Reality Show Contestants As a Distinct Category of Research Respondents Who Challenge and Blur Rigid Divisions Between Audience and Text, and Audience and Producer
Focusing on Reality TV: Exploring Women’s Participation in Talent-based Competition Shows by Natasha Patterson M.A. (Women’s Studies), Simon Fraser University, 2004 B.A. (Hons.), Trent University, 2001 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Natasha Patterson 2013 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2013 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Natasha Patterson Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Women’s Studies) Title of Thesis: Focusing on Reality TV: Exploring Women’s Participation in Talent-based Competition Shows Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Lara Campbell Associate Professor Dr. Cindy Patton Senior Supervisor Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropolgy Dr. Helen Leung Supervisor Associate Professor Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Dr. Zoë Druick Supervisor Associate Professor School of Communication Dr. Brian Burtch Internal/External Examiner Professor School of Criminology Dr. Su Holmes External Examiner Reader, School of Film, Television and Media Studies University of East Anglia Date Defended: April 15, 2013 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement iv Abstract Reality TV has become a source of entertainment as well as scorn for North American audiences and critics. While American reality TV and their contestants have received much attention in media studies, very little has been written about Canadian reality show participants, despite the popularity of this type of programming in Canada.
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