Historians on Housewives: Fashion, Performance, and Power on Bravo Reality TV

According to popular stereotype, Bravo reality television portrays vapid, one-dimensional characters tearing each other down for viewers' enjoyment. Whether The Real Housewives taps into our voyeuristic urges, our fascination with wealth and class, or the allure of the sheer spectacle of grown women yelling at one another, the show is truly a cultural phenomenon--and a global one, with more than twenty international spin-offs. Historians on Housewives looks past the show's reputation as lowbrow, unscripted reality television and unveils deeper historical meanings behind some of Bravo's best-known programs and franchises.
This collection of ten essays is both a celebration of the bizarre behavior of the Real Housewives and a critical theorizing the importance of the shows and the Housewives themselves. Historians on Housewives>
Contributors are Nicole L. Anslover, Martina Baldwin, Emilie M.Brinkman, Marcia Chatelain, Jennifer C. Edwards, Jennifer M. Fogel, Tanisha C. Ford, Noah D. Guynn, Rosemarie Jones, Haley Schroer, Kristalyn M. Shefvelend, and Serenity Sutherland.