On Competing Identities in Daisy of Love: the Case Study of 12 Pack/Dave (7.3)

Abstract:

We explore the development of two separate identities in the subject David Amerman, a willing participant in the reality show Daisy of Love. We examine the origin of these competing understandings in order to reveal the differences in externally and internally validated senses of self. The subject enters the television series with a pre-existing self-constructed identity known as “Dave”. Throughout the series a diversity of partially self-directed and fully external influences act to create a second, competing identity known as “12 Pack”. We trace the evolution of the conflict of identity from its origin in the ritual act of renaming participants present in the first episode aired April 26^th, 2009 to its culmination in a lingerie shop in the seventh episode aired June 14^th, 2009. The aforementioned lingerie incident, in which the participant expresses a desire to be identified as “Dave”, results in his being referred to as “12 Pack/Dave”. We investigate the psychological impact of adopting such a fluid, multidimensional construction in lieu of a traditional identity. We find that the participant struggles to reconcile the new combined self-understanding and exhibits signs of extreme emotional duress. Significantly, his peers do not accept the participant’s new designation or merged identity and reject the desire to be referred to by a self-constructed identity that pre-dates the series as emotional weakness. The host Daisy de La Hoya, however, acknowledges the new identity and alludes to the participant as “12 Pack/Dave” even in informal conversation. Finally, we examine the effects of the experience on the participant in the subsequent months and find a return to the more orthodox self-constructed and one-faceted identity known as “Dave”.