ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the media’s framing of female reality television stardom, most notably via their treatment of “socialite” Paris Hilton. As a white woman born into extreme privilege, Paris Hilton is an interesting foil to Donald Trump in that her celebrity is maligned and delegitimized by the mainstream media, despite her being more “successful” than he, in economic terms. The chapter first discusses the phenomenon of the “leaked” sex tape and the broader implications of how such violations are taken up into female celebrity and white femininity. The chapter then outlines how the media, when reporting on Hilton, engage in a practice the author calls “success policing”: the idea that there are “right” and “wrong” ways to become famous and that women such as Hilton pose a threat to society by succeeding in the wrong way. Finally, the stardom of both Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian is situated in the broader context of post-feminist neoliberalism and the author considers why their entrepreneurialization of sex is derided, rather than celebrated by mainstream media industries.
