I blame it on Sex and the City. After all, why else would a generation of smart, strong and successful women throw away the hard work of their foremothers for simple pleasures like shoes, sex and style?

With role models like Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, we’ve been taught not to worry about breaking that pesky old glass ceiling; all that really matters is whether or not we’re getting some — and, of course — who that someone is that we’re getting it from.

It’s not that I dislike SATC — it’s just as entertaining as the next show. The problem I have with the program stems from the damaging effect that the entire phenomenon had on female society. And yes, the show — which ran on HBO for six seasons and lives on in syndication thanks to TBS and the WB — was most definitely a phenomenon.

All of a sudden, SATC wasn’t just another television show; it was the Bible for the ‘new woman,’ and those four pseudo-feminists were leading the way to a super-chic salvation. Cosmos became the new “it” drink. Manolo Blahniks were the must-have shoe. Carrie’s wardrobe dictated fashion trends.

And sexual promiscuity for women was not only accepted, it was the norm. Don’t believe me? Ask Lindsay Lohan.

Sex and the City changed everything for me, because those girls would just sleep with so many people,” said the teen queen, describing how the television show influenced her love life — particularly her casual sexual relationships with men — in an interview this past August.

Granted, LiLo isn’t exactly the epitome of a savvy intellectual, but she’s certainly not the only person who failed to delineate between entertainment and reality. And just like that, goodbye glass ceiling, hello glass slipper. After all, what’s the point of having a great career if you don’t have a man to go home to at the end of the day?

Some would argue that SATC served to empower women — that the show propelled four role models who were representative of the ‘modern woman’ to the forefront of pop culture. Certainly it served to promote female sexuality, and in a society that blatantly holds a double standard for men and women in that particular area, this certainly can’t be a bad thing.

Or can it?

Why is it that in this day and age, women still feel the need to live up to a male standard instead of creating a newer — and frankly, better — standard of their own? How can we become empowered when all we seem to be doing is playing catch-up with the boys?

In the end, the SATC foursome didn’t empower women; those ladies merely glorified a lifestyle in which women played roles that ultimately always revolved around their male counterparts.

Sure it seemed groundbreaking on the surface, but beneath the fluff, the show’s female characters purported images that played into every possible stereotype.

Let’s take a look at these so-called ‘role models.’

Charlotte’s life focuses around finding the ‘right man’ — with wealth, good looks and social breeding, of course — having children and playing house. Over the course of the series, she sacrifices her career and her religion among other things, in pursuit of marriage and family. She’s really a wonderful example for young women, especially if you’re trying to show them that a woman’s place is in the home.

Then there’s Miranda, a high-powered Manhattan attorney who at one point hides her Harvard education and tells a man she’s a flight attendant so she can get laid.

Intelligent and independent, she goes as far as compromising her own values by the end of the series to marry and set up house in Brooklyn. Much thanks to Miranda for reinforcing the idea that sacrificing one’s identity for the sake of social conformity is not only accepted, but expected, for women.

And as for Samantha, well, she’s always there to remind us that in this man’s world, it’s simply not good enough to be a woman; you have to emulate male standards both personally and professionally in order to succeed. Because after all, why strive to change the system when you can just sleep your way around it? That’s the true path to female empowerment!

Now all we’re missing is a successful yet emotional and irrational woman who attempts to fill a self-inflicted “void” with shopping and dead-end relationships.

Wait, no, we have Carrie, the best example of why women should continue to pursue self-destructive relationships with commitment-phobes.

In the end, it didn’t matter that she ended up with a man who broke her heart countless times and doesn’t quite understand the meaning of “monogamy,” because he’s the one who made her “happy.” What a great lesson in female self-esteem.

The series may now be over, but the aftermath isn’t. Women continue to emulate this lifestyle and, thanks to reruns and HBO On-Demand, a new generation of women is growing up with these “role models” and being indoctrinated with these values.

So ladies, please do your gender — and yourselves — a favor; turn off the television and pick up a book! Might I suggest something by Simone de Beauvoir? Or if that’s too heavy, perhaps a bit of Jane Austen would do the trick.

Because after all, even though Elizabeth does end up with Mr. Darcy in the perfect storybook ending, she never sacrifices her identity for his love — now that’s a feminist role model.