt: a richer, more inclusive portrait of Black womens lives, friendship, ambition, joy, love, loss, and hardships. Its just too bad it was cut so soon!
Millennials: Girls (2012-17)
While Lena Dunham made it clear that Girls wasnt meant to be a rehash of Sex and the City, even she couldnt deny its influence. In many ways, it became the millennial response. Where SATC served up a glossy, aspirational take on single life in Manhattancomplete with Manolos and CosmosGirls offered up the messy, unfiltered reality of being a twenty-something in the real world. This time around, the stories revolved around financial instability, dead-end jobs, awkward hookups, and a constant feeling of what am I even doing?
This new wave of feminism collided with the rise of social media, giving women a louder, more public platform. Conversations about intersectionality, body positivity, and the nuances of consent started entering the mainstream. And with the lingering impact of the 2008 financial crash, a lot of young women were navigating a world that felt way less stable than anything Sex and the City ever acknowledged.
Girls didnt pretend otherwise. It ditched the rose-tinted glasses and dropped its characters into unpaid internships, artistic ambition with no funding, and relationships that will make you want to delete the apps like immediately. It also explored female friendship in a more raw, sometimes painfully honest way, from the fallouts and fractures to the friendships that didnt always last. Sure, it got called out (rightly) for its lack of diversity and focus on a small, privileged demographic. But it still managed to spark conversations about the realities of being young, directionless, and trying to figure it all out in real time.
Like SATC before it, Girls could only take the narrative so far. It often missed the mark for anyone outside that bubble of white, educated, Brooklyn-dwelling creatives. But just as Girls wrapped up, The Bold Type stepped inand it felt like a breath of fresh air. These characters were still navigating work, relationships, and identity, but this time, the stories were broader and more inclusive. Finally, audiences who hadnt seen themselves reflected in shows like SATC or Girls could tune in and feel represented. It made space for new perspectives and voices that had been left out of the conversation for way too long.
Gen Z: The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021-25)
Of every generation, none have been more open or unapologetically vocal than Gen Z. Unlike millennials, who were blindsided by the 2008 financial crash, Gen Z came of age knowing the world was unpredictable. If they wanted something, theyd have to fight for it. And that attitude runs deep in The Sex Lives of College Girls.
This isnt just another campus comedy. Its a refreshingly honest, funny, and emotionally grounded portrait of young women trying to figure out who they are one day at a time. These are digital natives raised on constant connectivity, where no topic is off-limitsnot sex, not identity, not mental health. The show leans into all of it with nuance, humor, and heart. As Reneé Rapp (who played Leighton) said, Their sex lives are not their identities, but its an important part of who they are in a way that is accepted. Thats peak Gen Z thinking: sex-positive but self-aware.
The creators did their homework. They actually sourced real stories and tackled subjects that mattered to this generationconsent, racial identity, queerness, hookup culture, privilege, friendship fallouts, and navigating campus life as a woman in 2020s America. The result is a show that feels current without trying too hard. It reflects Gen Zs demand for authenticity, intersectionality, and characters who arent just diverse in casting but in how they think, talk, and grow.
It also never lets its characters be reduced to just one thing. Yes, theyre dating and experimenting and getting into troublebut theyre also students at a top college. The series makes space for ambition, academics, and messy personal growth, not just romantic entanglements.
At its core, The Sex Lives of College Girls is about forging your own path. Its about realizing that your chosen family may understand you better than your actual oneand that figuring out who you are is messy, non-linear, and deeply personal. Gen Z doesnt want to be told who to be, and this show stands proudly behind that. Its a shame it didnt run longerbut thankfully, Yellowjackets picked up that baton.
Baby Boomer: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77)
We dont think its too much of a stretch to say that without shows like That Girl or The Mary Tyler Moore Show, none of the series weve discussed so far would exist in quite the same way. These series didnt just walk so the others could run; they practically built the road.
Before becoming the iconic Mary Richards, Mary Tyler Moore was best known as Laura Petrie, the stylish stay-at-home wife on The Dick Van Dyke Show. But with second-wave feminism gaining momentum, audiences were ready for something more. Women wanted to see themselves outside of domestic spacesambitious, single, thrivingand The Mary Tyler Moore Show delivered.
It broke ground simply by centering on a single woman in her thirties who wasnt desperate to get married. Mary was focused on her career in the newsroom, dealing with workplace sexism, and the awkward mess of dating. She had close female friendships, lived independently, and was clearly fulfilledman or no man. It was revolutionary, not because she was shouting about feminism, but because she was quietly living it.
Behind the scenes, women were running the show, too. Moore, also an executive producer, made a point of hiring women in the writers room, casting, and beyond. This gave us a show that felt real to the women watching itbecause it was built by women who understood them. It tackled taboo topics for the time: contraception, sex, and equal pay, all wrapped in sharp writing and warm, relatable characters.
Sure, it was a product of its era, but it punched above its weight. It mirrored the changes happening in the world: Title IX, Roe v. Wade, and more women entering the workforce. Mary Richards didnt just represent those shifts; she was those shifts.
Later on The Golden Girls reminded us that feminism doesnt expire with age but its unlikely they would have been able to do that without Mary Richards leading the charge. Picture it: Minneapolis, 1970. Mary threw her hat in the air, and a generation of women realized they didnt have to fit into anyones mold. Television became about so much more than entertainment. It had started to reflect real change.
What was the defining womanhood series for you? Let us know in the comments
