Consuming the rich white “Bitch” on The Real Housewives of Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

As the first African format of the Real Housewives franchise, The Real Housewives of Johannesburg features a majority black cast and unfolds in an African city. However, it positions a white woman, Christall Kay, in the key structural role of villainess. This article examines what pleasures are offered to viewers who are invited to consume Christall’s particularly controversial brand of entitled white villainy. As Christall is a primary source of narrative drive and conflict, elite black femininities are repeatedly pitted against her, and thus framed through the lens of Christall’s whiteness. This article contends that Christall's antagonistic role enables multiple avenues for enjoyment. As a villainess, Christall offers an ambivalent point of identification for white audiences, while the excess of Christall’s performance may allow black South African viewers to indulge in the camp delights of scrutinising entitled white femininity in post-apartheid culture.

KEYWORDS:

• White femininity
• post-apartheid television
• Real Housewives
• luxury consumption
• new femininities
• affluence

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Alexia Smit

Alexia Smit is a lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her research considers popular entertainment television, with a particular interest in reality television and gender. Her current research considers transnational television and women’s genres in Africa.