Move over, Sweet 16 \u2014 New York women have crowned a new birthday worth popping bottles for.<\/p>\n
Fed up with the societal (and self-imposed) pressure to have life figured out by their early 30s, women in NYC and beyond are celebrating turning 32 in a big way \u2014 not because it\u2019s a traditional milestone, but because it\u2019s a cultural one.<\/p>\n
The reason? Carrie Bradshaw.<\/p>\n
When \u201cSex and the City\u201d debuted in 1998, viewers met its heroine at 32 \u2014 single, successful but very much a work in progress.<\/p>\n
Watching Carrie make a few \u2014 or several \u2014 not-so-smart decisions and continuously question herself, but still thrive over six seasons, permitted women to believe that life at 32 doesn\u2019t need a tidy bow.<\/p>\n
Nearly three decades later, that message is fueling a wave of SATC-inspired \u201cCarrie parties \u2014 complete with SATC-themed costumes, cosmos and cigarettes (as props) to celebrate being fabulously unfinished.<\/p>\n
Carolyn Rynne (above) missed her Carrie Bradshaw\u2013style 32nd birthday bash thanks to COVID. Instead, she went full sex columnist for her Hamptons bachelorette party ahead of her wedding. Courtesy Carolyn Rynne<\/p>\n
Michelle Costanza, 30, a PR executive from Larchmont, NY and a self-proclaimed SATC \u201csuperfan,\u201d is already planning her 32nd birthday bash \u00e0 la \u201cSex and the City\u201d \u2014 complete with bottomless cocktails and her closest girlfriends.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarrie Bradshaw turning 32 at the start of \u2018SATC\u2019 is the inspiration for my own upcoming birthday because at this certain age, there is pressure to have a lot \u2014 if not most things \u2014 figured out,\u201d she told The Post.<\/p>\n
Rather than having a doomsday attitude about getting older in her 30s, Costanza wants her 32nd year to be explorative, unapologetically authentic and maybe even a little messy along the way \u2014 if only for the plot.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the age \u201cwhere you\u2019ve lived enough to know yourself, but you\u2019re still curious and open,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Carrie Bradshaw is the poster child of living fabulously at 32 while also not having everything figured out. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about having everything figured out; it\u2019s about having better taste, stronger boundaries, and a clearer sense of what actually matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
She calls it \u201cchoosing myself\u201d and, in classic Samantha Jones fashion, adds: \u201cI will not be judged by you or society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Costanza is just one of many women leaning into the idea that 32 is just the beginning.<\/p>\n
From SATC costume-themed soirees to dinner parties with never-ending cosmos, 32 is quietly becoming the birthday women are reclaiming as the moment to celebrate growth without the pressure of perfection.<\/p>\n
Social media videos of this type of celebration come with captions like<\/a>, \u201cThis is just a little reminder that Carrie Bradshaw was 32 in the first season of \u2018Sex and the City.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Women are finally realizing that life doesn\u2019t need to be figured out by their early 30s. TikTok\/@cvazzana<\/p>\n Others flaunt giant 32-shaped balloons<\/a> with messages like, \u201cReminder to 1994 babies: Carrie Bradshaw was only 32 in Season 1 of SATC. We still have so many seasons to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Jasmonae Joyriel<\/a>, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Ignite Anew, supports this trend, viewing the early 30s as a major glow-up moment.<\/p>\n \u201cLess self-doubt, more \u2018this is me\u2019 energy,\u201d she told The Post. \u201cWomen start ditching the \u2018shoulds\u2019 and figuring out what they really want in careers, friendships, and love.\u201d<\/p>\n The belief that \u201cthere are still so many seasons to come\u201d for women in their 30s is making them feel more empowered and encouraged than ever before, thanks to SATC. TikTok\/@kaylacboyd<\/p>\n \u201cSATC normalized women in their thirties having sex for their own pleasure, experiencing relationships as dynamically as men, and holding identities beyond the desire to procreate and manage a household.\u201d<\/p>\n And the ultimate takeaway?<\/p>\n \u201cIn SATC you see all the ways you can be a woman and know that all are good and none are wrong,\u201d Joyriel said.<\/p>\n Mental health counselor and adjunct professor Keisha Saunders Waldron<\/a>, LCMHCS, says Carrie\u2019s 32nd year hits differently for women of the same age because the beloved character \u201cwas honest about being a mess and showed women something they weren\u2019t seeing much of at the time: someone who was figuring it out as she went.\u201d<\/p>\n Rynne (L) posing with her friend (R), said that Carrie Bradshaw has long been the go-to muse for milestone celebrations, NYC trips and over-the-top girls\u2019 weekends. Courtesy Carolyn Rynne<\/p>\n After all, Ms. Bradshaw had a killer job, epic friends, and NYC glam \u2014 while also being broke, dating disastrous men, and figuring out life along the way.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWomen who watched the show in their teens and twenties internalized that 32 could be glamorous and chaotic at the same time,\u201d Waldron told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cCelebrating 32 is a form of resistance. Women are rejecting the idea that they\u2019re \u2018behind\u2019 if they haven\u2019t checked off traditional boxes by a certain age,\u201d Waldron said.<\/p>\n Carrie Bradshaw\u2019s messy missteps and self-doubt, paired with 6 seasons of survival (and stilettos), permitted women to believe 32 didn\u2019t have to be perfect to be powerful. Rynne\u2019s party decor (above) in honor of this. Courtesy Carolyn Rynne<\/p>\n