the Female Body GOVERNING

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kristin a. swenson
African American man was accused of, the strategy was similar in kind:
the candidates employed the resources they had available, including
their marked material bodies and the opportunities to exploit them.
The candidates also had to shift language codes quickly. In one task,
the teams had to sell their choice of goods at the fl ea market whereas
the following task required the candidates to negotiate with celebrities.
One candidate misread the codes of conduct in her celebrity meeting
by insisting that the celebrity spend four days with the highest auction
bidder, which mortifi ed her team and led one member to accuse her of
being “a loose cannon.” When the candidates had been whittled down to
the four, they were each formally interviewed by four of Trump’s highlevel
employees and most trusted advisors. Their conclusions to each
candidate are telling: Kwame’s perceived low energy was a concern; Nick
had charisma and could sell a product but no one believed that he had
anything more to contribute to the corporation; Bill was well liked and
successfully defended himself for not having an MBA; and Amy, the sole
woman who had made it to the fi nal four, was reported by one advisor as
“boring to talk to” and resembling a “Stepford wife”; sexism is obviously
not dead. Importantly, just because work requires feminine characteristics,
this does not imply that “women win.” In this new feminized sphere, a
show such as The Apprentice demonstrates that although work is feminized,
feminine characteristics, when exhibited by women, may still carry a negative
connotation. This is exemplifi ed by the numerous moments in which
the socialization of women was portrayed as “cattiness,” “bitchiness,” and
“competitiveness,” whereas similar traits exhibited by men was characterized
positively as an example of leadership qualities.
In the final week of competition, Bill and Kwame each constructed
a team of former candidates to work under their supervision. Bill
was given the task of successfully executing a national golf tournament.
Kwame was challenged with the task of successfully managing
and executing a pop concert event. While both candidates and their
teams succeed in their projects, Bill was ultimately selected as “The
Apprentice.” Although both candidates were definitely qualified, their
differences are significant. Kwame represented the traditional, Ivy
League MBA candidate; he was the quintessential “corporate man” in
the best sense. 10 In contrast, Bill had what he referred to as “entrepreneurial
blood” and was openly enthused and flexible. Kwame, on the
other hand, was perceived as not taking opportunities when they arose.
This was demonstrated when Kwame did not break what he thought
were the rules, and therefore he made the “mistake” of not taking the
opportunity to terminate a team member who was sabotaging his performance
and frustrating other team members. Kwame was perceived as