The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
by
Abstract: Bravo’s popular reality franchise The Real Housewives participates in a larger zeitgeist where the term “housewife” no longer refers to a woman who labors primarily inside the home. In this new paradigm, argues Suzanne Leonard, the housewife’s job is to be a professional woman. The 2011 season finale of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills illustrates that housewives commercialize wifedom at the same time that they are commodified by it, as they work for a network that has staked its fortunes on cultivating an affluent consumer base.
This essay may be found on page 279 of the printed volume.