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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Dissertations Department of Communication 5-11-2015 Representations of African American Women on Reality Television After the Great Recession Steven Herro Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_diss Recommended Citation Herro, Steven, "Representations of African American Women on Reality Television After the Great Recession." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2015. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_diss/55 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REPRESENTATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN ON REALITY TELEVISION AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION by STEVEN K. HERRO Under the Direction of Marian Meyers, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This project is animated by two related probLems. First, there are reLativeLy few studies of the ways that African American women are represented on reaLity teLevision. Second, the current Literature about representations of BLack women on reality television compLetely ignores the Great Recession as an important contextual factor. In this study, I pair the Constant Comparative Method of textuaL anaLysis with discourse analysis to answer the question: “How does reaLity teLevision represent African American women in terms of gender, race, and cLass in the context of the aftermath of the Great Recession?” I closeLy anaLyzed reaLity teLevision programs with the highest ratings in 2012: The Voice, American Idol, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta. To better understand how Black wom- en are represented on these shows, I contextualize my analysis in terms of intersectionality, post-racism, post-sexism, and neoLiberaLism. This anaLysis generated severaL resuLts and conclusions. On the most popular reaLity teLevision programs (aLL but The Real Housewives of Atlanta), African American women are uniquely subjected to the Logic of neoLiberalism by the hosts, judges, and coaches on the shows. Placing BLack women in the Logic of neoLiberalism puts them in a no-win situation and explains their fail- ure in the competition on the show, and by extension, their faiLure in society at Large. In addition, these programs employ contemporary “controlLing images” of Black women: the Black Lady, the Strong Black Woman, and the Black Bitch. With regard to The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the most popuLar reaLity teLevision show focusing excLusiveLy on BLack women, I found a sLightly more progressive representation of African American women. WhiLe the show did represent some of the women as Black Bitches, it aLso portrayed most of the women as strong and assertive. This program also contained positive images of Black women and Black Life. But, even given their reLativeLy progressive representations on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, these representations are used to make money for the capitaList cLass. INDEX WORDS: ReaLity teLevision, representation, African American women, Great Recession, neoLiberal- ism REPRESENTATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN ON REALITY TELEVISION AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION by STEVEN K. HERRO A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of PhiLosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2015 Copyright by Steven Kenneth Herro 2015 REPRESENTATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN ON REALITY TELEVISION AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION by STEVEN K. HERRO Committee Chair: Marian Meyers Committee: Ted Friedman Patricia Davis Cynthia WiLLett Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies ColLege of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2015 iv DEDICATION I dedicatethis work to my famiLy. To DoLores Kampe, Radiah Herro, and Joe Herro, my grandpar- ents, who are the three most beautifuL peopLe I have ever met. I wish they were here to see what I have done with my Life. To Carol and Ken Herro, my parents, who have unconditionaLly supported me, even when I didn’t deserve it. To Beth and Mark Herro, my siblings, with whom I have shared too many good times to recount. To Judy and Mary Ann Kampe, my aunts, who heLped craft some of my dearest chiLd- hood memories and who are important peopLe in my Life to this day. And to Carrie Herro and Abbey Burmood, my wife and daughter, who provide Laughter and Love in my Life every day. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS John T. Young and Gary Horn, my high school and coLLege debate coaches, saw something in me that I didn’t see in myseLf. Without them, I wouLd have never entered the worLd of academia. Tony Schroder and CLark OLson gave me vaLuabLe opportunities, to obtain an M.A. and to coach for a national- ly competitive debate team, that I probably did not deserve at the time. If I was at all qualified to enter a doctoral program, these four people are the reason. My good friend Mike Davis was the person who recommended the Ph.D. program at GSU, and that decision changed my life. While at GSU, I was fortunate to study with a group of great friends: PauL Mabrey, Josh Ritter, Kim Huff, TG PeLham, Mick Souders, Sam Perry, and KimberLy Stringer. Joe BeLLon quickLy became a good friend and source of support. The Department of Communication’s administra- tive staff was amazingly helpfuL, especiaLLy Tawanna Tookes, Lyshandra HoLmes, and MariLyn Stiggers. I was aLso priviLeged to work with some truLy erudite schoLars at GSU. James Darsey taught me everything I know about rhetorical criticism, including the difference between a scalpel and a meat cleaver. David Cheshier’s deep and vast knowledge of rhetorical theory, and his voracious reading habits, were inspira- tionaL. Both Darsey and Cheshier were incredibly supportive; they treated me Like a friend and a col- league. I cannot say enough about how instrumental they were in my time at GSU. Carol WinkLer has been incredibly generous with her time and support, especiaLLy when I entered the job market. When my second dissertation adviser Left GSU, I thought I might not be abLe to finish, but I had an incredibLe amount of Luck when Marian Meyers agreed to take me on. Marian is a generous and bril- liant person. I couLdn’t imagine a better adviser. Going through the work to produce this study was the singLe greatest Learning experience I have ever had, and I thank Marian for that. I am also indebted to my committee, who agreed to work with me on short notice. This project benefited greatLy from the advice of Ted Friedman, Patricia Davis, and Cindy WiLLette. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Problem ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Preview of the Chapters .............................................................................................. 3 1.3 Significance of the project ........................................................................................... 7 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Intersectionality ........................................................................................................ 10 2.2 Stereotypes of Black Women in the U.S. ................................................................... 14 2.2.1 The Mammy .............................................................................................................. 14 2.2.2 The Matriarch ........................................................................................................... 15 2.3 More modern images of African American women .................................................... 16 2.3.1 The weLfare mother .................................................................................................. 16 2.3.2 The JezebeL/Hoochie ................................................................................................. 17 2.3.3 The Sapphire ............................................................................................................. 17 2.3.4 The strong BLack woman ........................................................................................... 18 2.4 Updated Stereotypes of Black Women in the U.S. ..................................................... 19 2.4.1 Stereotypes of Working-class BLack Women ............................................................ 19 2.4.2 Stereotypes of MiddLe-class Black Women .............................................................. 20 2.5 Representations of Race and Gender on U.S. Television ............................................ 22 2.6 Studies of Gender/Race on U.S. Reality Television Programs ..................................... 26 2.7 Studies of Black Women on Pre-recession U.S. Reality Television Programs .............. 28 2.8 Studies of Post-recession U.S. Reality Television Programs ........................................ 32 vii 3 Theory and Context .............................................................................................. 34 3.1 Neoliberal hegemony in the U.S. ..............................................................................

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