Therapy as Entertainment: Historically Tracing the Gendered Televisual of Reality Television Therapy
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Start Date
24-6-2022 12:00 AM
End Date
24-6-2022 12:00 AM
Abstract
Therapy is a term we all know about, but can be defined, described, and even stigmatized in a plethora of ways. Before COVID-19, topics like self-care, self-help, and therapy were widely discussed in the media and in the popular press. With the pandemic impacting all levels of life and societies globally, conversations around both physical and mental health have skyrocketed. According to Mental Health America’s Prevalence of Mental Illness data for 2021, “19.00% of adults, the equivalent to over 47 million Americans, are experiencing a mental illness. 4.55% are experiencing a severe mental illness.” (Mental Health America, Prevalence Data 2021). With many folx experiencing some type of mental illness, we also see an increase of representations of therapy in popular culture. In noticing a large amount of media content focusing on therapy as entertainment, this paper seeks to understand the history of the representation of therapy on reality television (RTV). Starting during the contemporary boom of RTV and working up to present day, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2000s), Iyanla: Fix My Life (2010s), and Couples Therapy (2020s) will be analyzed to trace the lineage and uncover how therapy has become popularized within RTV. Using intersectional feminism as a lens for analysis, this paper will not only look at therapy as entertainment, but will also look specifically at the gendered televisual of therapy.
References:
Prevalence data 2021. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/2021/mental-health-america-prevalence-data.
Therapy as Entertainment: Historically Tracing the Gendered Televisual of Reality Television Therapy
Therapy is a term we all know about, but can be defined, described, and even stigmatized in a plethora of ways. Before COVID-19, topics like self-care, self-help, and therapy were widely discussed in the media and in the popular press. With the pandemic impacting all levels of life and societies globally, conversations around both physical and mental health have skyrocketed. According to Mental Health America’s Prevalence of Mental Illness data for 2021, “19.00% of adults, the equivalent to over 47 million Americans, are experiencing a mental illness. 4.55% are experiencing a severe mental illness.” (Mental Health America, Prevalence Data 2021). With many folx experiencing some type of mental illness, we also see an increase of representations of therapy in popular culture. In noticing a large amount of media content focusing on therapy as entertainment, this paper seeks to understand the history of the representation of therapy on reality television (RTV). Starting during the contemporary boom of RTV and working up to present day, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2000s), Iyanla: Fix My Life (2010s), and Couples Therapy (2020s) will be analyzed to trace the lineage and uncover how therapy has become popularized within RTV. Using intersectional feminism as a lens for analysis, this paper will not only look at therapy as entertainment, but will also look specifically at the gendered televisual of therapy.
References:
Prevalence data 2021. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/2021/mental-health-america-prevalence-data.
Bio
Krysten Stein (she/her/hers) is a first-generation, interdisciplinary Ph.D. student studying Communication and Media Studies with concentrations in Gender and Women’s Studies and Black Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research investigates how popular culture is intertwined with systems of power and systematically excluded populations. Rooted in critical/cultural studies, her writing and research focuses on cultural production, representation, media industries, and political economy.