“The Only Way is Up”

‘Essex Girls’: The Rise of a New Social Underclass

ABSTRACT_______________________________

The purpose of this study is to conduct an in depth anaylsis into the mass-me-

dia representation of ‘Essex girls’, emphasising the power of the media in for-

mulating and re-shaping particular class identities. The methodological proce-

dure of this study will consist of a semiotic and sociological approach. Media

analysis will also be employed, alongside the review of appropriate literature.

While stereotypes attached to the ‘Essex girl’ are widely recognised within the

United Kindgom, academic investigations focusing solely on this socio-cultural

figure are absent within academic literature. The ‘Essex girl’ figure has long

been synonymous with unaesthetic consumer choices, frivolity and material

excess; these traits have been promulgated via the media. This project will ex-

plore the construction of the ‘Essex girl’ stereotype, locating her inception in a

historical context and acknowledging the importance of tracing this figure as

a discursive formation. Exploration into the symbolic production of a key cul-

tural artefact attributed to the ‘Essex girl’: the white stiletto will then be ana-

lysed. An investigation into ‘celebrity Essex girl’ Jodie Marsh will be under-

taken as a means to communicate the signifcance of celebrity culture in estab-

lishing class identities and provoking class antagonisms. Wider theories con-

cerning femininity and hyper-sexualisation will be addressed within this sec-

tion, emphasising the class hostilities instigated via Marsh’s capitalisation on

the ‘Essex girl’ image. An exploration into television phenomenon The Only

Way is Essex, specifically regarding the way its female characters have been

represented within the mass media, will attempt to postulate that the ‘Essex

girl’ figure is currently undergoing something of a transformation in contem-

porary society. This chapter will consider the concept of glamour, paying par-

ticular attention to the consumption practices of these new ‘Essex girls’, locat-

ing them as a key feature of a consumer orientated society.