Promiscuous girls: MIA

The economy's in shambles, the job market's a wreck and just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, the loose women disappear.

At least that's the assessment from this Esquire reporter, who laments the loss of the skank with a piece that begins, "Brilliant, funny, and powerful women are retreating from sex as never before..."

He notes how TV characters like Liz Lemon ("30 Rock") and Whitney Port ("The City") take up the strong woman role, but don't pair it with the sex obsession that dominated "Sex and the City."

What fueled the loose woman's extinction? Here's an excerpt:

But the post-post-feminist maelstrom that is Danica Patrick and the Real Housewives of Wherever and Secretary Clinton versus Beauty Queen Palin means that women can wield real power, but it comes at the cost of confusion — professional, social, and sexual. Sex has become a minefield just too tricky to navigate as they build a career or a family or a reality-TV-show franchise. They go elsewhere.

I planned to argue against this piece from a pop culture standpoint, but it seems like hardly any remaining shows that include That Woman -- you know, the loose friend who treats men like physical conquests.

Samantha Jones ("SATC"), as we all know, has retired from the small screen. And Nicollette Sheridan's Edie Britt has left "Desperate Housewives."

Are there any loose women left on TV? And if not, is there any impact for the real world?