The makeover : reality television and reflexive audiences / Katherine Sender.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-227, 229-235) and index.

Self-projects: makeover shows and the reflexive imperative -- Gender and genre: making over women's culture -- Not like Paris Hilton: instruction and consumption in makeover shows -- Shame on you: schadenfreude and surveillance -- Feeling real: empirical truth and emotional authenticity -- Mirror, mirror: the reflexive self -- Research reflexivity: audiences and investigators in context -- Once more with feeling: reconsidering reflexivity.

"The Makeover is the first book to consider the rapid rise of makeover shows from the perspectives of their viewers. Katherine Sender argues that this genre of reality television continues a long history of self-improvement, shaped through contemporary media, technological, and economic contexts. Most people think that reality television viewers are ideological dupes and obliging consumers. Sender, however, finds that they have a much more nuanced and reflexive approach to the shows they watch. They are critical of the instruction, the consumer plugs, and the manipulative editing in the shows. At the same time, they buy into the shows' imperative to construct a reflexive self: an inner self that can be seen as if from the outside, and must be explored and expressed to others. The Makeover intervenes in debates about both reality television and audience research, offering the concept of the reflexive self to move these debates forward."--Publisher's website.