From empowering the shameful to shaming the empowered: Shifting depictions of the poor in ‘reality TV’

Abstract

Poor-blaming and poor-shaming have become intrinsic parts of the neoliberal order. For neoliberal discourse to enter and to dominate wider public 'common sense', vehicles of 'populist language' are required and the mass media has taken a central place in propagandising neoliberalism through their narration of poverty. This article focuses on so-called 'reality TV' and its neoliberal framing of the poor, particularly since 2007 and specifically in its generation of support for, and acquiescence in, 'austerity'. We argue that what these programmes provide is a representation of poverty which is politically expedient but socially divisive. As criminologists, we suggest that this representation symbolises the intensification of what Cohen (2002: xxi) noted as the prominence of '"welfare cheats", "social security frauds" and "dole scroungers" as fairly traditional folk devils. Further, we argue that an intensification in the denigration of the poor and the marginal in these programmes can be traced across three phases, from 2009 onwards, defined by their key features. Whilst not neatly discrete, these phases mirror the neoliberal political shift from welfare to punishment. They manufacture 'epidemic problems' that are seen to require urgent remediation. Yet the status and nature of these problems are defined through deception and the forms of intervention required are determined through individualised and moralised neoliberal prescription.

Dynamics of positive deviance in destigmatisation: celebrities and the media in the rise of veganism

“…The issue of education, class and income should also be noted here. As was highlighted in the quote regarding the Kennedy case, vegan activists were often portrayed as work-shy (see also Barton and Davis 2018). This attitude was emphasised, for instance, in articles related to fracking protests.…”

“…Moreover, they are constructed as shameless and without remorse, which is demonstrated by their constant demands even when behind bars. Thus, there is an element of what Barton and Davis (2018) call voyeuristic hate of those deemed as less deserving, which serves to bolster the idea of "Broken Britain" and to further institutionalise neoliberal ideology.…”

“…Here, despite the quote above, the term is not used so much in reference to the sexual activities. Instead, it is used more in reference to the recurring strategy of the voyeuristic peek into the lives of the supposed "dole scroungers" and "social security frauds" (Cohen 2002, xxi) which aims to vilify the unrespectable and unredeemable groups in a way which serves to incite a powerful, judgemental and condemnatory response in the audiences (Barton and Davis 2018). However, what the party lifestyle and the promiscuousness of the community does highlight is, again, the shamelessness of these communities due to their insistence on remaining unembarrassed and unapologetic, in other words, being proud of their lifestyle.…”

“…However, what the party lifestyle and the promiscuousness of the community does highlight is, again, the shamelessness of these communities due to their insistence on remaining unembarrassed and unapologetic, in other words, being proud of their lifestyle. Again, in the words of Barton and Davis (2018), this is a strategy for creating voyeuristic hate towards the animal rights community and towards the so-called vegan lifestyle.…”

Online Social Shaming and the Moralistic Imagination: The Emergence of Internet‐Based Performative Shaming

“…Efforts to shame welfare recipients can be seen as strategies to increase incentives for them to get off welfare rolls: Jacobs (, p. B6) states that “What taxpayers fear is that some welfare recipients feel no shame at being on welfare indefinitely. Those who see welfare as a right aren’t likely to make the enormous effort needed to get off the dole.” Political pronouncements that shame the economically destitute along with related television and other media programming characterizations of poverty have both increased in the past several decades (Barton & Davis, ), possibly serving to reinforce other shaming initiatives.…”