Eastern Illinois University

From the SelectedWorks of Melissa R. Ames

2016

Chapter 3 - How Pop Culture Shapes - Excerpt.pdf Melissa R. Ames Sarah Burcon

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-NC-ND International License.

Available at: https://works.bepress.com/melissa_ames/19/ ©Melissa Ames and Sarah Burcon 2016 How Pop Culture Shapes All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written pern1ission. the Stages of a Woman's No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or In accordance with the provisions of the Life ; * Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency 1 Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N BTS. From Toddlers-in-Tiaras to Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication Cougars-on-the-Prowl may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors ot this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Melissa Ames First published 2016 by Eastern Illinois University, United States PALGRAVE MACMILLAN and Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an irnprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Sarah Burcon Hampshire RG21 6XS. University of Michigan, United States Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin's Press LLC, ·175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 Palgrave Macmitlan is the global acaden1fc imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Patgrave® and Macmillan® are registered tradernarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other co.untries. ISBN 978-1-137-56617-1 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ames, Melissa, 1978~ author. I Burcon, Sarah Hirnsel, 1965·- author Title: How pop culture shapes the stages of a woman's life : from toddlers-in-tiaras to cougars-on~the-prowt I Melissa Ames, Sarah Burcon. Description: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. I Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015035336 j lSSN 9781137566171 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Women in mass media. ! Mass media-·lnfluence. J Popular culture-United States. Classification: LCC P94.5.W652 U616 2016 ! DDC 302.23082-dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015035336

rypeset by MPS l irnlted, Chennai, India The Gendered Self-flelp Reel 59

sexual double standard that exists - one that is broadcast loud and clear on this show. 4 Bristowe and Viall both spoke out against the criticisrn 3 as well. The evening of the episode, Bristowe tweeted: 'Just rerneinber, The Gendered Self-Help Reel: when you judge me, you do not define me, you define yourself', and Viall posted numerous tweets drawing attention to the problematic How Romantic Comedies Instruct ways in which people, particularly won1en, are judged for their sexual activity. 5 Through a series of posts, Viall praised Bristowe for having Women on Dating Dos and Don'ts the courage to admit on national 'fV to having sex, 'knowing that she fwouldl be unfairly judged by some', and further arguing that 'sex is not sha1neful' and that 'botl1 men and women have an equal right to have sex without judgement '6 While some important conversations resulted frorr1 this sensationalized reality television episode, the initial social 1nedia response it provoked reveals how, even in the 21st century, On 22 June 2015, the Twitterverse erupted when ABC's latest 'bach­ expectations for single women on the dating market are entrenched in elorette1 had sex with one of her male suitors prior to the show's pre­ problematic sexual double standards that have remained unaltered for approved, pre-scripted tin1eline. Far from being a PG-rated reality TV decades. Consider, for example, this live tweet that aired during the epi­ progra1n, the long-running show is well known for broadcasting a slew sode: 'you can turn a housewife into a hoe. But you can't turn a hoe into of make-out sessions and an entire episode devoted to speculating on a housewife.17 As the negative twitter posts prove, n1any still believe that whether the bachelor or bachelorette will have sex with any or all of certain behaviors detennine whether a worr1an is good girlfriend or wife his or her final three contestants in the fantasy suite. Yet when an epi­ rnaterial, and at the top of the list reinains sexual activity. sode aired revealing that Kaitlyn Bristowe, the show's star, and repeat Thankfully, rr1ost women escape the public criticis111 recapped above contestant, Nick Viall, had slept together at the close of their one-on­ while going through the dating stage. But while they may not receive one date, Bristowe faced a wave of criticisn1 frorn fans through social personalized 1nessages informing thein of whether they are behaving in media. Over 70,000 tweets with the hashtag #TheBachelorette appeared socially appropriate ways that will help them to win the affections of in the 24 hours surrounding this episode and a vast inajority of the111 a Tnan, they are receiving such messages on a daily basis from count­ were negative posts consisting of judgmental quips and derogatory slurs less sources. Advertise1nents, 1nusic videos, television shows, and other focusing on Bristowe's sexual activity. 1 These tweeters, the majority of cultural products subtly (and not-so-subtly) school wornen as to what whorn were fernale, were quick to affix all the nonnal labels used to dis­ rnen are supposedly looking for in an ideal mate. The ones marketed cuss so-called female protniscuity. Among the tamer tweets were chastis­ specifically to worr1en are often the biggest offenders in tenns of draw­ ing posts like this one: 'Kaitlyn needs to learn how to keep it classy & ing upon classic gender stereotypes. Case in point: ron1antic comedies. not so trashy #TheBachelorette. 12 This genre has long been marketed to wornen, often depicting the rela~ Amid the caustic rerr1arks were also hundreds of tweets defending tionship happenings of middle-to-late 20-something females. Recently, Bristowe. For exa1nple, cornedian Amy Schun1er posted: 'Oh no some­ the desire to capture the teen and tween de1nographic has resulted one slept with a guy they're dating and considering inarrying! Showing in fihns featuring younger and younger stars, and, correspondingly, love for @kaitlynbristowe.'3 Tweets that challenged slut shaming began younger and younger audience 1ne1nbers. 8 Now these troubling 1how to to fill the feed, as did posts that specifically called out ABC's producers date' lessons are being consumed at earlier - and more formative - ages. for the ways in which the show was participating in and encouraging Although almost any subset of this genre could be analyzed to reveal such shaming. (For example, the network promoted this episode as rather overt messages about gendered dating etiquette, here we look 'Kaitlyn1s Sex Scandal.') The attention paid to this episode resulted in at ron1antic comedies that take this instructional role to new heights, so1ne productive social co1nmentary both on and off the twitter feed. becoming the equivalent of modern-day, visually rendered dating self­ Social media users and journalists alike drew attention to the continued help books. 58 60 flow Pop Culture Shapes the Stages of a Woman~5 Life The Gendered Self-Help Reel 61

The (new) self-help era 2009 amazon.con1 bestseller, The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year I Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, ! 14 That self-help has made its Hollywood debut is not surprising. The I and Generally Ifave More Fun. As one reviewer notes, this text is 'full of past two decades have seen an increase in the popularity of traditional data, but chun1mily narrated within the frarr1ework of a memoir. It bears self-help literature, leaving scholars to question why this contempo­ all the hallmarks of contemporary self-help, including its shyness about rary cultural n101nent has found American consumers so interested in the label [... ] But for all its n1odern pretensions, it focuses, like all the self-improvement, prescriptive how-to manuals, and the overall 'Do-It­ enduring best sellers, on a chronic and incurable American flaw: unhap·· Yourself' mindset. This explosion of standard self-help texts has resulted piness.'15 As the turn of the century certainly didn't bring about the cure in a 1nyriad of entertainment products (fictional books, television, and for unhappiness, the genre continued to prosper and diversify under the movies) that take on a self-help angle. Sornetirnes this trend is even unspoken promise that readers were just one paperback purchase away 1nore explicit. Some of the films discussed here actually stein fron1 tra­ from finally ridding themselves of this emotional epidemic for good. ditional self-help, making them a sort of quasi-self-help/entertairnnent In his book Reading as Therapy, Timothy Aubry discusses how the hybrid product. And what kind of 'help' do these filmic masterpieces therapeutic turn that ilnpacted the publishing market across the genre offer? Why flawless advice on how to land a man, of course! Like the divide affected fiction as well as traditional self-help. lie argues that in self-help arena they are bound to, these filn1s ultimately reinforce stere­ the 21st century, 'the therapeutic has beco1ne the defining structure of otypical, gendered behavior patterns. Concerns about how Hollywood thought and feeling in the United States, asserting individual happi­ films assist in the social construction of gender and gendered behavior ness as the fundarnental goal of life and prioritizing the private or the are not new. Nor are observations that many movies serve to further perso_naJ over the public or the social.n6 So perhaps we're not all just support heteronormative belief syste1ns. However, analyzing these narcissists after all. Maybe we're all just looking for a little inner heal­ fihns as part of a cultural n1ove toward the self-help 1nodel might help ing. But how exactly did we co1ne to know we were in need of healing explain how these texts function, why they continue to be popular1 and to begin with? Why the self-help books told us, of course. The genre's in what additional ways they 1night be considered problematic. label, 'self-help', is even partially to blame. After all, the term suggests While the massive popularity of self-help 1nay be rather new, the ter­ 'a self that can supposedly help itself, while implicitly catering to a self n1inology and genre are not. Self-help was first used as a legal terrn in that is in constant need of help1 a self that is in 1nany respects understood the context of personal development in Samuel Smile's 1859 book, Self­ to be helpless.'17 Help.9 Although he apparently coined the term, the genre predated him The recent self-help craze can be attributed to various cultural shifts: by at least a century. Steven Starker, author of Oracle at the Supennarket1 the increased secularization of society, the prevalence of rnodern credits Cotton Mather for launching the field with his 1710 publication, psychotherapy, and even shifts in economic stability. 18 Concerning Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good. 10 While Mather touted the importance the latter, so1ne researchers suggest that rniddle-class citizens, free of of doing good work for good work's sake (without expectations for hardships they may have experienced in past epochs, now have 1the social advancement), his contemporary, Benjamin Franklin, encour­ luxury to dwell obsessively on their psychological health -·· a fixation aged action that led to social mobility (a worthwhile goal that he felt that advertising campaigns have1 by associating their products with the could be attained by all). 11 The genre truly gained momentun1 when attainrnent of happiness, cleverly exploited', 19 Others argue that the the philosophy known as 'New Thought' arrived on the scene around trend correlates with shifts in both work and family structure. Micki the turn of the 20th century. Capitalizing on this moment were writers McGee, author of Sel(-Help, Inc.: Makeover Culture in Atnerican Life, for like Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People exarnple, notes that, since the 1970s, the growth in the self-help genre 12 (1936) 1 who wrote practical advice on achieving success. Carnegie's has paralleled the destabilization of the labor 1narket and of individual text is one of the earliest to bear the trademarks of the contemporary families. 20 McGee points toward the declining number of people who self-help book. For example, he relies heavily on personal anecdotes have a lifelong profession or a lifelong rnarriage, and muses: 'it is no to reinforce his advice. 13 The latest n1ove1nent to impact the genre is longer sufficient to be married or en1ployed; rather, it is in1perative 'Positive Psychology', prompting publications like Gretchen Rubin's that one remains rr1arriageable and eniployable.'21 Hence, the need for 62 How Pop Cu/lure Shapes the Stages of a Wo1nan '.5 Life The Gendered Self-llelp Reel 63 books that prescribe how one can accomplish this. While the trend than $9 billion - including infomercials, 1nail-order catalogs, holistic may be linked to the rise of certain personal struggles, many argue institutes, books, audio cassettes, n1otivational speaker serninars, the that the industry has only been able to thrive because of the lessening personal coaching 1narket, and weight-loss and stress-n1anage1nent of public shame concerning such struggles and the support needed to programs.29 In her 2012 article, 'The Paperback Quest for Joy: A1nerica's work through them. Consider, for example, the increasing acceptance Unique Love Affair with Self-Help Books', Laura Vanderkam noted that of anti-depression medication and 'the proliferation of twelve-step the self-help publishing industry had reached the $12 billion mark, recovery groups.'22 As a result, a burgeoning industry was born and with over 45,000 self-help texts in print. 'these days self-help is unembarrassed, out of the bedside drawer and up Not surprisingly, this onslaught of literature has been met with on the coffee table, wholly transformed from a disreputable publishing ample criticism. For example, Steve Salerno's SHAM: How the Self­ category to a category killer, having ren1ade most of nonfiction in its Help Movement Made America Helpless, investigates the 'Self-Help and own inspirational image along the way.'23 Actualization Movement' (which ironically forms the acronyn1 'sham'). While tl1e public acceptance of the genre n1ay be new, the senti­ A former lifestyle publisher, Salerno describes the industry as 'an enter­ ment that drives it is not. ln fact, some posit that the popularity of the prise wherein people holding the thinnest of credentials diagnose [... ] self-help genre within the United States represents a variation on the basically normal people [with] symptoms of inflated or invented mala­ age-old Protestant work ethic. 24 Folklorist Sandra K. Dolby, author of dies, so that they n1ay then imple1nent remedies that have never been Self-Help Books: Why Americans Keep Reading Them, connects this new shown to work.130 Salerno documents how the industry has infiltrated national trend to the not-so-new philosophy of the American Founding other arenas, such as the corporate world and the medical field, to 1 31 fathers (for exan1ple, the pursuit of happiness' encouraged by the detrimental effect. And1 as a cultural phenomenon, he argues it has American Enlightenment movement).25 brought about a proble1natic trend of uniting American citizens 'under And still others argue that the self-help industry is often a response to a comrnon banner of victimhood.'32 Other criticis1ns of the industry specific historical events and cultural climates. For example, the 1960s include that it 'distracts A1nericans from a fraying social safety net and fascination with Eastern spirituality pron1pted self-help that revolved disintegrating communities' and ultimately 'breeds people unwilling around Zen practices. 26 The wrenching social upheavals of the era were to sacrifice for the greater good.'33 While these critiques are important also reflected in self-help literature." So what cultural factors have made considering how tnany readers are engaging with these texts, it is like­ American consumers susceptible to this onslaught of personal growth wise important to extend them to the entertainment products that are books in the 21st cer1tury? Wl1ile many argun1ents could be made, one functioning in a more covert self-help role: cue the rornantic comedies. in particular comes to mind. As self-help texts provide consumers with an (arguably false) sense of control (over themselves and their surround­ Fr ings), their continued popularity1 in the United States, at least, n1ay 'e OP reflect the post-9/11 mon1ent where individuals are seeking out agency and a sense of security in a time period (and environment) that does not lend itself to either. er r, re To onler I o.cces_~--~-~".: e Self-help publishing trends: critiquing of- a a national obsession l'~~f'Je(),2"' \{\$< ~-?~~j'(ztVf c cc ,_ So just how big is this industry? Big. At the start of the 21st century, ;; _htti> 'lip" I &l '"vs ~'?l"L~i Ll22£l\,_)'l' ~ }I 3 ~1'.'Lk~L7 .1 :~ 'the self-irnprovement industry, inclusive of books, seminars1 audio and video products, and personal coaching, [was] said to constitute a tc n 28 2.48-billion dollars-a-year industry.' By 2006, a research firm estimated fc >f the self-in1provement market in the United States was worth more tl e