Hailey is portrayed as a brilliant student, valedictorian of her class, manager of the tutor center, and smart girl. Common stereotypes would lead the audience to believe she is the “good girl” and more focused on academic achievements. However, Hailey represents counter hegemony in that she is the nerd gone rock star cheerleader. The cheerleader persona is the pretty, passive, and intellectually unthreatening; yet, Hailey is the quintessential “bikini brainiac,” which is counter hegemonic.
Hailey’s intelligence and position as a cheerleader is a contradiction because the perfect 10
cheerleader lacks intelligence. In an article written by Jennifer Pozner, The Unreal World, the perfect 10 does not have intelligence and that is the popular classification of a cheerleader type, but, Hailey is the main character in a cheerleader role with brains.(p. 97) While Pozner cites references to how intelligence is not popular for a beauty representation, Hailey is counter hegemonic to this because of her status, beauty, and brilliance. Still, Hailey is not completely counter hegemonic. Her role as a wife and cheerleader coincide with the social construction of relationships in high school. Hailey’s husband, Nathan, is the co-captain of the state champion basketball team. While her love for Nathan is the overall reason, she represents hegemony in her conformity to the typical scenario of a cheerleader dating the popular jock. Her popularity stems from her marriage to the popular jock which is also hegemonic to the social norms of high school.
Hailey’s popular status is a result of her relationship with Nathan. According to Mary F. Rogers in her essay, Hetero Barbie, Hailey represents hegemony. She states, “young women find that their popularity at school hinge on their relationship with one particular boy.” (p. 94) This affirms Hailey’s hegemonic representation in her relationship with Nathan.
Hailey’s relationship with Nathan also paints her as another hegemonic representation. Their relationship constantly faces ups and downs, and is the center of drama. The writers of One Tree Hill portray “Nailey” based on the normative TV married couple. Their constantly struggling relationship follows the “guidelines to a TV show marriage”.
In the article Gendered Television, John Fiske describes the present day TV marriage as, “one of perpetual disturbance and threat.” (p.470) “Nailey’s” relationship is consistent with the typical married couple portrayed on TV and therefore hegemonic. Fiske also continues to say in his article that this portrait of a marriage is shown, “because a happy, unthreatened marriage is boring and incapable of producing good plotlines.” (p.470) Nathan and Hailey’s marriage follows this ideal constantly through episodes of infidelity, fighting, and immaturity. Their marriage is hegemonic in regards to the standard TV marriage.
While Peyton is not married to her male counterpart, their relationship is a hegemonic representation consistent with Nathan and Hailey’s. Peyton and Lucas face constant battles in staying together or getting together. Their story provides the basis for much of the plot and can be compared to the normative TV marriage. Their relationship exemplifies John Fiske’s description of the TV relationship and while a happy stable representation is there, their relationship never achieves equilibrium. Like a TV marriage, Peyton and Lucas’ relationship follow Fiske’s ideas that, “All [relationships] have within them the seeds of their own destruction.” (p.470) Peyton’s relationship is a hegemonic representation of this description as well.
Again, her relationship also conforms to the stereotype of a cheerleader dating the jock. Her status as a main character and a popular person in school is defined by her role as a cheerleader and her relationship with the co-captain of the basketball team. Peyton also represents hegemony in accordance to Mary Rogers in Hetero Barbie in that her relationship with Lucas is the cause of her popularity and femininity.
The writers of One Tree Hill make distinct strides in portraying Peyton as a counter hegemonic representation in her role as a cheerleader. The writers use the character Brooke to be the picturesque representation of cheerleader, with her unmistakable beauty, lack of threatening intelligence, and surrounded by adoring fans and friends. However, Peyton is counter hegemonic is comparison to Brooke. Peyton is a cheerleader who listens to metal and is considered a loner. She doesn’t quite fit in with everyone and is more engrossed in her music, writing, and art in comparison to Brooke who is more involved with socializing. Brooke constantly references Peyton’s differences and counter hegemony but reminds her that every game night Peyton steps out onto the floor, she is one of them; a cheerleader.
Brooke is the show’s constant stereotype. Her personality revolves around her looks, popularity, and most of all her sexuality. Her sexual nature is hegemonic in regards to a typical female character portrayed on TV. She falls into the category of the slut because her promiscuous tendencies are a means for her to get ahead. In Pozner’s article, The Unreal World, the slut is defined as a typical female TV character which takes every connection to the next sexual level.(p.98) Brooke again personifies hegemony in her constant sexual overtones and carefree sexual lifestyle, taking every connection with a male to the next level and making it sexual. The audience can see this in the scene when Brooke is naked in the back of Lucas’ car tempting him to have sex with her, or, in the scene where she exploits her friendship with Nathan and has sex with him, even though he is dating her best friend.
To keep up her mystique, Brooke uses sexuality to keep the attention centered around her. This is hegemonic based on the description by Sut Jhally in his writing, Image-Based Culture,
“Sexuality provides a resource that can be used to get attention.” (p.253) Brooke is a hegemonic representation in her sexuality which plays a role in her classification as a slut. Brooke also represents hegemony in her personality towards money. A feminine characteristic that defines Brooke is her obsession with clothing, make up, money, and status. Mary Rogers explains in her essay that, “femininity is a manufactured reality. It entails a lot of clothes, props, shopping bags,” (p.95) Brooke is a hegemonic representation of this because she constantly utilizes shopping and make up and clothes to define herself.
Through constant analysis of each character one can derive hegemonic and counter hegemonic representation; however, the dominant and bolded themes are evident in Hailey, Peyton, and Brooke’s actions. Each character can portray hegemony or counter hegemony which are within social constructs. Brooke is hegemonic in her personality that defines her femininity, her characteristics of the slut, and her use of sexuality to maintain focus on her. Peyton is hegemonic in her relationship with Lucas and its reflection of the stereotypical TV couple, and how her relationship defines her status. Hailey is hegemonic in her marriage to Nathan and her status as a popular cheerleader being defined by her marriage. However, Peyton is counter hegemonic in her loner cheerleader persona and Hailey is counter hegemonic and her bikini brilliance. The counter hegemonic representations show decent from the social norms that are portrayed in this prime time teenage soap opera.
Works Cited:
Fiske, John. “Television Culture.” Gender, Race, and Class in Media. Sage Publications Inc.
2003. p469-475.
Jhally, Sut. "Image-Based Culture." Gender Race and Class in Media: a Text Reader. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2003. 249-257.
Pozner, Jennifer. ”The Unreal World”.96-99
Rogers, Mary F. ”Hetero Barbie” Gender Race and Class in Media: a Text Reader. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2003. 94-97
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