A CUT ABOVE the REST: NEGOTIATING a FEMININE IDENTITY THROUGH COSMETIC SURGERY MAKEOVER PROGRAMS by LISA PECOT-HEBERT (Under
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A CUT ABOVE THE REST: NEGOTIATING A FEMININE IDENTITY THROUGH COSMETIC SURGERY MAKEOVER PROGRAMS by LISA PECOT-HEBERT (Under the Direction of CAROLINA ACOSTA-ALZURU) ABSTRACT This study examines the influence media texts have on the reception and consumption practices of female audiences. Specifically looking at how reality makeover programming plays a role in the way women identify with socially constructed beauty ideals and incorporate them into their own lives. Through a textual analysis of The Swan and Extreme Makeover and in-depth interviews with women who have and have not had plastic surgery, this dissertation examines the power of “transformation” and how makeover programs have contributed to the normalization of cosmetic surgery as a way to create a “feminine” appearance. In addition, this dissertation argues that makeover programs provide its participants with a fairy tale experience, complete with a happy ending, which equates to shapely legs, fuller breasts and thinner noses. INDEX WORDS: Reality television, makeover programs, beauty, body image, The Swan, Extreme Makeover, identity, representation, audience reception A CUT ABOVE THE REST: NEGOTIATING A FEMININE IDENTITY THROUGH COSMETIC SURGERY MAKEOVER PROGRAMS by LISA PECOT-HEBERT B.A., The University of California, Berkeley, 1991 M.A., American University, 1994 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2007 © 2007 Lisa Pecot-Hébert All Rights Reserved A CUT ABOVE THE REST: NEGOTIATING A FEMININE IDENTITY THROUGH COSMETIC SURGERY MAKEOVER PROGRAMS by LISA PECOT-HEBERT Major Professor: Dr. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru Committee: Dr. Janice Hume Dr. Peggy Kreshel Dr. Horace Newcomb Dr. Kecia Thomas Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2007 DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to the person who has been my inspiration since the day he entered this world on September 10, 1997. Joseph, thank you for sharing your mommy these past four years with books, papers and my lap top. You are old beyond your years and you always seem to understand when I say “mommy has so much work to do.” Love does not describe what I feel for you and without you by my side, I never would have made it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being who you are and for sacrificing certain things in order for me to follow my dream. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my entire family, especially my mom, dad, Wiley, nanny, grandma, Uncle Butch and Corey for your emotional and financial support during this arduous process. I wish my grammie, poppie, and grandpa were here to see this day, but I know they are watching me from heaven. To my major professor Carolina Acosta-Alzuru ( Dr. A) for all of your positive feedback and encouraging words, especially when I was feeling like I would never get through this. And Dr. Newcomb who was always willing to show me a book, give me advice and provide wonderful suggestions throughout this process. I would also like to thank my other committee members Peggy Kreshel, Janice Hume, Bonnie Dow and Kecia Thomas for their time and guidance. To Debbie Sickles, the woman who made my four years at Grady pure heaven. I could not have survived without you! To my classmates, thanks for your friendship and co-parenting time. Finally, to the Peabody staff, thank you for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime! v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................3 Cosmetic Surgery and the Commercialization of Beauty Culture...........................6 Background on The Swan and Extreme Makeover ...............................................12 Significance of the Study.....................................................................................15 Research Questions .............................................................................................17 Subjectivity Statement.........................................................................................18 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................20 Reality Television: What is it?.............................................................................20 Defining the “Genre”...........................................................................................21 Reality TV in the Post-Network Era ....................................................................23 “Reality” TV or Documentary? ...........................................................................27 Audience, Reception, and Reality TV Consumption ............................................32 Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Beauty and Body Image ...........................................35 The Makeover ...............................................................................................36 Negotiating Body (Dis)satisfaction ................................................................38 Mediated Influences on Body Image..............................................................40 Cosmetic Surgery and the “Ideal” Body.........................................................42 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK/METHODOLOGY.............................................46 Cultural Studies...................................................................................................47 vi Social Comparison Theory ..................................................................................50 Feminist Media Studies .......................................................................................52 Feminist Fairy Tale Studies .................................................................................54 Methodology.......................................................................................................57 Textual Analysis..................................................................................................58 In-Depth Interviews.............................................................................................60 4 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE SWAN AND EXTREME MAKEOVER.................64 The Televisual Fairytale ......................................................................................67 ‘Cinderella’ meets ‘The Ugly Duckling’........................................................68 The Narrator..................................................................................................72 Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.............................................................................77 Happily Ever After ........................................................................................80 Mediating Class within the Fairy Tale Narrative..................................................85 Beauty is More Than Skin Deep..........................................................................89 The Reveal ....................................................................................................93 Female Beauty Practices: Agents or Victims?......................................................94 Summary.............................................................................................................97 5 WOMEN’S RESPONSES TO THE SWAN, EXTREME MAKEOVER AND THEIR BODIES............................................................................................................ 100 Why and How Women Watch ........................................................................... 102 Transformations and “The Reveal”.............................................................. 102 Comparisons: Ordinary Women or Celebrities? ........................................... 107 The Normalization of Cosmetic Surgery............................................................ 111 vii Women, their Bodies and Plastic Surgery.......................................................... 116 Female Agency and the Body............................................................................ 119 Beauty and the Breast........................................................................................ 125 Summary........................................................................................................... 128 6 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 130 Revisiting the Text and the Audience ................................................................ 133 Future Directions and Limitations of Research .................................................. 139 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 144 APPENDICES........................................................................................................................ 161 A SHOW CHARACTERS ........................................................................................ 161 B INTERVIEW RESPONDENTS............................................................................. 166 C INTERVIEW GUIDE............................................................................................ 168 D PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM ...................................................................... 170 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION