Keeping away from the Kardashians: celebrity worth and the re-masculinising of Caitlyn Jenner

The man behind the woman: Publicity, celebrity public relations, and cultural intermediation

“…At the ESPY award ceremony, Jenner made her first public appearance as Caitlyn as a recipient of the 2015 Arthur Ashe Award. Media scholar Anita Brady argues the ESPYS connect Bruce’s Olympic heroism of the 1970s to Caitlyn as a transgender activist, rehabilitating Jenner’s celebrity (Brady, 2016).…”

“…Other scholars have noted that Jenner's celebrity is anchored in Bruce's contemporary role in the Kardashian enterprise, a brand that is almost universally framed in 'derogatory' terms (Scheiner McClain, 2014: 114). Nierob worked to juxtapose Jenner to the superficiality of Kris Jenner and her daughters (Brady, 2016) who are famous for being famous. Nierob emphasized not wanting to participate in the reality television circus; he expressed a commitment to his professional integrity and credibility, and excluding the Kardashians was central to this strategy.…”

‘Caitlyn Jenner “likes” Ted Cruz but the feeling may not be mutual’: Trans pedagogy and I Am Cait

“…network in 2015, a few months after Bruce Jenner’s ‘coming out’ interview with Diane Sawyer and shortly after Caitlyn Jenner appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair. The extensive media interest in Jenner’s transition was due, in the first instance, to Bruce Jenner’s fame as the 1976 US Olympic decathlon champion, a victory that secured him a particularly celebrated role in the American national imaginary (Bissinger, 2015; Brady, 2016). However, for those unaware of Jenner’s place in sporting history, her fame is primarily connected to Bruce’s more recent role as the husband of Kris Jenner and father and stepfather to Kim Kardashian and her sisters 3 in E!’s hugely successful 4 reality docusoap Keeping Up with the Kardashians ( KUWTK) and its spinoffs.…”

“…Celebrity achieved via the reality format is thus widely perceived in public discourse to be unconnected to any social, cultural or civic contribution (Negra and Holmes, 2008). 5 Within that public discourse, the Kardashians repeatedly figure as the paradigmatic exemplars of undeserved fame (Brady, 2016; Pramaggiore and Negra, 2014; Scheiner McClain, 2014). In 2012, for example, the headmistress of a prestigious UK school earned widespread praise for a critique of contemporary celebrity culture that deemed a magazine cover featuring Kim Kardashian representative of ‘almost everything that is wrong with western society’ in its celebration of ‘empty celebrity’ (Helen Wright quoted in McVeigh, 2012).…”

“… 6. For a discussion of the role that gendered hierarchies of fame play in the distinguishing of Jenner from her ex-wife and step/daughters, see Brady (2016). …”