Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” I FRONTIERSMEN
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Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” i FRONTIERSMEN ARE THE “REAL MEN” IN TRUMP’S AMERICA: HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY AT WORK ON U.S. CABLE’S VERSION OF BLUE-COLLAR REALITY by SHANNON EILEEN MARIE O’SULLIVAN B.A. SUNY College at Buffalo, 2009 M.A. SUNY at Buffalo, 2011 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Media Studies College of Media, Communication and Information 2017 Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” ii This thesis entitled: Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” in Trump’s America: Hegemonic Masculinity at Work on U.S. Cable’s Version of Blue-Collar Reality written by Shannon Eileen Marie O'Sullivan has been approved for the Department of Media Studies Dr. Polly McLean Dr. Deepti Misri Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. IACUC protocol # __________________ Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” iii Abstract Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” in Trump’s America: Hegemonic Masculinity at Work on U.S. Cable’s Version of Blue-Collar Reality Dissertation directed by Associate Professor Polly McLean The emergence and popularity of the so-called “blue-collar reality shows” on U.S. cable networks in the past decade provide a critical point of entry for understanding the intersecting relationships between race, gender, social class, and hegemonic constructions of individualism and “authenticity” in U.S. culture and electoral politics. These series center on white, male, heteronormative, working-class subjects whose shared structural location in a class-stratified society remains sublimated in favor of narrative frameworks that emphasize their perceived status as “real men.” These subjects are not configured as raced, gendered, and classed, but as “neutral” or “normal” in relation to these social categories. Theoretical perspectives from across the interdisciplinary terrains of critical race studies, gender studies, and media studies inform the analysis of the following series, which are some of the most popular and longest-running within this subgenre of reality television programming: Deadliest Catch, Ax Men, Ice Road Truckers, and Gold Rush. Through applying critical discourse analysis to selected episodes, I demonstrate through an intersectional framework how the interlocking systems of white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, settler-colonialism, and capitalism remain simultaneously obscured and ideologically justified via the hegemonic myth of rugged individualism and the related “frontier” ethos in U.S. culture. I posit that the stylized performances of white, working-class, heteronormative males, as depicted on these series, have been coopted by white male politicians and public figures from the upper classes both historically and at present to attain the symbolic capital such a performance Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” iv confers. I also incorporate a critical discourse analysis of randomly selected episodes of Duck Dynasty, which exemplifies how affluent, white men take up white, rural, working-class masculine performances to acquire the symbolic capital of masculine legitimacy. I maintain that there is a line of continuity between the proliferation of the blue-collar reality programs in recent years, which are more about validating white masculinity than workers, and the rise of Donald Trump. Lastly, I conduct a critical discourse analysis of self-directed comments from viewers on independent, online discussion forums about these programs. It is through these approaches that I unmask and historicize the systems of power embedded in these seemingly benign cultural productions. Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” v Acknowledgments This dissertation was made possible through my engagement with the dedicated and insightful scholars I have encountered during my time at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This interdisciplinary project came to fruition through the critical conversations I participated in within the Departments of Media Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Women and Gender Studies. Multiple faculty members and colleagues have helped shape the trajectory of my research, and I am incredibly grateful for the insights I have gained in these critical pedagogical spaces. Above all, I would like to sincerely thank my adviser, Dr. Polly McLean, for her enthusiasm and commitment to not only this project, but to my personal and professional growth in higher education. Dr. McLean’s mentorship and dedication have proven invaluable. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of my other committee members: Dr. Seema Sohi, Dr. Deepti Misri, Dr. Kelty Logan, and Dr. Michael Tracey. I have greatly appreciated and benefitted from your feedback and collaboration throughout this process. I must acknowledge the unwavering support I received from my husband, Matt Michaud, throughout our time here at CU and beyond. Matt, thank you for always believing in my abilities, and remaining by my side. I would like to recognize my parents, Gerald and Julia, and my brother, Paul, for always lending an ear and encouragement when I needed it most. I also received invaluable emotional support from countless other family members and friends. I would specifically like to acknowledge Stephanie Perry for her editorial feedback and reassurance, and Michele Lange for her helpful comments and humorous perspective. Lastly, I would like to thank my colleague and friend, Patrick Johnson, for his thoughtful commentary and professional advisement. Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” vi Table of Contents Introduction and Statement of the Problem ________________________________ 1 Research Questions and the Discussion Ahead _______________________________ 11 Theoretical Frames ______________________________________________________ 16 Literature Review _______________________________________________________ 37 Methods and Procedures _________________________________________________ 45 Chapter One: Hegemonic Masculinity at Work on Reality TV __________________ 55 Are “Real Men” Part of a Class? ___________________________________________61 Are the Blue-Collar Reality Stars Really Working-Class? _____________________ 68 Blue-Collar Reality TV: A Response to U.S. Hegemonic Masculinity in Crisis _____ 76 The Blue-Collar Reality World: Policing Masculinity in Homosocial Spaces ______ 89 White Women with Blue-Collars: Rules for Representation ____________________ 95 Conclusion ____________________________________________________________ 102 Chapter Two: “Real Men” Work in “Real America” __________________________ 105 “The Archetypical American Story” _______________________________________ 115 Turner and Teddy’s Tales of “Real Men” Taming the Wilderness ______________ 120 The Frontier: “Real Men” in “Real America” on “Real TV” __________________ 129 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 146 Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” vii Chapter Three: Audiences Reactions in Online Forums ________________________ 148 Audience Demographics, Ratings, and Mainstream Appeal: What We Know _____ 156 Audience Responses: Revealing Comments, Telling Silences ___________________ 164 Chapter Four: When Wealthy White Men Perform “Real Manhood” ____________ 180 Duck Dynasty: A Case Study in Hegemonic Masculine Performance ____________ 188 Duck Dynasty: A Redneck Drag Show _____________________________________ 196 Trump’s Performance: Not Far from the Frontier ___________________________ 204 Tough Talk: How “Real Men” Speak ______________________________________ 209 What Does It Mean to Play Redneck? _____________________________________ 214 Conclusion ____________________________________________________________ 221 Conclusion: Synopsis of Findings ___________________________________________ 224 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ____________________________ 230 References ______________________________________________________________ 232 Frontiersmen Are the “Real Men” 1 Introduction and Statement of the Problem The current president of the United States, Donald Trump, is a former reality television star. Any prior resistance to approaching reality television as a subject worthy of scholarly inquiry has likely faded away with his improbable rise as a political “outsider” to the highest elected office in the nation-state. As host of NBC’s The Apprentice, the billionaire real-estate mogul entered U.S. living rooms via the reality television format on a weekly basis beginning in 2004—charting an unlikely course toward political relevance in 2016. However, this dissertation is not about Donald Trump, as much as it is about the systems of power and the confluence of social, cultural, and political circumstances that contributed to his election in 2016. Rather than serve as a political liability, his reality television credentials became an unlikely asset. As Laurie Oullette cautions in a special issue of Television & New Media regarding Trump’s improbable ascendency, “Instead of dismissing reality TV as inherently trite, superficial, and trashy, we need to understand the social, economic, and political contexts that have shaped its cultural development and shifting contours. Only then can we really understand the ‘first reality TV president’” (2016, p. 649). At the beginning of the economic downturn in 2007-2008, approximately eight years before Trump kicked off his presidential