‘Celebrity chav’: Fame, femininity and social class

Abstract

This article argues that celebrity is an increasingly significant means by which reactionary class attitudes, allegiances and judgements are communicated. In contradistinction to claims that the concept of social class has lost its analytic value in the context of contemporary consumer society and the growing ideological purchase of meritocracy and choice, the article contends that class remains central to the constitution and meaning of celebrity. A central premise of this article is that celebrity culture is not only thoroughly embedded in everyday social practices, but is more radically constitutive of contemporary social life. This claim is examined through a consideration of the ways in which celebrity produces and sustains class relations. The article argues that a new category of notoriety or public visibility has emerged and is embodied in the figure of the working-class female celebrity within celebrity culture and wider social life.