‘Celebrity chavs’ like Jordan and Kerry Katona reflect the moral delinquency of white working-class girls

‘Celebrity chav’: Fame, femininity and social class

 

From European Journal of Cultural Studies

 

Celebrity – ‘the condition of being talked about’ seems an unavoidable part of modern life. In Britain, the media regularly report the bad behavior of celebrities. We have been informed about Jordan’s boozy nights out, Cheryl Cole’s violent attack on a bathroom attendant and Kerry Katona’s drug addiction and destructive second marriage to name just a few examples. Regardless of these negative reports there is still a huge amount of media and public interest in all three women. This article argues that a new category of notoriety or public visibility has emerged and is embodied in the figure of the working-class female celebrity within celebrity culture and wider social life. We are encouraged to respond not with desire, admiration or benign interest, but rather with a pleasurable blend of contempt, envy, scepticism and sexual interest. The article refers to a range of news and entertainment media, including blogs and online discussion, in order to consider how ‘celebrity chavs’ are systematically reproduced as abject, gauche and excessive tragi-comic figures.

Abstract

This article argues that celebrity is an increasingly significant means by which reactionary class attitudes, allegiances and judgements are communicated. In contradistinction to claims that the concept of social class has lost its analytic value in the context of contemporary consumer society and the growing ideological purchase of meritocracy and choice, the article contends that class remains central to the constitution and meaning of celebrity. A central premise of this article is that celebrity culture is not only thoroughly embedded in everyday social practices, but is more radically constitutive of contemporary social life. This claim is examined through a consideration of the ways in which celebrity produces and sustains class relations. The article argues that a new category of notoriety or public visibility has emerged and is embodied in the figure of the working-class female celebrity within celebrity culture and wider social life.

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Article details
Tyler, I., & Bennett, B. (2010). ‘Celebrity chav’: Fame, femininity and social class European Journal of Cultural Studies, 13 (3), 375-393 DOI: 10.1177/1367549410363203

Tags: Big Brother, British TV, celebrity chav, class, femininity, Jade Goody, Kerry Katona, reality TV