Performing Duggars

The Interaction between Producers, Performers and Spectators in the Reality Show 19 Kids and Counting

Abstract

With twelve seasons of the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, numerous specials and three books under their belt, the Duggar family have become a social phenomenon. From the point of view of both cultural and gender studies, the fact that a Christian fundamentalist family, who proclaim submissiveness to a male headship to be the cornerstone of family life, should become popular with an audience of millions constitutes a fertile ground for research. Over the nine years the Duggars have been in the public eye, this modest dressing, bible-believing, patriarchal family have been progressively ‘mainstreamed’ so that their TLC show might appeal to an increasingly wider audience. The ‘monstrous’ element has been taken out of what was ultimately a family-friendly version of a freak show, while a subtle balance was reached between what makes the Duggars a unique micro- cosmos and the strategies deployed to present them as a model family. I intend, therefore, to analyse the mechanisms through which the viewers’ reactions to the show have influenced this cosmetic ‘makeover’ and the way in which the audience’s reception of the series has eventually defined both the Duggars’ performance and the content selection for each episode in the latest seasons.