Danielle Almond N0175845

Gender and Class in

Makeover Television
A case study of Make my Body Younger and 10
Years Younger
Danielle Almond
N0175845

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a BA Hons Media and
Communications and Society, Nottingham Trent University. May, 2010.

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Danielle Almond N0175845

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Joanne Hollows and Kayley Almond for their help throughout my
dissertation.

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Danielle Almond Abstract N0175845

Abstract

Makeover television as a genre has gained a vast amount of influence and for many

people these programmes serve as lifestyle guides. It is for this reason that a close

inspection of the ideologies displayed within this genre of television programming is

necessary to allow us to gauge whether these messages are appropriate. Furthermore

with the rise of male participants in these programmes further examination is made all

the more necessary. By conducting a close textual analysis and investigating the content

of both Make My Body Younger and 10 Years Younger it was discovered that those

from different genders and classes are ultimately treated differently whilst subject to

their makeovers. One key difference was found within the motivations of male and

female participants, with men generally being made over to gain success in the world of

work whilst women are made over for their own piece of mind. Class was found to be

intrinsically linked to gender with the purpose of the makeover for men being to

emphasise class whereas in female participants it was down played. Another key area of

investigation is self care in the excuses given from participants who have allowed their

bodies to deteriorate into such a state that an expert is now required. In terms of the role

of the expert this shall also be examined in terms of its power to dictate what is

appropriate in terms of lifestyle, gender and class.

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Danielle Almond Contents N0175845

Contents

Introduction Page 5

Chapter 1 Page 9
Contextualisation of Makeover Television
Chapter 2 Page 17
Analysis of Male Representation
Chapter 3 Page 28
Analysis of Female Representation
Chapter 4 Page 36
Comparison of Representations
Conclusion Page 47

Filmography Page 50

Bibliography Page 51

Appendices Page 53

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Danielle Almond Introduction N0175845

Introduction

The focus of my dissertation will be to investigate the politics of class and gender

within my two chosen makeover television texts. I intend to investigate the

representation of these in both 10 Years Younger and Make My Body Younger. By

choosing these two examples, one focusing on the aesthetic makeover and the other

on the more profound health orientated makeover it is possible to compare

representations of gender and class within a broader spectrum of the genre.

A plethora of reasons justify this area as a worthwhile topic of study as television is

now such a ubiquitous part of modern day life which many turn to for both

entertainment and lifestyle advice. As well as this the prime time scheduling of

both programmes as well as their high viewing figures justifies them as noteworthy

and deserving of analysis. Furthermore, I decided on these two particular

programmes as their two different formats are dissimilar enough for me to produce

an engaging comparison between them which allows me to cover a rather broad

area of the body makeover, yet they still feature certain genre conventions placing

them firmly in the makeover genre. As well as this their unusual formats featuring

a public analysis of the participants’ ages and live autopsies are two methods which

have not been subject to a previous detailed analysis.

In terms of the programmes themselves 10 Years Younger and Make My Body

Younger are concerned with physical makeovers of their participants and use

experts to guide them through the process. However there is a difference between

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the texts in that 10 Years Younger is only concerned with the difference in

appearance of the before and after image of the participants whilst Make My Body

Younger shows a greater amount of care for the well being of the participants in

that the makeover is centred around reducing the age of the participants’ vital

organs. Furthermore a concern is also shown about aging in 10 Years Younger

although it is centred on the damaging effects of aging in relation to the

participant’s outer appearance rather than their health. Interestingly there is a cross

over in that it is often the same vices of a poor diet, alcohol consumption and

cigarette smoking which are the source of the participants’ problems in the majority

of cases regardless of which programme they are on. However how these problems

are dealt with bares no resemblance in either of the programmes.

Furthermore I am investigating the wider issues concerning the genre, as the

narrative of the makeover and providing oneself with a new beginning is arguably

one of the oldest and most popular of our time. It is therefore of importance to

piece together the values implicit within these transformations. Furthermore by

looking at representations of what is deemed to be appropriate conduct within these

programmes we can see the way in which assumptions are made about what is

appropriate in terms of masculinity, femininity and class.

Much literature exists examining the ideologies within specific makeover television

programmes, most of which are specific to American texts. By looking at two

British texts, two of which I don’t believe have been analysed in any great detail

before, I shall be able to look specifically at how these are produced for a British

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audience in order to identify their wider cultural implications. Therefore by

conducting a textual analysis of both 10 Years Younger and Make My Body

Younger it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of the principles portrayed

about gender and class. In this way my study will also fill the current gap in this

area of study in the role of the British makeover in mediating issues of gender and

class.

Some of the key concepts which shall be arising throughout my discussion will be

both the construction of masculinity and femininity and its relation to class within

my chosen texts. As well as this I shall be investigating the role of the expert to

legitimate and delegitimize particular tastes and lifestyles. I shall also be

investigating the history of the genre to ascertain its past relationships with both

gender and class. This will allow me to gain more understanding of the genre and

how it has reached such a position. As well as this it will help demonstrate how the

genre has evolved to stay in line with the modern day audience who arguably have

different motivations and lifestyles than the Victorian audience of lifestyle advice

literature.

I shall be using textual analysis to extract the representations and ideologies within

the two programmes to gain a deeper understanding of the complicated

construction of right and wrong ways in which the participants represent

themselves. This will allow me to best compare the way men, women and class are

represented within the two programmes and to be able to extract a cohesive

analysis of the two programmes.

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Chapter one shall be exploring the complex history of the makeover genre as a

whole, tracking the movement from its early origins to the makeover genre we are

now aware of today. It shall also introduce and trace the rise of the male makeover

and the ideologies which allowed this form to become both acceptable and

mainstream. Chapter two shall begin the process of textual analysis of the two

programmes in question; however for the time being shall only focus on the

representation of gender and class concerning male participants only. Predictably

chapter three shall be looking at the gender and class of female participants.

Chapter four then delves further into the complex analysis, as to truly discover the

relevance of gender its different representations must be compared.

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Danielle Almond Contextualization of Makeover Television N0175845

Contextualisation of Makeover Television

To better understand the programmes and the genre I shall be analysing I shall now

be tracing back through the history of the genre. This will help me to make the rest

of my analysis looking at the two specific programmes more thorough and well

informed. As well as this looking at how issues of class and gender have occurred

previously will also help to integrate these ideas in my own textual analysis.

Makeover Television is commonly theorised to be a modern day version of Victorian

advice manuals which first emerged around the time of the industrial revolution and

were mostly concerned with taste, etiquette and domestic advice. (Lewis 2008 p.27)

These manuals were primarily aimed at women and it is argued mark the point when

taste and class first became linked. Through their etiquette advice these manuals

served the purpose of distinguishing the home and self as a primary method of

displaying class and therefore its distinction. (Lewis 2008 p.28) The timing of the

emergence of these advice manuals also coincides with an increase in social mobility

and class aspiration which in turn helped to construct consumption practices into a

marker of taste and status rather than a meaningless necessity. (ibid) From this we

can see that issues of class are integral to the genre as this theme will arise

continually throughout my mapping of the genre.

In one of the most successful Victorian Advice Manuals, Mrs. Beeton’s Book of

Household Management it is described how a woman should dress,

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“In purchasing articles of wearing apparel…it is well for the buyer to

consider three things, I. That it be not too expensive for her purse. II.
That its colour harmonize with her complexion, and its size and pattern
with her figure. III. That its tint allow of it being worn with the other
garments she possesses.” (Beeton 2000 p.11)

Whilst the book focuses mainly on the proper practice for setting up the home for

guests and how to prepare various meals, it can be seen here that the advice offered

on how to buy clothes is not polarised from the advice many televised lifestyle

experts would offer today.

Furthermore the traditional narrative of the fairytale and its ideologies can also be

said to have contributed to the rise of the makeover in popular culture and it is

argued that the messages portrayed in these stories are often internalised by the child.

Whilst this is most often associated with ideology concerning gender roles however

it is also argued that the importance of beauty is reinforced by the narratives in

traditional fairy tales. (Patzer 2008 p.60) Furthermore parallels between the fairy tale

narrative and the fairy godmother figure the expert takes in makeover television has

not gone unnoticed with this archetypal character being described as “the extreme

makeover artist of all time” (Gould 2006 p.77)

In a more contemporary analysis of the makeover genre and moving from the

medium of the written word to television, McRobbie equates self-improvement and

self-improvement television with post-modernity. As first modernity created a

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welfare state and other institutions of which people were able to depend on, this then

lead people to become more independent during second modernity. Now we have

entered post modernity we are now being called upon to invent our own structures

which requires independence and individuality. Self- improvement television,

lifestyle experts and advisors therefore, McRobbie argues, provide the cultural tools

which are needed for individualization to take place. (2004 p.260)

This notion of a relation between neo-liberality and the popularisation of the

makeover genre is a common theme which can be seen time and time again when

analysing makeover television. More associated with modern variations of the

makeover television genre this idea can be seen to be part of a larger public

preoccupation with self improvement and upward mobility. Sender summarises this

movement as a shift from an authoritarian government to one of individual

responsibility; from injunction to expert advice and towards media as sources of

information and evaluation. (2005 p.145) Having been established in the 1980s, neo

liberal philosophy can be seen to have encouraged the public to look to the media for

guidance, something which is exemplary in makeover television.

There are numerous different ideas circulating about how the narrative of the bodily

makeover has come to make up such a large part of prime time TV scheduling and

where its appeal comes from. Melissa Crawley suggests that the ‘Before and After’

format preferred in this genre is a time old pre-occupation and suggests that this is a

modern version of R.W.B Lewis’s Adamic myth where the notion of the rebirth and

the subsequent potential held by biblical character Adam is now an important

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narrative within American culture. (2006 p.52) Despite the distance it may be

perceived that this story has from the narrative of the makeover, as one is based on

devotion to God and purity while the other is based on consumerism and the self, the

notion that Adam was a new man when he was created by God, a grown man

without a past and an unlimited future (ibid) does bare some resemblance to the

common narrative of the participant in a makeover show. The participant similarly

actively wants their own Adamic narrative, attempting to wipe away bad memories

from the past and start a new life with a new body. Additionally as the story of

Genesis and Adam is culturally omnipresent this model is easily applicable to British

culture.

Rachel Moseley is able to better contextualise this within a British framework,

commenting that makeover television was a product of its time. Within the

framework of the New Labour government and their ethos that ‘things can only get

better’ makeover television was part of this suggesting the prospect of change for the

better. (2000 p.300) This again relates to the common ideology within makeover

television that remaining static is unacceptable and that a person must keep their

look up to date in order to be happy and socially accepted. At the same time celebrity

obsession was increasing and makeover television capitalised on this cultural

phenomenon by showing the audience that they too could have the look of a

celebrity. (Moseley 2000 p.307) Both of these motifs will be further explored in my

analysis.

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However whilst the rise of the female makeover narrative can be traced back to

Victorian advise manuals where it was solely women who were addressed as the

consumer more recently there has been a shift to include men in this mode of

address. This can be traced through the rise of the metrosexual culture which rather

than being founded in the 1900s is instead a product of media saturated post-

modernity where images of athletic looking male bodies are the norm. The

neologism metrosexuality is a further example of the trend for men to be addressed

as consumers and was first described by Mark Simpson in the mid 1990s to describe

“urban homosexual males that spend a great amount of time on their personal

appearance.” (Olsberg 2006 p.48)

Further demonstrating the trajectory of the relationship between masculinity and

consumption and pre-dating the metrosexual Nixon discusses the ‘new man’. He

traces the emergence of the new man through the 1980s looking in particular at the

menswear clothing market. Looking in particular at the UK mass menswear clothing

market Nixon notes a rebranding of men’s clothing in the 80s as male customers and

what they were looking for changed. (1996 p.42) Furthermore addressing men as

consumers also began to take hold at this time within the publishing industry and

through magazines addressed at new male readers. (1996 p.145) Nixon concludes

that the ‘new man’ is a regime of representation which took place in a range of

commercial sites including retail, advertising and publishing.

Additionally theorizing the rise of the male consumer, Toby Miller describes how

the notion of metrosexuality is useful in mapping the origins of makeover television

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dedicated to men. The term metrosexuality represents the shift in men being

subjected to the same kinds of commodification as women. In this way it describes

the trend for men to openly take a more feminised position in the consumer market.

(Miller 2006 p.106) It is also correlated with the ‘Adonis Complex’ which is the

phenomena of a vastly increasing rate of male eating disorders and body dimorphism

(Miller 2006 p.112) However what I think is lacking in both Nixon and Millers’

analysis is what conditions allowed the male consumers to be able to align

themselves with these images. I myself would argue that the saturation of these

images normalised them within the mind of the male public. This lead to more men

being included in the traditional makeover narrative which is conventionally

associated with women.

One similarity between both the male and female makeover is the expert, the history

of which is discussed by Lewis who traces lifestyle advice to a basis around the

home and domesticity in the Victorian era. It is then described how this has moulded

to include domestic masculinity and DIY advice in the form of the written word. The

commercialisation of the 1950s particularly in America is then held accountable for

the rise of popular advice culture, as well as the associated post-war economic boom

and rapid expansion of the new lifestyle-orientated middle class. The figure of the

expert is therefore said to have emerged out of the growing industries of public

relations and marketing as this gave way to a new symbolic culture. (Lewis 2008

p.35)

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Another key influence in the rise of lifestyle expertise could also be argued to have

arisen from the increase in consumer magazines and the ideologies which were

associated with them. Lifestyle magazines such as Playboy and Cosmopolitan are

cited to have contributed to a mainstreaming of elite consumption practices

particularly in the post war period where there was a marked shift between ‘making

do’ to a more middle class culture of consumption of the latest consumer goods. As

well as this magazines could also be seen to be acting as taste makers informing

readers what was in good taste and promoting higher standards. A shift could also be

seen in the voice of this literature which began to be increasingly dialogic rather than

prescriptive making it easier for a character to step in and take this role of expert

from the magazines. (Lewis 2008 p.36) This shift from text based advice to visual

modes of communication on lifestyle advice is argued to have occurred during the

1980s and 1990s when consumption was normalised as a whole way of life. (Lewis

2008 p.39)

Moving into modernity the guide of an expert has been associated with themes of the

home as a site of refuge from the pressures of modernity and work. Furthermore

advice culture has demonstrated a preoccupation with self care and personal style as

important sites of personal regulation. (Lewis 2008 p.45)

In conclusion there are a variety of different origins which can be said to have

contributed to the current public concern with the bodily makeover making it

difficult to claim that one is more important than any other. As well as this the male

makeover also has a similar range of ideas circulating about its origin. I will now go

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on to look in detail at the two programmes in terms of how they address both gender

and class.

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Analysis of Male Representation

Here I shall begin the textual analysis of my two chosen programmes after a brief

introduction to the two different formats and the premises behind the

programmes. I shall only be exploring the representations of male participants at

this stage however I will go on to look at this again as I compare the

representation of male participants to females. In this chapter I shall be looking at

the way in which masculinity and class are represented and exploring whether

representations of these are interconnected.

The two programmes I shall be looking at, as previously mentioned are, Make My

Body Younger and 10 Years Younger. A brief description of the format of Make

My Body Younger is that a participant who has been put forward by their friends

and family as needing help is chosen. This individual often regularly drinks to

excess, smokes, consumes drugs and eats a poor diet. The audience is shown their

typical behaviour whilst a ‘live autopsy’ is conducted which uses computer

technology to superimpose an image of the participant’s chest being cut open and

each of their vital organs being examined. Doctor Curran then details the extent of

damage the participant has subjected their vital organs to and the age of each

organ is revealed in terms of how much use that particular organ has been put to.

Presenter George Lamb is also present often asking how the participant feels. The

age of each organ is often shockingly older than the real age of the participant.

Another doctor then moves into the participant’s house for a week to guide them

through the best choices to make in order to reduce the age of their vital organs

and maintain a healthy lifestyle after they are left alone again. Another live

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autopsy is then conducted similar to the first. However rather than being shocked

at the participant’s lack of self preservation their new organ ages are often shown

to have been dramatically reduced.

Similarly in 10 Years Younger reducing age is a primary concern of the expert. A

participant is correspondingly selected after nomination from their friends and

family. Often this participant looks a great deal older than they actually are due to

excessive smoking, drinking and other lifestyle choices. The participant is then

subject to the public poll where 100 members of the public will attempt to guess

their age, a mean is taken and, similarly to the vital organ age in Make my Body

Younger, this is often shockingly older than the participants real age and comes as

a similar shock to them. A group of experts than discuss the haggard appearance

of the participant and their course of action in terms of dentistry, surgery, laser

treatments, hair, makeup and wardrobe. Expert Nikki Campbell then guides the

participant through these various different procedures and then guides them

herself on clothing. The reveal then takes place and another public poll is

conducted with the aim of taking 10 years off the first public poll age.

In both Make My Body Younger and 10 Years Younger all participants are treated

equally in terms of the format of both programmes remaining the same. However

it is also quite clear to see that both programmes characterise gender and class as

there are marked differences in terms of how these are represented.

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To focus on the representation of male participants one episode which certainly

includes some interesting representations of both class and gender is that featuring

Stewart Burton in Make My Body Younger (2008 Series 1 Episode 2). Stewart is a

25 year old events co-ordinator from Brighton whose job means that he has to

socialise and whose excessive drinking is beginning to worry his fiancée.

Throughout the episode we can see that Stewart Burton is subjected to treatment

and analysis that is undoubtedly specific to men. When Doctor Curran is

conducting his ‘live autopsy’ various stereotypes about masculine attitudes

towards their health and particularly sexual health are reinforced.

There is a plethora of evidence concerning the gendered approaches to health. It is

a widely known fact that women out live men with latest statistics showing that

men in the United Kingdom have a life expectancy of 77.4 years whilst women

can be expected to live to the age of 81.6 (Office for National Statistics 2009).

Possible reasons for this include male apathy to their own health care however

others take the opinion that this phenomenon is natural and inevitable. However it

has been shown that men are significantly more likely than women to have had no

recent contact with their doctor, a statement which continues to be true regardless

of income, ethnicity and therefore class. (Courtenay 2000 p.1386) Further

research has demonstrated that men are under comparatively greater pressure to

conform to gendered behaviour with those traits concerning health including

independence, self reliance, strength, robustness and toughness. With this it

comes as no surprise that women engage in more health-promoting behaviours

than men and have healthier lifestyle patterns.(Courtenay 2000 p.1387) Whilst

reasoning behind this is somewhat unknown it has been theorised that men use

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their health beliefs and behaviours to demonstrate dominant and hegemonic

masculine ideals that clearly establish them as men and the stronger sex.

(Courtenay 2000 p.1388)

This behaviour is exemplary in Stewart who prior to the live autopsy is asked

about what he thinks his results will be. During the autopsy procedure we are

shown a snippet of this interview where Stewart says, “nothing’s wrong with my

sperm”. A freeze frame is then employed and the image of Stewart with what can

be described as a smug facial expression is put into monochrome. This is then

quickly cut into the live autopsy room where it is then explained in great detail

how in actual fact his sperm is very far from healthy and is even described as

“deformed” which could lead to his children also being deformed.

Here a typically masculine attitude to makeovers is shown as it is clear that

Stewart believes that he is practically indestructible, particularly when it comes to

his manhood, his sperm. The use of the freeze frame, cut to monochrome and

drum beat on the quick cut further emphasises that Stewart’s assumptions are

wrong and that he is deluding himself. These techniques are used in good effect to

create a reaction of shock in the viewer and to convey Stewart’s shock at hearing

this potentially extremely upsetting information.

Another typically masculine attitude is shown as after the autopsy is completed

and Stewart is asked by presenter, George Lamb, how he feels, he says, “All of a

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sudden I’ve got a pickled brain and dodgy jizz”. This is said to reactions to

laugher from his nearby watching family who were all clearly showing signs of

shock at the information revealed during the autopsy. Here humour is being

employed by Stewart: however, it is clear from his reactions early on that he was

indeed genuinely shocked by his poor results in his autopsy. This coping

mechanism is shown to be common when receiving news about infertility (Burns

and Covington 2000 p.143)

This use of humour is can also be seen employed by the male participants in 10

Years Younger. This can be seen particularly with the participant Simon Dehany.

(2007 Series 4 Episode 9) He describes himself whilst laughing saying , “I have

been likened to a certain person from the bible”, “People have indicated I’m

tramp-like” and when talking about his new style, “I’d like to address the mid

way ground in between smart and casual, smart casual I think it’s called.” Here it

could be interpreted that humour is being used to masculinise himself whilst

talking about style, something he is clearly not comfortable with and he doesn’t

associate with himself with.

Furthermore in this particular episode of 10 Years Younger class representation

can be further seen in another episode featuring Richard Power (2004 Series 1

Episode 4) who is working as an acid cleaner for the exterior of buildings and will

soon be opening his own night club and working as the manager. The voice over

explains his problem saying, “The irony is he is an entrepreneur of a cleaning

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company but he looks like a cleaner”. Here we can see the connotation is that a

person’s image must reflect their status.

This ideal is reflected by Barber who relates this to rapid economic growth and

the increase in white collar jobs. Richard’s story is exemplified here, “As it

became necessary for the corporate man to interact with customers and clients,

interpersonal skills, personality and appearance became essential” (Barber 2008

p.459) Additionally Hearn argues that is part of a branded self and that in

situations such as this, “we see the ‘self’ as a commodity for sale in the labour

market, which must generate its own rhetorically persuasive packaging.” (Hearn

2008 p.498) This situation represented on 10 Years Younger can also be said to

represent a wider movement of men into the hair salon as Barber explains that one

of the three key reasons men are moving into the hair salon is “to obtain a stylish

haircut they conflate with white professional-class aesthetics” (p.464) However

the key to class differentiation here is the visitation of a hair salon rather than a

barbershop to demonstrate a separation from the working-class.

However it could be said that as Richard is given little choice as to any part of his

makeover, his attendance at the hair salon could not be a representation of his

upward class mobility. Despite this I would argue that regardless of whether the

decision to attend a hair salon was made by him or not, the decision was still

made and therefore is a representation of Richard’s upward social mobility.

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One difference between this participant Richard and the previous participant

mentioned, Simon, is that Richard actively resists his makeover saying whilst the

experts are inspecting his face to determine whether all of his red veins have been

removed by the laser and want to do some more work on a particularly stubborn

vein, “Is anybody going to ask me?” Despite this when asked he still replies, “If

you think it’s going to work.” Further resistance is seen when trying on his new

clothes as suggested by stylist, Nikki Campbell, he comments, “I look bloody

horrible” despite this he does still eventually relent and wear the clothes he is

given by Campbell.

The role of the expert is a complex one made ever thornier by challenges to their

authority by participants. The expert typically serves as a mediator between the

public opinion of the participants’ looks and the participant’s own interpretation

of their appearance as they often either cannot see this or refuse to care about it.

Regardless of any attempts by participants to refuse the authority of the expert,

the expert serves as the epitome of good taste and lifestyle choices. To legitimate

the opinions of the expert and to reinforce these messages about class various

different techniques are employed. (Lewis 2008 p.78) One example of this in the

episode featuring Simon is that family members, friends and colleagues are

depicted throwing a ‘surprise beard party’ where as Simon arrives home he in

confronted by a group all wearing large, costume beards. They all then light

heartedly discuss the drawbacks of Simon’s own beard. Furthermore one of the

unique selling points of this particular programme is its legitimatisation of how

awful the participant looks pre transformation, in the public poll of their estimated

age. The way this is conducted usually in an unrestricted high street by members

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of the public serves to reinforce the universality of the notion that the way the

participant looks is unacceptable.

Furthermore Hearn argues that techniques such as this serve to exploit the unpaid

volunteers and their psychological anxieties as they work to produce a new

branded self image required for a new job. Additionally, the use of the public poll

of the participants estimated age would serve in Hearn’s point of view as a

ritualised form of humiliation and an intentionally humiliating narrative prop. As

well as this the experts augment this effect by acting as a representative of the

imagined authoritative gaze of the television image industry. (Hearn 2008 p.499)

Although these narrative devices can be seen in all episodes of 10 Years Younger

it is in this particular episode featuring Richard where he is citing his new job as

his motivation for transformation which can be seen to best apply to the idea of

the branding of the self.

Looking at class in the male participants on Make My Body Younger as a whole it

is clear that class does come into play. Particularly with a participant called Miles

Chapman (2009 Series 2 Episode 7), who after having graduated from Oxford and

being somewhat of a musical prodigy in his youth, mastering eight different

instruments and winning a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, has now

lost interest in music and is instead living in a world of excess. He is shown

drinking fine wines and dining in decadent restaurants.

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In one particular scene he is shown having lunch with his father in a room which

is ambiguous as to whether it is their home or a restaurant. They dine casually

dressed however there is a pristine white table cloth over the table and the father

has a glass of water next to a specific wine glass of white wine. In the mise-en-

scene behind them is wooden panelling, a full book shelf and a lamp which could

be described as wonky. They are eating a small piece of salmon garnished with a

small herb each using fish knives. Later on Miles admits he has a taste for fois

grois. These signs are all used in conjunction and together with the participant’s

received pronunciation act as strong signifiers to the viewer that this individual is

without doubt upper class.

This raises issues of class between the two programmes as we can see here that

specifically in the case of Miles it would be a possibility that he could have hired

himself a personal trainer to help him change his lifestyle as well as private

healthcare to monitor this. However on 10 Years Younger we can see that

participants often could not afford the treatments they are receiving courtesy of

the programme. Specifically in the case of Richard who we can see has spent his

funds on his new business rather than on himself. In this case it can be seen that

the lower class participants on 10 Years Younger are effectively trading their

privacy for the benefits of the treatments offered to them. (Sender and Sullivan

2008 p.582)

In the case of Miles, antithetically to the participant Stewart mentioned earlier, he

is a young man living with other male friends without guidance from a partner or

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his parents. Additionally despite his vast knowledge of food and knowing what is

good and bad for him Miles does not demonstrate any knowledge of the best way

to lose weight. In a talking head style interview the Doctor who guided Miles,

Radha Modgil, explains,

“The way in which he wanted to do it I got quite a lot of resistance in

terms of he wanted to be quite extreme about it and didn’t see there
was anything wrong with the way he was doing it ... The worst thing
you can do is go to an extreme, go up and down, and actually that’s a
lot more unhealthy than being just a little bit over weight.”

Here we can see again similarly to the case of Richard Power in 10 Years

Younger, resistance of the advice of the expert is taking place.

However comparing this approach to that of Stewart we can see that the family

and support network surrounding particularly male participants is an interesting

area to investigate. Whilst watching the autopsy Stewart’s girlfriend Donella says,

“We’ll go shopping together and spend a fortune on food but then at dinner time

he’ll say ‘Oh no, I fancy a take away’” This behaviour is exemplary of that

described by Miller where it is described that love and care are central to “the

ideology behind mundane domestic activities such as shopping” (1998 p.22)

Miller goes on to describe the thought process of the typical housewife who

engages in this kind of behaviour whilst caring for her family, she is said to be

constantly worried that they should eat healthier and if left to choose for

themselves their food would not be good for them. (p.18) This caring behaviour

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can also be seen in the guilt and shock that Donella displays through her facial

expressions when the age of Stewart’s vital organs are revealed.

Furthermore the lack of this behaviour can be seen in the case of Miles who

without a caring figure has let his body go into disrepair particularly his heart

which was caused by his diet which could ironically be described as poor.

Although it can also be seen that Stewart has also let his body go comparatively it

is his heart age which is caused by his poor diet that is a smaller problem in

comparison to his brain and lungs which have been mistreated as a result of his

smoking and drug use. Two habits which it could be understood do not apply to

Miller’s theory of making love in supermarkets.

From my analysis it can be seen that the Miller’s theory of ‘making love in

supermarkets’ has particular relevance in that those participants who are single

and without a female figure to care for them require more from the expert. As

well as this the two programmes serve to reinforce typically masculine attitudes

towards health and self care or lack thereof.

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Analysis of Female Representation

In both Make My Body Younger and 10 Years Younger we can see that

representation of women differs from that of men. Here I shall be investigating

the specific differences between the way women are represented in both

programmes and theorising the possible reasons behind this.

Antithetically to the reaction of Stewart who uses a joke about his poor results in

the live autopsy we can see that Amy Dickens (2008 Series 1 Episode 7), who

when informed that her joints have an age of 50, when she is only 20, begins to

cry whilst still lying on the live autopsy bed. The music used whilst the monitor

counts up as the age of her joints is revealed to be higher and higher reflects these

emotions of dread. String music evocative of a horror movie plays whilst the dark

moody lighting also adheres to these genre conventions. As well as this an alarm

is sounded when the joint age of 50 is settled upon which further serves to add to

the sense of shock and horror at the result.

These parallels between the horror genre and makeover television are commonly

made and can also be seen in 10 Years Younger. Jones explains how the reveal

moment is a key point of comparison between the two genres, comparing this to

the moment of birth. This can be seen in the “long labour of blood and tears

leading up” (2008 p.518) to the reveal moment where many contestants have gone

through painful ordeals involving invasive cosmetic surgery treatments. Another

point of comparison is the participant’s common inability but craving to look at

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themselves in the mirror. This can be seen to be similar to the way the viewer of a

horror movie may be unable to look at the screen but at the same time is

compelled to. (ibid) This further serves to emphasise the difference between the

body during diagnosis and then at the reveal as the participants commonly no

longer recognise themselves. In comparing the two genres it can also be seen that

these key features and points of comparison, the reveal and the grotesque surgical

procedures, are significant parts of both the male and female makeover.

This re-birthing of the participant connotes ideals of freedom as many participants

often express now being able to do things that they were unable to before. This

can be seen in both 10 Years Younger and Make My Body Younger. However, this

perhaps relates a bit more to the participants in 10 Years Younger and only

relating to those who have taken part in Make My Body Younger who have

achieved a substantial weight loss as despite being healthier participants do not

look substantially different. Although it is true that participants may report feeling

substantially different after the makeover. However Jones takes a different

outlook on this process describing those who are now looking like a female ideal

as both liberated and subordinated in that they only relate more strongly to

stereotypical ideas of femininity. (ibid) This is further explained as we can see

that the body is seen as women’s source of power, requiring constant monitoring,

surveillance, discipline and remodelling. (Jones 2008 p. 521) This is also seen in

the participant of Amanda who has chosen to be made to look 10 Years Younger

to get back into the labour market.

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Another example of a gendered procedure in Make My Body Younger can be seen

with the participant named Cindy Cottrell (2008 Series 1 Episode 3) who is taken

by her mentor to get a physical makeover. However the voice over describes it as

“with a twist”. The doctor takes his hands off from over her eyes as she enters the

room with the makeup artist and her equipment to reveal his surprise treat for her.

It is then revealed to the audience that the makeup artist will be adding wrinkles

instead of removing them to highlight the damage done to the body by smoking.

Here we can see that the participant’s sense of vanity is being appealed to in order

to encourage her to stop smoking, a device which is not used with any of the male

participants in the series.

A form of humiliation is then employed as she is made to wear her aged make up

for a night out later, as well as this dramatic irony is used as whilst being made

up, Cindy does not know that wrinkles are being added saying “I’m definitely

going to have one of these for my wedding.” She is then shown in shock and

disbelief as she inspects her made up face in the mirror.

However in 10 Years Younger it is possible to see that the women take a much

less stereotypically feminine reaction to hearing their bad news, as instead of

bursting into tears most laugh off the comments despite obviously being quite

hurt. For example in one particular episode we see Amanda Davies (2008 Series 5

Episode 1) (unlike Amy from Make My Body Younger) laughs off the bad news

she is given. Although we can see that she is shocked a smile is on her face, and

despite the news being undoubtedly unpleasant, we can clearly see from her facial

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expression that she is not about to cry. This is significant in that it demonstrates

that the women featured are able to control their emotions, a trait more commonly

associated with masculinity.

We can see that both the fake makeover and the delivery of a public poll serve to

humiliate the participant. This is mentioned by McRobbie who describes this

behaviour as “a return to old fashioned ‘school-girl’ styles of feminine bitchiness,

rivalry and bullying which are updated to comply with the postmodern styles of

contemporary popular entertainment.” (2008 p.128) This can be easier applied to

10 Years Younger where we can see that despite trying to help the participants,

especially in the first half of the programme, Nikki does meet many of the

conventions of the typical school bully. The notion that Nikki is also telling the

participant such harsh opinions about the way she looks, ‘for her own good’ is

also another means of bullying and a tactic seen to be employed by many school

girl bullies. (Besag 2006 p.57) Here it is argued that makeover programmes such

as this use tactics of humiliation in order to create entertainment for the audience

and could be seen to be exploiting those who are willing to participate in them. I

shall go on to compare this to the treatment of men in the programme in chapter

four.

Furthermore in both programmes we can see that being a mother is used as a

catalyst for the participants letting their bodies deteriorate in such a way and also

not taking any action about it. For example one participant on Make My Body

Younger Bobbi Gracie (2009 Series 2 Episode 6), explains, “My average day was

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I woke up really early, running around after my daughter, I was cleaning my

house, I wasn’t eating until about dinner time and when I was it was pizza and

complete rubbish I was eating.” This can also be seen in 10 Years Younger with a

participant named Amanda Davies who was a former member of the Navy before

leaving to have a family. The voice over describes this saying, “After leaving the

Navy Amanda started a five man crew of her own while running around after the

kids ran herself into the ground.” This is a highly gendered aspect of makeover

television as there is a substantial difference between male and female

participants as a lack of self care due to prioritising others is not used as

justification for the male makeover. This shall be explored in greater detail in

chapter four.

In addition with particular reference to 10 Years Younger we can see that the

expert is used as a model for the participants. This can be seen specifically in

scenes of each programme where “style guru” Nikki is introduced. She is shown

to be the opposite of the participant in her whole demeanour, she is introduced

using camera wipes over her body immediately after camera wipes of close ups of

the particular problem areas of the participant. This serves to make the viewer

compare the two images as the same camera techniques are used. As well as this

Nikki is shown to be flicking her long, blonde curled hair and could easily be

described as flawless. (Appendix 1)

Furthermore her argument that the participant must be beautiful is echoed in the

wipes that are used to show a change of location and in and out of the

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advertisements. Here pastel coloured butterflies move across the screen although

a plain straight wipe, like the appearance of the participant, may have been

practical and achieved the desired effect, but should be beautiful. (Appendix 2)

In the case of Liz Tewnion (2007 Series 4 Episode 15) a participant in 10 Years

Younger her current job is emphasised. She is shown at work, at her job as a

senior nurse, which is somewhat of a rarity for this programme. However it could

be argued that she is masculinised by the emphasis of her choice of car which is a

sporty Audi. She is then judged by her friends and family to be having a mid life

crisis, and to be trying to recapture her youth with her purchase and love of her

car. These are all traits which are commonly associated with masculinity. She

then goes on to complain that her youthful personality does not match her look

and that this is her motivation for her transformation. This reason is not given by

any of the males as to why they would like to transform their bodies.

This idea further relates to wider ideas that the participants feel their exterior must

match their interior personalities. Therefore it can be easily seen that for many of

the participants their makeover serves as an expression of the self-reliance in a

society that equates beauty with success. (Crawley 2006 p.54) This relates to

questions of gender power as the male participants place less emphasis on making

their interior personality match their exterior appearance. For the male

participants on 10 Years Younger it seems that the only reason they feel they need

to transform their appearance is that it is not deemed appropriate by society. This

suggests that they would not be having a makeover at all if their appearance was

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not inhibiting them in some way as it is. This is not the same for the female

participants who feel that their interiors and exteriors should match for their own

piece of mind. Crawley suggests they may want to be transformed as beauty is

equated with success however it seems the female participants have a stronger

desire to look successful rather than to be successful.

It is also possible to see that during the reveal the women on 10 Years Younger

tend to feel that their makeovers now equate them to celebrities. For example

Amanda, during the reveal, says, “She’s given me Kylie eyes and everything”.

This is a common motif within makeover television and demonstrates that today

the desire to be a star is the modern day equivalent of a fairy-tale. (Weber 2005)

Weber goes on to discuss the use of celebrity in makeover television suggesting

that is not class mobility which is the motivation behind the change, as it can be

seen that the participants do not claim to want to become a lady, but instead they

want to change their body so that it relates to what culture deems beautiful which

is in our culture, is a movie star. This succinctly articulated by the phrase, “It’s

about glamour, not grammar.”(ibid) Additionally references to celebrity such as

this are not seen in the male participants, therefore it could be generalised that for

men grammar supersedes glamour as their motivation for change.

This can similarly be seen in Make My Body Younger where female participants

whilst still being concerned about their health also claim that their physical

appearance is another form of motivation for their makeover. For example a

female participant named Emma Sheldon (2008 Series 1 Episode 1), it is

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described by the voiceover, “is not just worried about how her smoking is

effecting her inside, but what’s on the outside is also weighing on her mind.” She

then goes on to describe how she has kept all her size 10 and 12 clothes on a rail

in the loft as she now cannot fit into them. Here bad consumer behaviour is also

associated with the participant pre makeover, which is another motif seen also in

10 Years Younger and the participant Amanda, who is mocked for buying vast

amounts of charity shop bargain clothes which she then doesn’t wear. This

behaviour is not seen with any of the male participants in either of the

programmes Make My Body Younger or 10 Years Younger.

In conclusion it can be seen that representations of women prioritise aesthetics as

the motivation for change and de-emphasises the role of class mobility instead

replacing it with an assimilation towards celebrity culture. Furthermore this focus

on aesthetics is still prevalent when the makeover does not concern physical

beauty at all and is instead focused on health. However, relating to the male

makeover and ideas of caring behaviours, I have also argued that commonly

female participants are said to have been too busy caring for others to have time

to prioritise care for themselves.

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Comparison on Representations

Having looked at the male and female representation separately it is now also

important to look at the two together in order to fully understand their

significance in comparison to one another. As well as this there are various other

elements of the two programmes which don’t relate to class or gender and which

are a valid part of the formats so therefore must be considered in my analysis.

Furthermore there are several aspects of the two programmes that transcend both

gender and class yet are still important to consider in my discussion.

One essential part of the two programmes which to analyse comprehensively must

be looked at in terms of both the sexes is the role of the expert. This relates

strongly to questions of class specifically when the expert is commonly unable to

make any sense of the participant’s lifestyle choice. One point of comparison can

be seen in Make My Body Younger where Doctor Curran takes a non judgemental

approach to the participants’ lifestyle choices, instead factually explaining the

damage that has been done to their body. This aspect of the programme remains

identical regardless of the gender, or for that matter, class of the participant.

The idea of expertise towards health within Make My Body Younger can be seen

to be problematic in that the programme can be seen to make up part of a wider

blurring of the lines between health and lifestyle expertise. As we can see that

Doctor Curran while conducting the live autopsy segment of the programme

remains strictly objective and scientific with his approach to the participants

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bodies, however the doctor which moves in with the participant then takes a more

holistic approach to advising the participants on both their health and lifestyle.

For example in one particular episode the doctor who moves in with a participant

named Lynsey Carratt (2009 Series 2 Episode 8), Dr Ahmed, acts as her lifestyle

consultant, advising that after already having gone to one party that Lynsey

should go to bed rather than to go out again as she will inevitably continue to

drink. Here we can see that issues of legitimate and illegitimate tastes comes into

play as Dr. Ahmed is imposing what he believes to be right for her health by

interfering in her lifestyle. In this case it can be seen that Lynsey is somewhat

extraordinary in this respect as she is the only female participant on either two

programmes to strongly resist the help of the expert ignoring his commands and

continuing to party. This demonstrates the expert’s power to impose what they

believe to be legitimate and illegitimate in terms of behaviour and consumption

upon the participant however in this case the expert’s advice is dismissed

altogether.

Furthermore, looking back at the idea of the victimisation of participants we can

see that, as previously discussed, participants are often humiliated for the

purposes of creating an entertaining television programme. Another interesting

point of comparison is to investigate whether gender or class has any kind of

effect on this. In the case of 10 Years Younger as the format of the programme

remains the same regardless of the class or gender of the participant it seems that

the victimisation of the participants transcends gender and class, the same could

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be said for Make My Body Younger. However as with 10 Years Younger there are

a great deal more female participants which makes the treatment of the two

difficult to accurately compare.

Here it would be interesting to note the importance of the production of the two

programmes as we can see that one key difference here is that 10 Years Younger

is shown on a commercial channel, Four. While Make My Body Younger is a BBC

programme shown on BBC Three. From this we can deduce that 10 Years

Younger is more concerned about viewer rating as they are aiming to make money

from the advertisements shown in the breaks and although BBC Three would still

be concerned about audience share various other aspects need to be taken into

consideration by the producers. For example it is argued that as the public must

pay a license fee which funds the BBC they have more of an obligation to

produce quality programming. As well as this they have a duty to inform the

viewers and as they are not under any obligation to commercials they are

therefore able to take more risks as they will not lose any money as a result of a

particular programme being unsuccessful. From these factors it can be seen that

Channel Four maybe more unconcerned about humiliating it’s participants as they

also have a duty to deliver a good return on investment to the companies which

chose to advertise on their channel.

This feature of contemporary lifestyle media is argued by Lewis who explains

that, “it is increasingly hard to distinguish between medical and health and fitness

advice and other lifestyle-orientated information from beauty, grooming, and

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bodily maintenance to advice on ‘balancing work, home life and relationships.”

(Lewis 2008 p. 115) This is exemplary in the case of Lynsey who is advised by

Dr. Ahmed on the damage her London party lifestyle is doing to her work life as

well as her social standing which is legitimated through her home which is

positioned within a ‘swish London gated community’, emphasised to the audience

both through the voice over and various shots of the gates themselves. Here this

commodity and its class associations are mentioned numerous times in order to

demonstrate how damaging her lifestyle is; not only to her body but also to her

class as her party lifestyle has now come to be interfering with her work and is

encroaching on her position as occupier of the apartment and associated

membership to the community within the gates. This demonstrates that in this

situation lifestyle is seen to be more important than health in that it has become a

key concern of the makeover for this individual. Furthermore in this case it may

have been beneficial to move out of the community in that it is her friends who

she lives near who can be seen to be a bad influence on her lifestyle, however this

possibility is not mentioned.

However in 10 Years Younger the expert takes a different role and is seemingly

only concerned with the superficial and therefore the immediate. This can be seen

in that continually participants who have rotten teeth due a variety of reasons are

made over with no concern that the results will not last if they continue to not take

care of their teeth through smoking and consuming excessive amounts of sugar

for example. From this it can be seen here that Lewis’s comment on the trend of

confusion between health and lifestyle does not necessarily apply to 10 Years

Younger where it seems that the only concern is physical appearance giving

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health no consideration. This is another aspect of the two programmes which also

seems to transcend both gender and class.

Additionally, a point of comparison which can be made between the male and

female participants in the two programmes is that it can be seen that the women,

as a general rule, take more care of themselves and don’t let their bodies

deteriorate into such a bad state both superficially and more profoundly, than the

men. Some statistical evidence which can be applied to this is the data of smoking

rates in the United Kingdom. From this we can see that the number of male

smokers exceeds female smokers in all age groups except ages 16-19. (Office for

National Statistics 2004) This could be interpreted to demonstrate that women

care more for their health than men. However there are various other reasons

behind why a person may decide to smoke or not that are unrelated to health

concerns or gender, for example some may find it too expensive.

Looking at this in more detail one possible reason for this could be that it seems

friends are much more of an influence for the men than the women. This can be

explicitly seen in one of the participants named, Lee Woollard (2008 Series 1

Episode 5), who is shown vomiting during a heavy session of drinking. Then in a

carnivalesque moment within the mise en scene of a pub Lee is shown tipping a

bucket of his own sick and, we are informed by the voice over, other peoples into

a pint glass. After being heavily cajoled by his friends he then tries to drink it and

is unsurprisingly unsuccessful. Here in his dress in a rugby top he fulfils the

stereotype of a heavy drinking, rugby playing, ‘lad’. One of his friends then

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explains with a smirk on his face that, “He is sick quite often”. None of this kind

of behaviour is shown by any of the women on either programme and no evidence

of this attitude is shown by their friends. This relates back to the work of Miller

discussed in chapter two where it is argued that females are care givers through

consumption in the supermarket, however here it can be seen that men are not

acting as caregivers, as well as this it can be used as evidence that women are

generally more caring than men. This also demonstrates differences in class as the

typically working class background of a pub is often cited as a place where

problems are forgotten about through drink.

Another point of comparison which would be interesting to make between the

genders relates to the work of Jones mentioned in chapter three where the genre

of makeover television is compared to horror. Jones only applies this to makeover

formats featuring female participants however many of the points of comparison

between the genres such as the moment of reveal and the theme of rebirth also

occur with male participants. However in comparison to the horror genre I believe

that comparison cannot stand as well when the participant is male. This is because

in horror an important archetype is a helpless female victim, other conventions

include a male gaze upon the victim’s body and female screams. Although it

seems that women seem to take the role of the victim in this horror comparison it

could also be seen that men also take on a role in this argument. Men therefore, in

the before form only, take the role of the monster and antagonist. However once

the transformation has taken place this comparison could no longer apply.

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Having mentioned the gaze here it is also significant in my analysis to look at

how this differs between the sexes. Theorising this Sartre claims that the gaze of

others results in “primordial Shame under the eyes of the Other, and a fierce

desire to reassert one’s freedom. The other person has stolen “the secret” of who I

am. I must fight back, resist their attempts to define me” (1999 p.172) However

this feeling is described as universal occurring in both men and women. However

Bordo expands on this claiming that men and women are “socially sanctioned to

deal with the gaze of the Other in different ways.” (p.173 1999) Women it is

claimed, learn to the play with the gaze and may even come to enjoy it. However

some men, “are not supposed to enjoy being surveyed period.” (ibid) This leads

us to question why male participants put themselves forward for the experience at

all. This may provide us with an answer as to why in terms of the physical

makeover seen in 10 Years Younger it seems that resistance comes from men.

Despite this Bordo does not go on to mention that in putting themselves up for

these kind of shows the ordinary man (as opposed to the male model Bordo only

discusses) is contradicting her idea that men don’t want to be surveyed, however

published in 1999 the male makeover could have been regarded as of little

importance.

Consequently, to investigate this myself I would argue that rather than a desire to

be surveyed the scrutiny which the male participants put themselves under is

more of a means to an end. Despite this, the aims of both the men and women

who put themselves forward for these programmes are both for more important

reasons which outweigh the analysis they will be subject to during the process of

the makeover. As well as this it could be seen that with the rise of metrosexual

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culture since the 1980s it is no longer as true that men want to avoid at all costs

the dissecting gaze. This is further discussed in chapter one.

To make a more universal comparison of genres than horror, I could see that the

tale of the female participant transforming herself both physically and moving

upward socially bares more of a resemblance to the traditional ‘Cinderella’ fairy

story. A comparison echoed in a plethora of literature about the genre including

within the work of Philips who says, “The fashion makeover show works as a

powerful Cinderella narrative; the ‘big reveal’ puts the subject at the centre of a

transformation scene achieved through the magical powers of television.” (2008

p.126) Whilst this beautification and social mobility does occur to the male

participants, I propose that a more accurate parallel narrative instead comes in the

form of Beauty and the Beast rather than Cinderella. For example in the case of

the male physical makeover a common aim is to appear more approachable and

confident for the purposes of business networking. This is mirrored in the tale of

Beauty and the Beast as the shy beast holds himself captive in his own castle,

afraid to face the world. The Beast, who was formerly handsome, is then

transformed back into his old more aesthetically pleasing form and is now more

friendly, sociable and confident as a result. As well as this the expert who guides

the male participant is often attractive and could act as a replacement for The

Beauty figure. Although The Beast’s aim is for love rather than for economic

gain, finding love is another common key aim of the male makeover, although

one I have not seen to be the most common in analysis of 10 Years Younger and

Make My Body Younger. However the catalyst which allows The Beast to turn

back into a human is instead a kiss from The Beauty, rather than just her

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guidance, regardless there are definitely numerous parallels which can be drawn

between the two narratives.

Bordo further discusses the comparison between Beauty and the Beast and

masculinity. To criticise my idea Bordo puts forward the argument that The

Beast’s appearance is more sexually attractive than the beautiful version of the

character that is described as pretty and blue eyed. However as the story has been

transformed in different variations The Beast is sometimes monstrous and in other

deviations more sexualised. Discussing the more tame Disneyised version of the

story Bordo suggests that the most common message within the tale is that “love

requires learning to see beyond externals”(1999 p.243), however the men that I

have encountered within my analysis are not looking for love, instead for success

in the world of business. Another comparison which can be made is that The

Beast is also shown to be good natured in his constant contrasts to Gaston who is

arrogant and anti-intellectual whilst The Beast owns a high-ceilinged library full

of books. Here the notion that The Beast is intellectual and genuinely a good man

and is only held back from social acceptance due to his appearance can be seen to

have parallels in the male makeover narrative. (ibid)

Furthermore another important aspect of the two programmes is the device of

celebrity. This is used more in 10 Years Younger than in Make My Body Younger.

As the format of the show has developed between the first series to the most

recent series, the influence of celebrities has been seen to increase. In the first

series the programme lasted 29 minutes and only featured the participant and their

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makeover whereas now in the most recent, fifth series, the programme now lasts

49 minutes and features other magazine style features for the audience. For

example there is advice given from the Grazia magazine style editor, Paula Reed,

on how to wear different trends and how to copy the look of a particular celebrity,

alongside make up advice from celebrity makeup artist, Lisa Eldridge. Style

advice is given on episodes with male participants. However, taking the place of

makeup advice is consumer advice on the best way to shave a face and style

advice takes the form of cat-walk trends for men and an analysis of the style of

male celebrities. Here we can see that copying particular celebrities becomes part

of the motivation for the participant’s transformation. However it seems that

although the women tend to mention this and specifically the names of the

particular celebrities they would like to look like it seems than the men have this

forced upon them and doesn’t enter their mind as a reasonable reason to change

the way they look.

Brenda Weber discusses these issues further as well as the ubiquity of the desire

to be a celebrity in makeover television, “The fascination with movie star looks in

itself functions as a legitimating device, the show seems to be saying, celebrities

are the people we are most interested in and who must be happiest.” (2005)

Looking at the further implications of this she argues that this ubiquity and the

messages it brings reinforces to the audience that fame is the only way to be

happy and that looking better means living better. This is also echoed by the

upward social mobility many of the participants are expecting to arrive after the

makeover. Weber sums this up saying “the desire to be a star is the 21st century

equivalent of a fairy tale.” (ibid)

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In comparison to Make My Body Younger the issue of celebrity is dealt with

differently with one special celebrity episode rather than constant references to

celebrities. Glamour model and son of ex footballer Paul Gascoigne, Bianca

Gascoigne is featured in one episode of the show which was delivered in exactly

the same format as the other participants. Here a different ideology is displayed.

The notion of celebrity emulation is not mentioned by any of the participants as

their motivation for change regardless of class or gender.

From my comparison of the two different representations of gender it can be seen

that there are marked differences between the ways that the two sexes are

represented. Men tend to want to change purely for economic gains in the field of

work while women are more motivated by celebrity culture and also less inclined

to decline the advice of the expert than men. Furthermore aspects of the

production of the two programmes such as broadcasting network also have an

effect on the way in which they represent the participants.

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Danielle Almond Conclusion N0175845

Conclusion

Through this process I have looked at two British makeover television

programmes, 10 Years Younger and Make My Body Younger. I have carried out a

textual analysis of these two programmes looking in particular detail at the

politics of gender and class within them. This was the proposal of my research

which I have followed through on discovering that within these two programmes

there certainly is a complex politics of both gender and class.

Having looked in detail at these two programmes one of the main findings I can

conclude is that for female participants a makeover is more about a superficial

change rather than an upward social movement; however for men the opposite is

true. Also from this in terms of class another important conclusion I have reached

from my research is that gender and class are closely linked and is placed as more

significant for male rather than female participants. This is strongly evident in

both Make My Body Younger and 10 Years Younger where we can see that time

again the way the female participants look is emphasised regardless of whether

the programme they are appearing in places prominence on making over their

bodily organs or bodily appearance. This is also seen in the men where it is the

use and exchange value of their bodies that is given prominence in both

programmes.

As well as this it can be concluded that the role of the expert is an important one.

The behaviour of the expert serves to demonstrate which consumption practices

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Danielle Almond Conclusion N0175845

are legitimate and which aren’t. Furthermore the treatment of illegitimate tastes is

treated with a great deal of contempt, leaving the viewer with no uncertainty that

the consumption choice of the participants ‘before’ is unacceptable. The expert

acts as an embodiment of this ideology as they are placed in opposition to the

participant’s before image and therefore represent the correct way to present

yourself.

Furthermore another main conclusion I feel is of importance is my genre

comparisons of the makeover. As within the makeover genre references are often

made to the Cinderella story either by the participants themselves or within

academic commentary, I found this to be rather short sighted in that male

makeovers often do not apply to these conventions. I therefore have proposed

that the story of Beauty and the Beast is a far more suitable reference point for

male makeovers than Cinderella. This is because the Cinderella narrative which

is commonly used in literature about the makeover genre is too centred on the

female makeover and doesn’t apply as easily to the male makeover. The male

makeover is arguably a different narrative altogether to the female makeover,

containing different sources of motivation and a differing relationship with the

expert.

In terms of how my work has contributed to the subject area as a whole I would

argue one area which it is significant is within its focus on the British makeover

genre, an area I feel has been neglected for analysis. As well as this my focus on

the male makeover within Britain again is another area I feel has particularly

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Danielle Almond Conclusion N0175845

missed out on detailed analysis. However my research is not only of importance

as the subject area it contributes to is rather small, I have also been able to

comment on the politics of gender and class particularly in the genre of the male

makeover which has wider implications concerning the inclusion of men into the

image driven labour market. From my research it can be seen that with the rise of

the tertiary industries and the general increase in focus on aesthetics that men are

now included within this ideology while trying to sell themselves to the labour

market, a notion which has traditionally only included women.

Another conclusion which can be made from my research is that for women there

is more of an emphasis on beauty than for men. This can be seen in that in both

programmes beauty for women is emphasised even when the transformation

concerns health, while transformations that are primarily concerned with beauty

for men emphasise the importance of aesthetics in the labour market. This is

significant in that it demonstrates a levelling out of the playing field in that it is

now becoming more equal in that a man must demonstrate an investment in his

appearance in order to succeed in the job market, a burden which is nothing new

to women.

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Danielle Almond Filmography N0175845

Filmography
Amanda Davies, 2008, 10 Years Younger, Series 5 Episode 1, [Television]
Channel 4, 27 May
Amy Dickens, 2008, Make My Body Younger, Series 1 Episode 7, [Television]
BBC Three, 3 September
Bobbi Gracie, 2009, Make My Body Younger, Series 2 Episode 6, [Television]
BBC Three, 30 June
Cindy Cottrell, 2008, Make My Body Younger, Series 1 Episode 3 [Television]
BBC Three, 23 July
Emma Sheldon, 2009, Make My Body Younger, Series 1 Episode 1 [Television]
BBC Three, 9 July
Liz Tewnion, 2007, 10 Years Younger, Series 4 Episode 15, [Television] Channel
4, 6 September
Lee Woollard, 2008, Make My Body Younger, Series 1 Episode 5, [Television]
BBC Three, 6 August
Lynsey Carratt, 2009, Make My Body Younger, Series 2 Episode 8 [Television],
BBC Three, 14 July
Miles Chapman, 2009, Make My Body Younger, Series 2 Episode 7, [Television]
BBC Three, 7 July
Richard Power, 2004, 10 Years Younger, Series 1 Episode 4, [Television]
Channel 4, 19 May
Simon Dehany, 2007, 10 Years Younger, Series 4 Episode 9, [Television]
Channel 4, 20 September
Stewart Burton, 2008, Make My Body Younger, Series 1 Episode 2, [Television],
BBC Three, 16 July

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 Danielle Almond Bibliography N0175845

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Danielle Almond Appendices N0175845

Appendix 1

Source: 10 Years Younger, 2008, [TV] Series 5 Episode 1, 27 May

Appendix 2

Source: 10 Years Younger, 2008, [TV] Channel 4, Series 5 Episode 8, 25

November.

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