Will The Real Andie Anderson Please Stand Up?

You can't lose a fake job you never had.

“Wow, you’re just like Andie Anderson in that movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days!”

“Is your career inspo Carrie Bradshaw?”

These are things I heard throughout my time in magazines and digital media, thanks to the path I carved covering sex, dating, and relationships for over 10 years. The similarities were definitely there: I was single and living in New York, I had blonde, naturally curly hair, and I wrote about my own dating experiences as well as the stories of others. I gave romantic advice when I could and interviewed experts when I couldn’t. I kissed a guy on the “Kiss Cam” at Madison Square Garden in the middle of a New York Knicks game, and that guy later became my husband (which I assume is what Benjamin Barry was gunning for in the end).

However, I had to be in the mood to hear one of these comparisons. On good days, I took it as a compliment. Why, yes, I actually am the real version of Andie, who works at Cosmopolitan, not the fake Composure, and I earned this job and am pretty damn good at it!

On other days, I took it as reductive. How unbelievably lame would it be to model my career after a fictitious SATC character? I’m a journalist with a psychology minor who reports on ever-evolving modern relationships. I’m out here deciphering the latest scientific studies and pioneering coverage on women’s sexual & reproductive rights, while Carrie is all “I couldn’t help but wonder” whining. Please.