Private jets and blingy sandals: An analysis of the figure of the “rich woman” in contemporary audiovisual culture

Abstract

The goal of this article is to analyse the media representation of a figure at the heart of contemporary popular culture: the “rich woman”. Taking a cultural studies approach, this article uses thematic analysis to study a sample of reality TV formats which have spotlighted this figure, including Bling Empire, Soy Georgina, La marquesa, First Class, Selling Sunset, Sálvese quien pueda, Young, Famous and African and Dubai Bling. The study identifies how this figure personifies tensions and ambiguities associated with the idea of inequality. Thus, these programmes encourage the audience to feel both  aspiration and disdain for this figure, foregrounding social debates on legitimate and illegitimate ways of climbing the social ladder. The article also explores the connection between these representations and a classist, colonial mindset which maintains the stereotypes through which oppressions survive under the guise of critiquing  inequalities.