ERIKA GIRARDI/ERIKA JAYNE - DIVA
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Erika Girardi/Erika Jayne
Representation of Gender Roles, Femininity and Subject Positions in
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Sofia Nilsson & Natalie Soyege
KK429A Final Exam Project 2021
Media- and Communication studies
Examiner: Ulrika Sjöberg
Supervisor: Tindra Thor
School of Arts and Communication (K3)
Malmö UniversityRepresentation of Gender Roles, Femininity and Subject Positions in
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills MKV Final Exam Project 2021
Table of content
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………3
1.1 Disposition and Thesis Distribution…………………………………………………….4
1.2 Aim……………………………………………………………………………………..5
1.3 Question Statement……………………………………………………………………..5
2. Contextualization & Background
2.1 The Real Housewives…………………………………………………………………...6
2.2 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills…………………………………………………..6
2.3 Erika Girardi vs Erika Jayne…………………………………………………………….6
3. Previous Research
3.1 Research on Reality TV…………………………………………………………………8
3.2 Commercialization of Wifedom…………………………………………………………9
3.3 Popular Culture & Post-Feminism……………………………………………………..10
3.4 Ordinary People on Television………………………………………………………...11
4. Theoretical Perspective
4.1 Constructing Gender…………………………………………………………………..12
4.2 Class, Respectability & Subject Positions ………………………………………………13
5. Method & Material
5.1 Discourse Analysis……………………………………………………………………..16
5.2 Discourse and Power…………………………………………………………………..16
5.3 Subject Positions, Chain of Equivalence and Nodal Points……………………………..17
5.4 The Material…………………………………………………………………………...18
5.4.1 Season Six…………………………………………………………………....19
5.4.2 Season Ten…………………………………………………………………..20
5.5 Ethical Discussion……………………………………………………………………..21
5.6 Validity………………………………………………………………………………...22
6. Analysis & Result
6.1 Subject Positions……………………………………………………………………..23
6.1.1 Housewife…………………………………………………………………...23
6.1.2 Showgirl……………………………………………………………………..24
6.1.3 Gold Digger…………………………………………………………………28
6.1.4 Southern Mother…………………………………………………………….29
6.1.5 Bad Bitch……………………………………………………………………30
6.1.6 Daughter…………………………………………………………………….31
6.1.7 Empowered Woman………………………………………………………...32
6.1.8 Good Friend………………………………………………………………...34
7. Conclusion & Final Discussion
7.1 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….37
7.2 Discussion - Sofia Nilsson……………………………………………………………..38
7.3 Discussion - Natalie Soyege……………………………………………………………41
8. References……………………………………………………………………………….44
Sofia Nilsson & Natalie Soyege
1Representation of Gender Roles, Femininity and Subject Positions in
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills MKV Final Exam Project 2021
Abstract
This study is a discursive analysis of the representation of the person Erika Girardi within the Reality
TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. With a theoretical perspective anchored within Judith
Butler’s (1999) theory of performativity and Beverley Skeggs (2000) research of class within feminism.
The aim is to find how Erika Girardi is discursively portrayed within the series as well as finding and
analyzing the various subject positions found within the material. The results are presented as eight
different subject positions; Housewife, Showgirl, Gold Digger, Southern Mother, Bad Bitch, Daughter,
Empowered Woman and Good Friend. These positions are then decoded into the various signs which
build these up as well as the nodal points which are further found within the discourse of the selected
episodes.
Keywords: Gender Roles, Reality, Feminism, Femininity, Representation, Television
Representation of gender roles, femininity, and subject positions in
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Sofia Nilsson & Natalie Soyege
Final Exam Project in Media and Communication Studies
School of Arts and Communication (K3)
Faculty of Culture and Society
Malmö University
Supervisor: Tindra Thor
Examiner: Ulrika Sjöberg
Spring of 2021
Sofia Nilsson & Natalie Soyege
2Representation of Gender Roles, Femininity and Subject Positions in
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills MKV Final Exam Project 2021
1. Introduction
The idea of what a woman is has been a subject of heated discussion throughout the ages. Entering
the second decade of the 21st century, the buildup of expectation versus representation within the
media has been of great focus. To look at representation of women first women are made a subject, as
the qualifications for being a subject need to be met before representation can be extended (Butler,
1999).
Through the media, representation is both created and recreated as reality influences what is
represented through the media as well as reality being influenced by what is shown in the media. The
concept of Reality TV is interesting as this form of television aims to show reality through its
platform. The Real Housewives (RHW) was inspired by scripted soap operas Desperate Housewives and
Peyton Place. It aimed to document the lives of upper-class women who lead glamorous lives in a
picturesque southern California gated community called Orange County. A location which had been
made famous by the teen scripted series called The OC. The show had brought attention to the
seemingly unattainable lifestyle of these protected upper-class communities of southern California
(Reality World, 2006). After the series’ first version, The Real Housewives of Orange County, which
premiered March 2006, more locations were added to the franchise which included The Real
Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH), premiering in 2010 (Bravo, 2021).
After loyally watching the show since its inception it sparked an interest to take a closer look at the
representation of femininity with the persona Erika Girardi/Erika Jayne as our research subject.
Erika Girardi/Erika Jayne joined RHOBH for its sixth season which started airing in 2015. What
sets this member of the cast apart from the rest is the fact that she comes with two very distinct
characters in one, the housewife Erika Girardi, and the showgirl and performer Erika Jayne (Bravo,
2021). Further, she does not only portray these characters, but she challenges the original definitions
of them. Through Judith Butler’s performative acts and gender constitution theory (1999) as well as
Beverely Skeggs explanation of class, respectability and gender, this research will decode Reality
TV’s portrayal of femininity and the building blocks used to create the subject of woman and her
roles.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was announced the most watched reality show in 2020. Its
premiere episode was watched by 1.696 million viewers on the night of its release and the reach
beyond Bravo’s first airing is hard to pinpoint (Reality Tea, 2020). However, with this level of reach
it is apparent that it has a certain level of impact in how reality and housewives in the upper-class is
portrayed. This portrayal through such an ingrained female gender role has legitimate reach to the
public and thus is of interest for feminist studies. It has also created a space for women in gender
roles traditionally seen as an extension of the man to be the main focus. Through the series the
housewives become the main characters and the husbands the extension. This switch, and the
portrayals within this shift in focus, is the basis of this study.
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1.1 Disposition and Thesis Distribution
In this study some of the work has been completed by both researchers and some individually.
Though the different elements of the study originally had a specific researcher focusing on that
particular theme, both researchers have worked together throughout.
To clarify, the study is divided in six different parts:
The first part containing; abstract, introduction, aim and question statement was completed
by both researchers as we collected and compiled the information.
The second part, contextualization and background, were mainly finalized by Natalie while
Sofia focused on previous research.
The third part, theoretical perspective and method and material, Natalie focused on theory
as Sofia focused on method and material.
The fourth part, validity and ethical decision, was completed together.
The fifth part, analysis and result, was completed together. Natalie and Sofia watched two
seasons of RHOBH, picked out three episodes that were most relevant to the study and
transcribed the different dialogs and voice overs from interviews in all of the chosen
episodes. Natalie observed and documented season six while Sofia did the same for season
ten. After individually collecting the material the analysis was completed together.
In the sixth part we worked together as we wrote the conclusion and final discussion prior to
finalizing our individual discussions.
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1.2 Aim
As a reality show claimed to have redefined the term housewife, the aim of this study is to analyze
RHOBH’s discursive constructions of femininity and gender roles (Leonard, 2020).
Through the theoretic lens of Judith Butler’s (1999) performative acts and gender constitution the
study critically analyzes these performative constructions of gender.
Anchored in feminist class perspective through Beverley Skeggs’ (2000) research, the study aims to
bring clarity to how the dimension of class becomes intertwined with gender performance. Erika
Girardi has inhabited various socio-economic classes throughout her life, all told within the show.
Through this aspect of her as part of the cast there is a possibility to look further into the discourse
within these class positions from the perspective of the upper-class inhabitancy now portrayed.
The show has a focus on authenticity through its reality format, giving an opportunity to look at
how the perception of reality is mirrored back to us through this series.
With these perspectives in mind the study aims to decode these gender roles through Erika Girardi’s
participation within the show.
1.3 Research Questions
1. How is the subject Erika Girardi discursively constructed in The Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills?
2. How is gender performed in the portrayal of Erika Girardi in The Real Housewives of
Beverly Hills?
3. How can the subject positions and gender performances of Erika Girardi be understood
through the dimension of class?
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2. Contextualization & Background
2.1 The Real Housewives
The Real Housewives is a Reality TV show produced by Bravo which follows affluent housewives in
various locations in the United States. The concept of Reality TV is essentially a non-scripted series
documenting real people during a set period of time. The footage is then edited into episodes with
storylines made apparent in post-production. It was inspired by the scripted series Desperate
Housewives and Peyton Place. The main plot of the series was to document upper-class women’s
lives of glamour in Orange County, southern California (Reality World, 2006). The show started
airing in 2006 and the franchise is still ongoing with a total of ten different shows in different cities
(Bravo, 2021). Beyond the glamorous facade the series exposed issues that the housewives were
dealing with, including addiction issues, domestic violence, mental health and suicide (Leonard,
2020). These themes were not the original focus of the show but brought a depth to the series which
a lot of viewers could relate to and thus created a huge draw.
2.2 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is the sixth installment of the RHW. They have aired ten
seasons to date and are in the process of finalizing its eleventh season set to air 2021 (Bravo, 2021).
In Beverly Hills, the focus is on the personal and professional lives of several women, usually with
ties to show business as this is the location with ties to Hollywood. Filled with now grown-up child
actors like Kyle and Kim Richards, long time soap opera stars Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson and
former actress turned international restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump, among others. This installment
of the show challenges the idea of housewife as they all have had or still have very successful careers
on their own (Bravo, 2021).
2.3 Erika Girardi & Erika Jayne
Erika Girardi joined the series in the sixth season which started airing in late 2015 and is currently
still a member of the main cast (Bravo, 2021). Girardi is a strong woman at the age of 49, she comes
from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. She has been a performer in different forms her entire
life and through her move from Atlanta to New York at eighteen she started go-go dancing as a way
to make ends meet. In New York she also married, had a son, and divorced her husband prior to
relocating to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles she met Tom Girardi, a high-profile lawyer, famous for
the Erin Brockovich case which was made into a major film starring Julia Roberts as the main
character. Tom and Erika married in 1999 and stayed married until she filed for divorce in late 2020.
There is a duality to Erika’s persona as a housewife as well as an alter ego in the form of a recording
artist and showgirl, Erika Jayne. Erika started performing as Erika Jayne in 2007 when she released
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her first single Rollercoaster which went viral. The artistry shown through Erika Jayne was made
possible through Tom financing the project thus, Erika Jayne only exists as a biproduct of Erika
Girardi, the housewife (Bravo, 2021). Girardi’s alter ego is posted and presented in numerous digital
and social media, especially on Instagram, where she has a 2.2 million following.
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3. Previous Research
3.1 Research on Reality TV
Through the rise in popularity of Reality TV shows, research and analysis were made to investigate
how these types of shows were so appealing to the public. According to Steven Reiss’ research
through the lens of his sensitivity theory, he suggests that the attraction is anchored in individual’s
preference to watch shows which exhibit scenes portraying the joys most important to them.
Especially those portraying groups, fun or friendship. Thus, linking the public to a longing for a
resonance with these real situations which create resonance to their own lives (Reiss & Wiltz, 2009).
The concept of real is problematic for most viewers watching the shows since it is just a fraction of
filtered material that is being shown. Jonathan Ward’s research analyzes reality and the different
forms of reality in the show RuPaul’s Drag Race (Ward, 2020). It focuses on the idea of being real
within drag-culture as well as trans-culture and how the show has given a platform for queer
visibility as it also perpetuates specific hierarchies of subjectivity which maintain hegemonic power
(Ward, 2020).
To create viewers, production often looks towards what the public can recognize which is where
stereotyping becomes a part of the problem. The show may create a draw because the public is
intrigued by drag-culture as it has thus far existed in their realm, which a lot of the time is very
limited. In a sense, the show may attract viewers with the stereotype to be able to create further
depth once the viewer is watching. However, making sure to not step too far away from the
stereotypical narrative that the viewer came for. The need for the stereotype as allure upholds the
stereotypes. As the format of Reality TV tends to recreate the public’s belief regarding a certain part
of reality, stereotypes are often upheld (Ward, 2020).
Further, the problematic recreation of stereotypes is the use of these to make a spectacle out of
someone (Klos et al., 2015). On the show the Biggest Loser the stereotypes of obesity are played up
in the introductory segments. Introducing the participants with the mindset of their heavy weight as
an inherent failure. The show in itself aims to “fix” these people with extreme regimes to lose a lot
of weight as quickly as possible and thus rectifying this assumed failure that is their current bodily
state. The ones that lose the least are made vulnerable to being dismissed from the show. As the
public is open to scrutinize the persons on the show as well as the regimes for weight loss deemed
successful within the show, were not actually sustainable (Klos et al., 2015).
Yngvar Kjus has researched the relationship between idolizing and monetizing the public. How
Reality TV produces both celebrities and thus fans, representatives, and citizens. The formerly
passive audience is through this medium made into active participants. Kjus argues how production
recruit’s audience members either according to a celebrity model or a citizen model of participation
(Kjus, 2009: 277). Essentially creating reality from a preferred format actively seeking out people
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that answer to format demands (Kjus, 2009: 285). Thus, through this agenda, reality is not merely
documented but constructed to fit whatever production thinks will create public draw.
As a transmitter of a visual version of reality, tightly linked to westernized culture, political issues
sometimes are narrated through the participants in these shows applying their values and norms as
reality. Sarah Ortiz highlights the issues within this representation with Lisa Vanderpump’s political
activism through her platform of the RHOBH (Ortiz, 2018: 31). Vanderpump is known for her
animal rights activism and in particular her fight to stop the Yulin dog meat festival. A festival anchored
in a five-hundred-year-old Chinese ritual of eating lychee berries and dog meat during the summer
solstice. A large number of people have supported Vanderpump’s fight towards abolishing the
festival, most of which have not done any individual research on the matter. Thus, accepting
Vanderpump’s representation of it as barbaric and heartless. Though, of course, this viewpoint may
be appropriate to some, the uninformed willingness to accept representation as truth is an example
of cultural relativism (Ortiz, 2018: 31).
3.2 Commercialization of Wifedom
The original definition of a housewife has been a woman whose primary chore is to operate and take
care of the household but since the release of The Real Housewives the word housewife has become
redefined (Leonard, 2020).
Rather than keeping a household the handlings of these chores are outsourced. Maids, nannies, and
assistants take care of the original housewife duties as the Housewives of the show go shopping,
attend dinner parties, get beauty treatments as well as tending to their various professional projects.
Thus, creating a new paradigm of housewife as also being professional and successful (Leonard,
2020: 278-279).
Leonard (2020) argues the Real Housewives commercializes wifedom as well as it being
commodified by it. They work for a network that has invested its fortune in cultivating a rich
consumer base. Due to the popularity of the show, being a wealthy housewife rose in popularity as a
byproduct. The attractive women in these series show the movement of money and what it looks
like on an everyday basis (Leonard, 2020: 279). The movement of money as well as the profit made
through the documentation of this wifedom naturally commercializes the concept of housewife.
Bravo sets up a relationship of mutual benefit between the Housewives and Bravo in which both the
celebrities and the show’s commodity value goes up through association (Kavka, 2012). Through
them already leading a wealthy lifestyle and then allowing cameras to follow them as they dine out,
shop and attend high end parties they earn both profit and exposure. The show makes it possible for
the housewives to make a name for themselves which has helped launch entrepreneurial ventures
for many of the women and thus professionalizing wifedom through the show (Leonard, 2020: 279).
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3.3 Popular Culture & Post-Feminism
Popular culture within the televised sphere has been influenced by neoliberal- and post-feministic
views throughout the 20th and 21st century. In the 20th century the TV-series Sex and the City
(SATC) became highlighted as such a phenomenon. The series is about four distinct female
characters in their thirties, set in New York City. The women are all single with successful careers
and although men may play a big part in the storyline, they are not needed for the women’s survival.
They are rather an addition to their lives than a necessity.
Meredith Nash and Ruby Grant (2015) researched the series comparing it to the 21st century HBO
series Girls with the question of the two series paving the way for post-feminism. The fellow HBO
series both have four main female characters, in SATC the women are in their thirties and in Girls
the women are in their twenties. They are both set in New York, SATC in Manhattan and Girls in
Brooklyn. Jane Arthurs (2003) writes that SATC provided a template for television audiences to
imagine what life was like for contemporary (single) New York women. Women especially admired
the glamorous lives of the characters and appreciated the frank, taboo-breaking discussions of sex
and femininity (Nash & Grant, 2015: 977). As SATC focused on women already with money and in
their respective careers it enabled a more glamorous existence than that of one of lesser income such
as younger women in their twenties.
In the series Girls, Lena Dunham who writes, directs, and acts in the show confronted the issue of
comparison by writing SATC into the pilot episode (Nash & Grant, 2015: 978-979). In the
conversation the characters use the SATC characters as archetypes of feminine identity. In contrast
to the feminine archetypes shown in SATC, Lena Dunham’s characters are written to be identified
with however not with the focus of aspiring to be (Nash & Grant, 2015: 979).
The fifteen years between the first season of the two shows was a period of important social
changes. The women of SATC were shopping for expensive clothing and shoe labels as well as
drinking cosmopolitans in the hottest New York City night spots. The young women on Girls are all
trying to make it financially in post-recession New York. Where liberation was symbolized through
economic and sexual independence in SATC (Arthurs, 2003) the women of Girls are similarly white
and entitled however unambitious and financially unstable (Nash & Grant, 2015: 979).
Nash and Grant (2015) argue that though both SATC and Girls are post-feministic, Girls experience
“liberation” and “empowerment” in “new,” more complex ways than their predecessor. Leading
Nash and Grant to coin this new version of post-feminism, Post? Feminism (Nash & Grant, 2015:
988). Through Girls embodiment of distinctive post-feminist sensibility, they re-articulate and
complicate existing notions and mobilizing femininities and anti-feminist/feminist attitudes in a
nuanced way (Nash & Grant, 2015: 987).
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3.4 Ordinary People on Television
Through Reality TV’s upswing in recent years the call for ordinary people being cast in televised
shows have become heightened. Göran Eriksson, Leonor Camauër and Yuliya Lakew (2017) has
researched this phenomenon anchoring it in the evolution of Swedish television from 1982 to 2011
focusing on a shift in popularity of ordinariness in television in the 1990’s (Eriksson, Camauër &
Lakew, 2017)
Docu-soaps, makeovers, talent shows, and several game shows have become more and more
popular. This means that ordinary people appearing on television have become increasingly
interesting for viewers. During the 1950’s a drive was awakened among television producers to
move “into the world, into people’s lives and into the places where they lived” (Eriksson, Camauër,
& Lakew, 2017). To make this happen they tried to leave the simulated environment of scripted
scenes behind. It has become more familiar to include the viewers to provide content that suits the
viewers as well as looking to them for direction of what they would like to see (Eriksson, Camauër,
& Lakew, 2017). Eriksson, Camauër and Lakew argue that rather than there just being a recent
boom in ordinariness being popular in television it has been a phenomenon evolving over more
than a century.
The oxymoron of looking for ordinariness and reality in television is the fact that producers actively
cast ordinary people to fit a certain format (Kjus, 2009). The 1950’s vision to move beyond the set
stages and scripts to find reality, morphed into actually setting a stage within the ordinary,
outsourcing the characters they wish to find there. Further, the happenings which occur within these
decided spaces with the outsourced characters are of extraordinary circumstances. Participants get
put under pressure and their reactions are documented (Bondjeberg, 2002). Thus, creating a space
which may at times look like what one may assume as ordinary. However, creating situations filled
with people in dynamics that may create a reaction worth capturing. Thus, building a storyline
through these encounters. Even though the question whether anything in Reality TV is real or even
remotely ordinary, the fact that it is continuing to rise in popularity is apparent (Eriksson, Camauër,
& Lakew, 2017).
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4. Theoretical Perspective
4.1 Constructing Gender
In Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble (1990) the Theory of Performativity is introduced and argued. Butler
argues that not only is gender a social construct, internalized by the masses as norm tied to sex, but
even sex itself is not of set, biologic binary (Butler, 1999: 10). Further, the norm within which the
binary narrative of male-female, is anchored within a heterosexual discourse accepted as reality.
The heterosexual discourse accepted as reality Butler names the Heterosexual Matrix. Butler goes on to
describe it as an invisible norm that does not seem to be constructed however comes through as
natural. Meaning that everyone and everything is assumed heterosexual until proved differently. This
norm in turn creates unnaturalness, deviance as well as invisibility (Butler, 1999: 41).
Within feminist theory, it had been assumed that an identity “woman” not only initiates feminists’
interests and goals within discourse but also constitutes as the subject for whom political
representation is pursued (Butler, 1999: 3). It has seemed a necessity to circle feminist theory around
a name which represents the part of population, either politically invisible, misrepresented or not
represented at all, that feminism advocates for, thus “woman” became central to its discourse
(Butler, 1999: 4).
Representation as the feminist subject; “woman”, is discursively created and constituted by the
political system from which feminist theory is fighting for change and emancipation. The same
political system which created the duality of “man and woman” and set both in a dynamic where the
masculine subject is the focal point in political visibility and power. Butler argues that appealing to a
system built upon “woman” as lesser is self-defeating. As the name in itself is part of the discourse
that creates the lesser (Butler, 1999: 4-5).
Butler goes on to investigate whether gender is constructed through an expectation that ends up
producing the phenomenon that it anticipated. This is done through the theory of performativity
which seeks to show that gender is an internal essence manufactured through a sustained set of acts,
posited through the gendered stylization of the body. In other words, this performativity which
creates gender is a repetition of acts in a ritualistic manner which are seen and accepted as natural in
the context of a body. As long as this body fits the norm of the gender performativity that is being
carried out (Butler, 1999: 5).
The heterosexual assumption that gender is binary in the form of male and female and further that
these binary genders are attracted to one another is an assumption that Butler argues feminism fails
to question. Even in the case of feminist theory criticizing the ruling gender and sexuality structures
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which demonstrates oppression of women and homophobia (Butler, 2007: 7). Moving into the
discussion of sex beyond the heterosexualization of desire which requires the asymmetrical
oppositions between “feminine” and “masculine”; the socially agreed upon expressions of “male”
and “female” (Butler, 1999: 23). Butler investigates whether the binary sexes even exist outside of a
heteronormative narrative. The subject of “woman” seems to only appear in dynamic with “man”. If
then gender identity is an effect of discursive practices, is relationship among sex, gender, sexual
practice only identified within compulsory sexuality (Butler, 1999:24)? Butler highlights that women
can never just “be” as they rather become in a relation of difference - the other or the excluded from
the norm from which everything else is defined - that of the masculine subject. Without the norm of
the masculine subject there is no “other”, and therefore women on their own, outside of this
dynamic, do not exist (Butler, 1999: 25).
Butler argues that genders are neither true nor false as gender is discursively constructed and
inscribed on the surface of the body as the truth in response to a primary and stable identity (Butler,
1999: 174). Gender is instead, always performed and a performance.
To explain the precarious relationship between sex and gender, identity and performance, Butler
uses the concept of drag. This idea is highlighted in relation to the practices of drag. The cultural
practice of drag is dressing in the sexual stylized clothing of the opposite of ones assumed gender, or
in short cross-dressing. As mentioned in Esther Newton's (1979) book Mother camp: female impersonators
in America where she talks of drag at its most complex as a double inversion. Explaining that appearance
is an illusion. In regards to drag Newton states that drag is saying “my outside appearance is feminine,
but my essence inside the body is masculine.'' At the same time the opposite appears as “my
appearance outside; body, gender, is masculine but my essence inside myself is feminine” (Newton,
1979). Through this expression the notion of set primary gender identities are often parodied. This
parody has often faced negative connotation within feminist theory as it has been perceived as
degrading to women (Butler, 1999: 174).
Butler continues to move beyond the presumed reality of sex and gender through this notion as for
something to be parodied, the reality must be set and as Gender Trouble argues, the sex as well as
gender “woman” is not one stable truth. This creates further depth to drag in the sense that it
constitutes a performance, imitating a gender, which in turn Butler argues, is a performance in itself
(Butler, 1999: 175).
4.2 Class, Respectability & Subject Positions
Skeggs agrees with Judith Butler’s gender theory (1992) in her study Becoming Respectable. Butler
announces that the term “women” must be redefined. In order to do that feminism must consider the
history, economic structures, social positions, cultural positions, popular discourses and cultural
investments. Gender is according to Butler a social construction that is produced and reproduced
(Butler, 1999). Thus, for the redefinition of feminism to become possible. Skeggs agrees with Butler
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and her view of redefining the term feminism, but she also adds forms of capital and knowledge to
her own study for the term feminism to get its correct definition (Skeggs, 2000: 251-252).
According to Skeggs, respectability is the most distinctive feature that distinguishes different classes.
Skeggs explains that class defines how respectable you will become for others in the society. The
higher up in the ranking of class the more respectable you will get. The working-class constantly
strives towards the middle and upper-class. There are many different factors that also affect
respectability such as class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality (Skeggs, 2000: 9-11). She found that the
working-class women strived to be respected by society and to achieve this, they acted according to
behavioral patterns deemed respectable by the norm, in other words, the upper-class. Due to the
social and economic status of the upper-class, upper-class women seemed to automatically be given
a level of respectability, which the women of the working-class had to actively earn through
behavior (Skeggs, 2000: 9). By using respectability as a tool for her analysis, Skeggs mean that the
concept of class must be reintroduced within cultural theory and feminism and become part of the
feministic perspective in order for feminist analysis to become functional (Skeggs, 2000). Skeggs
highlights the fact that throughout history, the working-class have always been portrayed in a
negative, bad or dangerous way. There has been a division between different class affiliations. This
division and prejudice directed at the women of the working-class is what Skeggs study aimed to
explore. According to Skeggs, the representation of a white working-class woman has been defined
by people that are not included in this class (Skeggs, 2000: 253-266).
If we take a closer look there are also different rankings of respectability. Respectability is also
determined by how organized a household is, childcare and how much control a woman has of their
household and family members (Skeggs, 2000:12-13).
According to Skeggs, the question of respectability has been central for decades and women have
followed rules to acquire respectability. Anyone operating outside of this framework which leads to
respect, were deemed of lesser worth. An example that Skeggs brings up is prostitutes (Skeggs, 2000:
78-79). The women that were not following the central norms for being a woman, such as a person
who sells and exposes their body in this way, has over time always been seen as a less worthy
woman. In working-class households, the women took care of the children and the household
whereas in the middle-class it was more common that the households had maids helping with the
chores. Thus, creating a practical difference in economic classes which created a reality for the
working-class to strive for (Skeggs, 2000: 78-79).
A subject’s different positions in relation to their context, have been constructed over time through
class and gender (Skeggs, 2000). Skeggs means that when it comes to women, the subject positions
are mostly centered around respect, family ideals, care and nursing. Through these subject position’s
women tend to feel like they are doing well when invested in these restrictive categories and thus
slightly superior to those who have not invested in these (Skeggs, 2000: 69).
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A subject position is a set of characteristics which define the category. The signs that build the
subject position creates the foundation for set subject position which can then be applied to a
person. Due to descriptive characteristics, it is possible for the subject to become understood
discursively. The subject position is not something you simply receive, you must earn it as it is
through the building blocks which creates the subject position that this subject position becomes
apparent and then applied (Skeggs, 2000: 98). Taking responsibility increases and strengthens the
position you have within respectability. People have throughout time been placed in different
subject positions. The definition of a woman has through time had the characteristics of being
feminine, caring, responsible, respectable, and capable. There have been norms for women to follow
(Skeggs, 2000: 101-102). Since the majority of women had a lower level of education and a dull
vision for their future, most women felt anxious, guilty, and doubtful. The investment and
dedication of always helping people and, specifically people in need, made the women feel some
type of satisfaction (Skeggs, 2000: 116). By this Skeggs means that being a female has over time had
set rules and behaviors to follow to become respected by others.
Skeggs research, brings up that during history, white working-class women have been positioned as
pathological and civilized. By that Skeggs could chart where respectability positions have emerged
from. In the 18th century shaming in front of the public was a type of punishment if rules were not
followed. The public shaming started in France on public squares where you placed the person not
following rules in the middle, for the people to have a laugh at. This was a type of punishment for
people to feel guilt and to be seen as a failure (Tilt, 1852: 13, 261). Due to what happened in France
the previous century, women are still trying to live up to the set norms of being and behaving a
certain way to not be shamed and punished. The women that do not follow the norms or unwritten
rules, specifically in the working-class, were to be seen as dangerous and failures. Butler argues that
women are still constantly living their lives actively trying to live up to the norms given to them
(Skeggs, 2000: 70-71). By this Skeggs means that how we live and how people see us live will define
who you are, what class you belong to and how much respect you will receive and earn (Skeggs,
2000: 9-10).
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5. Method & Material
5.1. Discourse Analysis
The selected analysis method for this research is Laclau and Mouffe’s (1985) discourse analysis
theory. By merging and altering Marxistic view of the social with the theory of meaning from
structuralism they created a theory within which the whole social field is understood as a web of
processes within which meaning is created (Jörgensen & Phillips, 2002: 28).
A discourse is understood as the fixation of meaning within a particular domain. All signs in a
discourse are moments. They are the knots in the fishing-net, their meaning being fixed through
their differences from one another (Jörgensen & Phillips, 2002: 28).
Our purpose is not to get behind the discourse to find out what people really mean when they say
certain things or look for the reality behind the discourse. All analysis is made on a foundation that
reality can never be reached outside of discourses and there for discourse itself is the object of
analysis. The analysis focuses on what has actually been said or written and within this exploring
pattern in and across the statements through which identifying different discursive representations
of reality (Jorgensen & Phillips, 2002: 24).
As we are using the post-feministic theoretical view of Judith Butler it is fitting to use a method to
look at the building blocks that create the sense of reality within which gender and roles within
gender are constructed (Butler, 1999).
5.2 Discourse and Power
Discourse analysis encapsulates a view of language and use of language which implies that language
is not perceived as a neutral instrument for communication. It suggests that language does not
represent one set reality but focuses on the perspective with which language is used to form and
communicate a reality (Bergström & Boreus, 2018: 255). Essentially, the perspective with which one
looks at an object creates what that means. To see the language as constituent means that different
interpretations of an object create the foundation for our knowledge and the question of power lies
in making certain knowledge seen as the correct definition of that object. The social existence is not
fixed but a constant process of construction (Bergström & Boreus, 2018: 255).
The perspective with which one looks at an object gains meaning from practices of articulation. To
see the language as constituent means that different interpretations of an object create the
foundation for our knowledge and the question of power lies in making certain knowledge seen as
the correct definition of that object. The social existence is not fixed but a constant process of
construction (Bergström & Boreus, 2018: 255).
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It is important to keep in mind the power structure within discourse analysis as only particular parts
of society have been able to take part in the creation of the societal narrative. The availability of
platforms is a power question in itself as parts of society are excluded from these thus creating power
in discourse (Fairclough 2015: 27).
Another way to look at questions of power is to focus on power behind discourses. In this view there is
more a focus on macro discourses which radically reshapes the social reality, a form of hidden power
(Bergström & Boreus, 2018: 255).
Discourse analysis also focuses on the creation and changes of social identities. These are viewed as
changeable and unstable and thus it becomes interesting to study how social identities are formed
within a specific discourse. The idea that identities are solely materially based is rejected (Bergström
& Boreus, 2018: 256). This idea reminds us of Judith Butler’s rejection of the idea that sex and
gender identity is physically set or natural. Thus, creating a similar theoretical and methodological
ground for analysis.
5.3 Subject Positions, Chain of Equivalence and Nodal Points
Within discourse analysis there are a few tools which we will use to further analyze the material.
These tools are in the form of three main terms from discourse theory: subject positions, chain of
equivalence and nodal points. Different identities found within discourse is looked upon as a position
within which a subject is placed. These subject positions are the result of signs which are associated
with this position. Further these signs are part of the chain of equivalence meaning the connection of
signs which within their particular discourse create meaning by revealing central themes of the
discourse. These themes are called nodal points and are seen as the privileged signs around which a
discourse is organized (Laclau & Mouffe, 1985). In our situation a nodal point can be seen around a
privileged sign such as money or beauty. The other signs, such as shopping, treatments, clothing etc.
acquire their meaning from their relationship to their nodal point, in this instant beauty (Jörgensen &
Phillips, 2002: 28-29).
Each sign is fixed as a moment through relations to other signs and through this a discourse is
established. All other possible meanings to the signs are excluded to be able to create the meaning of
the building blocks that create the story. In this way a discourse is a reduction of other possibilities.
Excluding these possible meanings creates what Laclau and Mouffe call the field of discursivity (1985:
111). In other words, this field holds all other possible meanings that these signs may have in other
discourses. This creates a quite abstract space of what is not the assigned meaning to the signs of the
spoken discourse, which has led to critique for a certain lack of clarity. As the association decides the
meaning it can be viewed as fluid rather than set.
For example, a rock may not be a topic of conversation within the field of beauty however that does
not stop the possibility of this rock coming up as a topic of conversation even if it is not a given
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within the beauty discourse. Is this rock then part of the field of discursivity, the excluded field, or is
it just things that to a certain extent inhabit the same space as beauty discourse like poor hygiene and
such that constitute the field of discursivity for beauty discourse?
Signs with multiple potential meanings are called elements. Through putting these elements into
specific moments, the potential meanings are reduced to one fixed meaning of the sign (Jörgensen &
Phillips, 2002: 29). However, it is only a temporary stop to the fluctuation of meaning tied to the
particular moment (Laclau & Mouffe, 1985: 110).
In our research we have two main ways to decode signs within the material; verbal communication
and visual representation. Verbal communication meaning the monologs and dialogs appearing as
part of scenes or commentary of scenes. These display signs in the chain of equivalence which are
acted out through the subject positions. Visual representation is the other format within which we
have decoded signs. This to study how these subject positions are performed and, in this way, tying
into Judith Butler’s (1999) Theory of Performativity as well as the extension of class affiliation through
Skeggs’ (2000) research.
To limit the visual decoding, we have focused on Erika’s behavior within the scenes. Everything in
the scene is not decoded, as going into detail around every visual within the scene is not relevant in
the process of answering the research questions. These details include background, scenery and
other people’s behavior not directly tied to Erika, Not going into depth of everything within the
scene does leave out details which would create a more rounded picture of the discourse. This as the
themes within which these are carried out would create larger depths. However, to fulfill the aim of
this research we believe this limitation is needed.
To decode the signs found within the material we have studied recurring themes. In the verbal
communication, this shows up as the choices of words and themes within these. In the visual
representation the focus is on behavioral themes, at times these behaviors are connected to clothing,
in these instances this connection is highlighted.
5.4 The material
This research finds its area within already published material; six episodes from two different
seasons of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The season’s selected being the first season Erika
appears in; season six. The second season selected being the most recent one; season ten. This as we
wanted to see how Erika is represented as time progresses, thus making it appropriate to choose the
latest season as the reference point with the widest range. We wanted two separate seasons for us to
be able to see and analyze in depth.
To accumulate the data needed, we investigated the seasons to figure out in which episodes Erika
was the most active. After going through the plots of all the episodes in the two different seasons,
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five different episodes per season were observed and transcribed. After going through the five
different episodes per season the results were then condensed down to three different episodes per
season. The three episodes were selected as these showed more apparent subject positions and nodal
points than the rest of the material. After the selection, the material went through a second
inspection as we highlighted the different scenes which articulated signs in the chain of equivalence
which created the various subject positions and nodal points found within the material. We called
these scenes key parts and these functioned as stand out dialogs, visual storylines and further
representation that best seemed to enable our analysis to answer our research questions.
The selected episodes are as follows:
5.4.1 Season Six:
Episode Three - Horsing Around
Release date: December 15th, 2015
Total time: 43 min
Plot: In this episode we get introduced to Erika Girardi, this is the first time she gets
shown in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. We get to see how she lives and who she
is married to. Her alter ego Erika Jayne is also introduced in this episode.
This episode presents us with three different key parts. The first being focused on
Erika’s joining her friend Yolanda at a health treatment. The Second being set
around her house as she is interacting with her husband. The third, showing Erika’s
first introducing her showgirl alter ego Erika Jayne.
Episode Seven - Pretty Mess
Release date: January 12th, 2016
Total time: 43 min
Plot: In this episode the women continue their adventure in the Hamptons. Lisa
Rinna gets prudish watching Erika Jayne's videos, and the women all get a taste of
Erika's alter ego when Kyle's good friend Bethenny Frankel invites everyone to
dinner there is an interesting conversation going on about Erika Girardi & Erika
Jayne verses the other women.
This episode presents us with eleven different key parts. The first, showing the ladies
at a wine tasting, the ladies watch Erika’s music video. The second, Erika is shown
arriving at a girl’s trip. The third, a conversation is shown where the topic is Erika’s
arrival in a private jet. The fourth, Kyle and Bethenny talk about Erika in her
Sofia Nilsson & Natalie Soyege
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