Top Gear As a Bastion of Heterosexual Masculinity

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335692513 TOP GEAR AS A BASTION OF HETEROSEXUAL MASCULINITY Chapter · January 2003 CITATIONS READS 3 142 1 author: Angela Smith University of Sunderland 44 PUBLICATIONS 207 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Language and politics View project All content following this page was uploaded by Angela Smith on 09 September 2019. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. TOP GEAR AS A BASTION OF HETEROSEXUAL MASCULINITY ANGELA SMITH This chapter explores the construction of heterosexual masculinities in the BBC TV programme, Top Gear. In general, there has been little detailed analysis of broadcast masculinities, although much work has recently been carried out on the construction of the ‘new lad’ in lifestyle magazines. In particular, Bethan Benwell’s work (2003, 2004, 2006) has explored how the new lad is constructed in men’s lifestyle magazines in Britain, and her work will form the basis for this discussion of broadcast masculinities. Set against a social background of shifting masculinities in the wake of the rise of second-wave feminism, the new lad is described as a reaction against the ‘new man’ of the 1990s. Whilst the new man was characterised by an acceptance of feminism and responsibility in terms of commitment to long-term relationships, the new lad rebels against such responsibilities and is typified by a nostalgic retreat into adolescence. The importance of irony and banter within the construction of the new lad will be explored in a detailed study of Top Gear. The allied humour of the show will be discussed in relation to Benwell’s (2003) observation that the new lad oscillates between heroic and anti-heroic stances. ‘Traditional’ masculinity is what the new lad aspires to: anti-heroism is what he inevitably relapses into when this ambition either fails or is deemed too narcissistic or insufficiently ironic. This chapter will show how the programme’s three co-presenters collaborate with guests and studio audience to construct a form of new lad masculinity that meets broadcasting constraints whilst courting controversy through the extensive use of irony and banter. Here, I apply Benwell’s model to the television show, looking at similarities in the current format of Top Gear and ‘lads’ mags’ such as Loaded and FHM in a discussion of how laddishness is articulated by the middle-aged presenters of Top Gear. Top Gear has been broadcast on UK terrestrial television since 1977 against a background of shifting masculinities in the wake of the rise of second-wave feminism. As Whannel has observed, over this period 84 Top Gear as a Bastion of Heterosexual Masculinity ‘forms of sexual discrimination, sexist imagery, and macho behaviour have become more commonly contested, where they had formerly been taken for granted.’ (2000: 291) The media’s role in supporting masculine power, as Talbot (1998) has suggested, remains important and whilst outwardly, the show seeks to attract a viewing audience that is heterogeneous in terms of class, age and gender (the web site for tickets to see the show specifically requests groups be split 50/50 in terms of gender), I hope to show this split operates within a discussion format which ensures that Top Gear remains a bastion of heterosexual masculinity. As Bonner (2003) has pointed out, the popularity of motoring shows internationally cannot be explained simply in terms of their utility to help viewers choose a vehicle. After all, ‘a car is a major purchase, and for the overwhelming majority of viewers, one they make no more than every five years’ (2003: 101). As she continues: Whether the viewer watches for some kind of fantasy investment or for the acquisition of knowledge about the product which can then be socially traded like sports statistics, the viewing does not lead in any direct way to a decision to consume (ibid). In this chapter, therefore, I argue that Top Gear is much less about purchasing cars than about a form of entertainment where viewers engage in the ‘fantasy investment’ which Bonner has identified as being part of such viewing practices. The ‘new lad’ It is perhaps useful to begin this discussion with a description of the contours of the figure of the ‘new lad’. In her work, Benwell (2003: 14) argues that the notion that masculinity is currently in ‘crisis’ is a popular one. As well as the gains secured by second-wave feminism, it is also argued that recent shifts in patterns of production and employment have disrupted traditional gender formations and led to changing gender roles which have bolstered the social position and security of women at men’s expense. The changes in society and the increasing prominence of feminist issues has, allegedly, led to the view that masculinity is now in crisis as the old stabilities of the past have become eroded. The much-lauded ‘new man’ of the 1990s was perceived to be sympathetic to feminism: he was usually in a stable relationship, had a well-groomed appearance which matched his responsible job and middle-class lifestyle. In contrast, the ‘new lad’ is resolutely single and more casually dressed for a life which focuses on the pub and socialising with his mates, engaged in an (albeit Angela Smith 85 idealised) form of working-class lifestyle. Connell’s description of ‘protest masculinity’ (1995:110) has many links with the identity of the ‘new lad’ in its rejection of authority, engagement with minor criminality, short-lived liaisons and an interest in motorbikes or cars. The superficiality of the post-modern male as described by Whannel (2000) is also apparent in Connell’s argument that protest masculinity is characterised as ‘something frenzied and showy’ (ibid). This commitment to a rejection of authority is something we will return to in a more detailed discussion of Top Gear later in the chapter. Several critics such as Whelehan (2000), Nixon (1996) and Benwell (2003) have commented on how adolescent tendencies are an essential feature of new laddism. Rutherford argues that ‘male redundancy has created cultures of prolonged adolescence’ (1997:7). In their study of men’s lifestyle magazines, Jackson et al. (2001) also found the same emphasis on excess, football, cars, drinking and music demonstrated in many other publications aimed at the new lad reader. For men’s lifestyle magazines, the implications of the ‘crisis’ account of masculinity resonate in the widely observed regressive and adolescent tendencies acted out by new lad magazines in which there is an evocative retreat to childish forms of behaviour. Such behaviour includes puerile humour, scatological obsessions, an absence of references to work or social responsibility and a kind of rebellious posturing against ‘adult’ authority or even feminism. Hero vs. anti-hero Benwell (2003) has argued that men’s lifestyle magazines are a particular site of tension or ambiguity between the heroic and the anti-heroic male. Firstly, a traditional, heroic masculinity can be characterised as featuring attributes such as physicality, violence, autonomy and silence which are celebrated (often through a profiled celebrity or iconic hero). Secondly, there is an anti-heroic masculinity which is ironic, humorous and self- deprecating which is intended to appeal to the imagined reader. Benwell argues that the textual identity of the new lad is actually situated in this oscillation between the two identities rather than being allied to one or the other. In this way, masculinity can be regarded as being Janus-faced1 where anti-heroism is an essential component of the masculine subject position, since it is the source of the self-deprecatory humour vital to new laddism. New lad magazines such as Loaded have retained a soft spot for traditional masculinity and its icons, and regularly pay tribute to celebrities such as footballers, boxers, actors as well as individuals associated with 86 Top Gear as a Bastion of Heterosexual Masculinity dangerous professions and pursuits, an interest shared with the guests on Top Gear. The interviews with such celebrities are rarely challenging or critical but more likely to engage in a glorification of traditional masculinity. On the rare occasions when women feature in articles2, there is usually a celebration of the ‘traditional’ aspects of their femininity or, conversely, their ladette behaviours which resonate well with those of the new lad. In contrast, anti-heroism is associated with ordinariness, weakness and self-reflexivity and, as Benwell argues, is seen as a phenomenon which is particularly associated with a British sensibility, perhaps reflecting years of disappointment in following the national football team. The anti-hero is the guy who meets his mates in the pub to watch a football match rather than actually play football. He will drink excessively and wake up in a gutter somewhere, but will have turned this into an amusing anecdote to recount to his friends later. This use of humour is something we will return to shortly, as it is central to the construction of the new lad and, more specifically, to the gendered performances of the presenters of Top Gear. The show’s producer, Andy Wilman (2007) claims that the position of the show in the television schedule is also a major factor in its audience appeal: ‘Because our show is about “cocking about” and escapism, we’re a release valve that says you can extend the weekend by an hour.’ This ‘escapism and cocking about’ is central to the construction of the new lad. Top Gear Many features of new laddism described above as part of magazine culture can also be found in Top Gear. Since the show returned to terrestrial television in 2002 in its new 8pm Sunday slot (the BBC had ‘rested’ it following a ratings dive after its principal presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, left in 1999), it has attracted huge audiences.

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