Jon & Kate--Week 2 Social Constructionist Theory

In 2009, we were constantly barraged with "news" about the demise of the relationship between Jon and Kate Gosselin - stars of the reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC, which documented their lives raising eight children. Their marriage is now dissolved, their show has been cancelled - so what did all that coverage and our reaction to it mean? What can it tell us about our culture, our ideas and ideals about relationships, marriage and parenting?

Here are a few quotes from Jon Gosselin back in September, 2009:

"I despise [her] because she's not speaking from the heart," Gosselin told "Good Morning America" correspondent Chris Cuomo. "Please -- the stuff you tell me in private should be the stuff you tell me on TV."

When asked if he still loved his estranged wife of 10 years, the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" dad responded, "I will always love Kate as the mother of my kids. But to tell you right now, at this point of what's going on, I do not love Kate."

Shortly after announcing his separation from Kate on their reality show, he was photographed with 22-year-old Hailey Glassman, the daughter of the doctor who gave Kate her tummy tuck. He calls Hailey the "polar opposite of Kate."

"I get encouragement from [Hailey], I get respect from her. Two things that a man needs," he said of his new relationship. "This is someone, I mean, like a soul mate -- like people joke about that. But I'm not joking about that."

Jon continues, "You can't control who you love. I strongly believe that. You cannot control that. It's two people joined together."


So...
Is what fascinates people about this couple's break-up related to the fact they were once viewed as an "ideal" couple, in that they were able to maintain a marriage with so much stress from their eight kids?

The coverage of Jon's comments above, and the comments themselves are rather revealing, in that they tell us a good deal about our cultural perceptions of gender and relationships, love, soul mates, and family.
The public's fascination with their relationship and divorce also tells us a great deal. Divorce is common, so why, outside of the fact that this couple's life was on television, were so many people watching the show or following coverage about the show/divorce? After all, the first Jon & Kate Plus 8 that aired after announcement of their divorce was the highest viewed episode in the show's history. Details of their divorce were appearing on morning "news" shows. Our culture was CLEARLY interested in the drama of this family's problems and resulting divorce.

Social constructionism gives us many tools to examine what this coverage is suggesting to us about these culturally significant topics (gender and relationships, love, soul mates, divorce and family), AND why so many people are so invested in the happenings of Jon and Kate.
Is Jon a "typical" man in that he's "left" his wife for a 22-year-old?
Is Kate a "typical" woman in that she's being "manipulative," "vindictive," and "dishonest"?
Where do our ideas about "typical" men and women come from? How do those ideas inform our thoughts about relationships?
Is there such a thing as "true love," or "soul mates"?
Does watching other families "break up" through divorce make us happier about our own relationships? Does it change our expectations in our relationships?
Even the image above, tells us a great deal about our cultural constructions about the meaning of family and marriage, and makes the media coverage of Jon and Kate's divorce a relevant place to discuss what those cultural prescriptions & proscriptions entail.