Researcher: 'Sex and the City' helps women

COPENHAGEN , Denmark, July 17 (UPI) -- A Danish graduate student wrote in her doctoral thesis that women are attracted to "Sex and the City" because they see the characters as role models.

University of Copenhagen post-grad Mette Kramer said the attraction of the TV series, which ran from 1998-2004, and this summer's movie version of the show extends beyond mere entertainment and leads many women to use situations from the program as models for real life, the Copenhagen Post reported Thursday.

Kramer said that by living vicariously through the show's central characters -- Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha -- they can view how the women deal with the issues in their fictional lives and translate it to the real world.

"They can later try out the tactics as simulated versions of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha," Kramer said.