Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 "Femme Dysfunction Is Pure Gold": A Feminist Political Economic Analysis of Bravo's the Real Housewives Nicole B. Cox Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION “FEMME DYSFUNCTION IS PURE GOLD”:1 A FEMINIST POLITICAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BRAVO’S THE REAL HOUSEWIVES By NICOLE B. COX A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Nicole B. Cox defended this dissertation on February 28, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jennifer M. Proffitt Professor Directing Dissertation Leigh H. Edwards University Representative Donna M. Nudd Committee Member Stephen McDowell Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To my Mommy, with love. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation for my dissertating committee, Dr. Jennifer Proffitt, Dr. Leigh Edwards, Dr. Donna Nudd, and Dr. Stephen McDowell for their endless support throughout this process. You have all offered invaluable feedback and helpful suggestions, and without your knowledge and insight this would not have been possible. Thank you. I would especially like to thank Dr. Jennifer Proffitt, for not only helping me to become a better scholar, writer, teacher, and person, but for showing me what it means to be a true mentor and friend. You have been my home away from home and my “drive through Burger King” for years on end. Thank you for always making time for me, asking me the right questions, and providing me with the tools to find the answers. Thank you for encouraging those answers to be my own, and thank you for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself. You have meant more to me than words can say. This work would not have been possible without my family and friends, for their endless support and willingness to lend an ear for all things Housewives-related and beyond. To my PhD colleagues, thanks for helping me survive. To my sisters, Allison and Sarah, thank you for always being there for me in good times and bad. You mean the world to me. I would like to thank my Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Pat, and Uncle Ray for keeping me grounded and reminding me of the truly important things in life. I would like to thank my mother for being my rock, my inspiration, and my guiding light. You have made me who I am today. I’d also like to thank Kevin, for sacrificing your dreams so that I could follow mine. You have shown me what true selflessness is. I love you all. 1 The title phrase is credited to Stuart Levine (2010a), Variety, p. 11. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………………………………………………........... vi 1. MEET THE HOUSEWIVES………………………………………………..……… 1 1.1 Importance/ Purpose of study…………………………………………..… 5 1.2 Outline of chapter……………………………………………………...….. 10 2. EXAMINING THE REAL HOUSEWIVES THROUGH FEMINIST POLITICAL ECONOMY………………..………………………………..………………………….. 13 2.1 Background and emergence of feminist political economy……..………….…… 13 2.2 Feminist political economy of media……...…………….…………………...…. 19 2.3 Women workers and warriors: Applications of theory………...……….………. 22 2.4 Political economy of reality television………...……...…………….…………... 27 2.5 Reality TV debates...……………………..………………………….………….. 32 3. TAKING THE HOUSEWIVES THROUGH THE CIRCUIT…….……………….……. 40 3.1 Overcoming boundaries: Kellner’s circuit model…………...……….………..... 40 3.2 Utility of Kellner’s critical cultural circuit…….....………………….…….……. 44 3.3 From Saudia Arabia to New Zealand: Applications of the circuit..................…. 47 3.4 From the media market to message boards: Methodology….…..……….……... 54 4. FOR ALL THE SINGLE LADIES…AND TRENDY MOMS, AFFLUENT GAY MEN, AND “NEWBORN GROWN-UPS”: HOUSEWIVES IN THE MARKET…….. 62 4.1 Under the peacock’s feathers: Bravo’s corporate background………................. 62 4.2 An audience of “Affluencers”: Bravo’s viewer demographics……………...….. 65 4.3 Marketing to whom?: Women@NBCU................................................................ 70 4.4 Viewership and success of The Real Housewives………………...…………….. 75 4.5 Beyond the screen: Strategies, synergy and cross-promoting The Real Housewives……………………………………...……………………...……..... 86 4.6 What about the “real” ladies at home?: Chapter conclusions……………........... 99 v 5. THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME: GENDER, RACE, CLASS, AND SEXUALITY ON THE REAL HOUSEWIVES…….. 106 5.1 Gender: policing females and femininity……………….………………………. 107 5.2 Race: It’s a (mostly) White world………………..……………………………... 123 5.3 Class: Living the (capitalist class) American dream…………………..………... 134 5.4 Sexuality: Lying (straight) whores with gay (promiscuous) sidekicks……….… 147 5.5 Getting back to our patriarchal roots: Conclusion and discussion…………….. 158 6. “LAST NIGHT WAS A PAINFUL AND HORRIFYING, YET SATISFYING AND FASCINATING AT THE SAME TIME”: AUDIENCE RECEPTION ONLINE…...... 163 6.1 Bravo’s online environment………………………………………….…………. 164 6.2 Fan interaction online………….………………………………………………... 166 6.3 Fans’ discussion of text……………………...………………………………….. 169 6.3.1 Gender……………………………………………………………………. 169 6.3.2 Race………………………………………………………………………. 185 6.3.3 Class……………………………………………………………………… 196 6.3.4 Sexuality………...……………………………………………………….. 206 6.4 Additional Housewives aspects discussed……...……………………………….. 214 6.5 Participants in our own demise? Chapter conclusions………………………….. 217 7. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?.............................................................................. 222 7.1 Significance of study……………………………………………………………. 223 7.2 Review of production, text, and reception……………………………………… 227 7.3 Limitations of study…………………………………………………………….. 235 7.4 Future research……………...…………………………………………………... 238 APPENDIX A: Guiding questions………………………………………………………….. 241 APPENDIX B: Episode guide……………………………………………………………… 242 APPENDIX C: Cast member descriptions………………………………………………….. 251 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH……………………………………………………………….. 301 vi ABSTRACT As a programming powerhouse that has survived five years, more than 200 episodes, and seven series locations, Bravo’s The Real Housewives franchise has become a formidable force in cable TV. With viewers in the millions, spin-off shows, merchandise, and cast appearances that extend far beyond Bravo, the presence of the franchise and its “ladies who lunch” cannot be missed in the realm of popular culture. Because of its success and its cultural position as a female-oriented reality TV program, this study examines Bravo’s The Real Housewives franchise through the lens of feminist political economy. Exploring the franchise through Kellner’s (1995) critical cultural model, this study moves the franchise through the stages of production, text, and reception to understand not only how the franchise is guided by commercial motives, but also how the series upholds elements of capitalism and patriarchy that are problematic for its target audience: females. Through the circuit of production, text, and reception, this research uses critical, ideological textual analysis to unmask the motivations behind The Real Housewives production, the messages regarding gender, race, class, and sexuality found within programming, and the ways in which audiences are making sense of—and responding to—those messages themselves. Concluding that the franchise targets the female audience through intense marketing and interactivity, perpetuates stereotypical gender norms in programming via use of Bravo’s infamous “wink,” and is textually read by fans largely in line with programming intent, I argue that The Real Housewives franchise targets and exploits the female audience, selling them “images” of themselves that are deeply problematic and indicative of the contemporary epoch of postfeminist media culture. And while fans are responding to the series’ messages of gender, race, class, and sexuality in a variety of ways, analysis suggests that they are likewise perpetuating the problematic portrayals in their own online interaction. vii CHAPTER ONE MEET THE HOUSEWIVES “The women of Real Housewives are a lot like their mansions, impeccably maintained facades. But what the show does so well is point out the cracks. The viewer, in turn, is left to pinball between mixed feelings of revulsion, fascination, and yes, envy about what they're seeing. In its own tawdry way, Real Housewives raises existential questions about what the good life really entails.” –Andrew Wallenstein, Television Critic and Editor of The Hollywood Reporter, as cited in Bianculli, National Public Radio, 2006, para. 16. In March of 2006, the United States’ cable-viewing audience was introduced to a group of women who would— as it turned out—provide the foundation for a programming powerhouse within reality television. As the gates of Coto de Caza—one of southern California’s wealthiest communities (Chang, 2006)—swung open for an all- access pass to watch the “lives of the rich,” The Real Housewives of Orange County introduced Bravo viewers to a real-life mix of ABC’s Desperate Housewives and MTV’s Laguna Beach (Rogers, 2006). Following the lives of a group of women as they balanced martinis, shopping sprees, Botox injections, and luxury