The “Real” Woman: Ideas on Exploitation

In my previous post, I attempted to support my claim that elevating masculinity in gay men is fundamentally sexist and homophobic. By lambasting whatever is not masculine in men, one is verbalizing sexist ideas. Emmy-nominated shows such as Survivior, or any reality show of that matter, will never be capable of portraying gender and sexuality in a completely fair and accurate manner. However, viewing media content with a critical eye and crying fowl at the more blatant sexist/homophobic representations will help steer the movement for better depictions. Last week, I expressed my disagreement with the idea of criticizing different gender representations in the male gender. This week, I was compelled to find posts that dealt with media representations of femininity in heterosexual women. Despite the paucity of educated and academic writing on reality television, I managed to scrounge up two brief posts on the careers of the post-show careers of two reality television personalities. My first response is to a blog post on Hip Hop Crunch covering Tiffany Pollard’s decision to act in a production of “The Vagina Monologues.” My second response is to a brief article on the TV Guide website on an American Idol contestant’s decision to decline an offer to pose for Playboy Magazine. Both fit in with my theme of analyzing gender in reality television and can be found below and at the respective sites.

Tiffany Pollard ‘New York’ ‘Vagina Monologues’ Performance
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I am glad to read that Tiffany Pollard (right) will be acting in The Vagina Monologues, a play that is about female empowerment. Ms. Pollard, or “New York” as her nickname goes, has made a name for herself though the bevy shows she has starred in on the VH1 cable channel. Although she started out as a plaything Flavor Flav on the dating show Flavor of Love, she managed to portray herself as an unruly woman on all five reality shows she starred in. By enabling her disruptive power, she managed to highlight how people are constructed into gendered subjects. In her shows I Love New York and I Love New York 2, both in which a group of men compete against each other for Pollard’s heart, she triggered an unease about her that the men were very much aware of. By carrying this air of unease and being at ease with this, Pollard expressed a sort of indifference to objectifying gaze of the men and the audience. This indifference can be translated into power, one that breaks the social norm of women being the objects of mens’ satisfactions. She expanded the repertoire of how women can act, giving power to female watchers at home. In being the unruly woman on her show, Pollard is defying what it means to be the “perfect” woman, and shattering the idea of a “perfect” woman altogether.

Pollard’s role in “The Vagina Monologues” fits in perfectly with the work she has done in her reality shows. I think it is emblematic of her belief in female empowerment. As she said, the show is a “celebration for women and we need to be liberated every day.” She has done a good job so far with ensuring that she portrays a woman who is liberated and strong. Acting in the show just seems like a natural progression. However, despite all that she has done, I cannot speak for her acting skills. Judging from what I saw on New York Goes To Hollywood, she might not have the chops.

Will Idol's "Bikini Girl" Bare Even More for Playboy?
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“Bikini Girl,” otherwise known as Katrina Darrell (left), embarrassed herself the minute she stepped in front of the judges, and the camera, to audition for American Idol. She decided, whether it was in her best judgment or not, it would be best to wear nothing but a bikini in an attempt to advance on the show. Unfortunately, the tactic worked. Simon Fuller and Randy Jackson immediately took a liking to her and gave her the pass to go to Hollywood. The story was different, however, with the female judges. Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi took issue with the fact that Darrell was in a bikini and feigned a catfight with the contestant. While maybe the entire debacle was constructed by the producers to make for compelling television, it regrettably puts into discourse that women just have to put on a bikini to appeal to men. Nobody knows if she would have been given the same attention had she entered the room fully clothed and had nothing to rely on except her talent. It is evident in the way the audition was edited that the producers have little respect for women, apparent in the fact that a contestant such as Darrell was not taken seriously, present as nothing more than eye candy.

I also take issue with the fact that Playboy offered her the chance to pose for the magazine. While Playboy in itself is an issue that can warrant its own essay, the problem lies in the media exploiting women for their sexuality instead of their talents. I am reminded of the Maxim Magazine photo spreads of female Olympic athletes, which consist of pictures of talented athletes hyper-sexualized and wearing almost nothing. I hope Darrell does not take the offer like she claimed to in the article, because it would do nothing for her dignity or for the representation of women in television and media in general.