ABSTRACT
Beginning in the United States in 2006, The Real Housewives of Orange County began what was to become an international, highly watched reality television franchise. This chapter examines a variety of scenes from The Real Housewives of D.C, The Real Housewives of Cheshire and The Real Housewives of Melbourne, to draw comparisons between the US, UK, and Australia, and to take a deeper look at some of the most striking examples of the new narcissus. In all the Real Housewives series, material possessions are valued by the women and by those whom they interact with. These possessions serve as a symbol of value and are a representation of success in the modern world. The new narcissus is doomed to the endless cycle of self-objectification and avoidance. When some aspect of the constructed self fails the new narcissus avoids facing their responsibility in the creation of that falseness and their focus turns to modifying and improving the artifice.
