Don't Make Me Over: Gender Essentialism in Makeover TV

In her excellent book on reality TV, Reality Bits Back, Jennifer Pozner touches on something that's been the bane of my TV watching for almost a decade now: makeover shows. I find them simultaneously addictive and maddening. I love transformation. I love that a few swipes of lipstick or change of shirt can alter one's perception self. I don't like the rampant consumerism, the product placement, the shaming and praying upon women's egos and bodies*, the "break 'em down to build 'em up" ethos, but I especially don't like the idea that to feel confident, let alone be stylish, a woman must dress "womanly." Define that however you want, but I'm pretty sure it's not boxy tops, biker boots, jeans that aren't cut to "enhance a woman's curves," and sensible shoes. In other words, you're getting a dress.

To be honest, I really enjoyed the inchoate, British incarnation of What Not To Wear. Compared to its American counterpart, they did allow for some semblance of personal style. And in the early years of the American version, it looked like it could have gone that way. I remember one of the first episodes a late-30s punk rocker got, more or less, a updated (and pricier) version of her look. Also there was variety in the makeover candidates: men, women, old, young. Now it seems to have solidified into a mash of 30-something moms who "let themselves go" or "put the needs of others first." But heaven forbid you don't don't own a dress.

Gendered proscriptions are acute during this stage: A mechanic who doesn’t feel comfortable in ruffles or frills is called “butch” and made to don “girlie” clothing and cosmetics. A professor on a casual campus who enjoys comfortable sandals because heels “hurt: is told she has no choice but “to start wearing actual footwear.” A lesbian biker is forced to trade in her motorcycle jacket for a dress. (Jennifer Pozner from Reality Bites Back)

This is what really soured me on What Not To Wear. A few seasons ago, I watched Stacy and Clinton put a firefighter who normally wore jeans and tees into a flippy skirt. She was clearly uncomfortable, and it was equally uncomfortably to watch. It isn't about being fashionable at this point: it's dressing to put other people at ease.

All that aside, I do like fashion. I like a sense of personal expression, and clothing is an easy way to represent who you are, or who you'd like to become. And I think there is redemptive power in transformation. Isaac Mizrahi and Tim Gunn (both have hosted makeover shows, by the way) have written some great books about personal style that doesn't edge too closely to gender essentialism. And Autostraddle has some fantastic fashion  guides for every kind of gender expression that I think are more helpful, and make more sense that anything I've seen in any magazine or "make me over" show.  There are options out there. Just not on your TV.

*What Not To Wear does do a good job of making women feel good about the bodies they have rather than trying to mold them into some unrealistic image.