"So You Can See How the Other Half Lives": MTV "Cribs"' Use of "the Other" in Framing Successful Athletic Masculinities

In: Journal of sport and social issues: the official journal of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, Volume 31, Issue 2, p. 103-127

Abstract

MTV's popular television series "Cribs" displays the homes of famous athletes and entertainers. "Cribs" presents these male athletes and their households as exemplars of "making it." This article examines the representation of male athletes and how various types of "successful" masculinity are conflated with race and class. We found two dominant models of successful masculinity, James Bond and Cool Pose. "Cribs" clearly demarcates between Black and White athletes, which essentializes race. Simultaneously, "Cribs" presents race as performative styles providing the audience with opportunities to consume "the other." We argue that this paradoxical dynamic is utilized to sell the cool lifestyle and has multiple implications, including depoliticizing race, class, and gender.