Historians on Housewives: Fashion, Performance, and Power on Bravo Reality TV

According to popular stereotype, Bravo reality television portrays vapid, one-dimensional characters tearing each other down for viewers’ enjoyment. Whether The Real Housewives taps into our voyeuristic urges, our fascination with wealth and class, or the allure of the sheer spectacle of grown women yelling at one another, the show is truly a cultural phenomenon—and a global one, with more than twenty international spin-offs. Historians on Housewives looks past the show’s reputation as lowb...