Getting Real With “Tell It Like It Is” Talk Therapy: Hegemonic Masculinity and the Dr. Phil Show

Abstract

The third season of the Dr. Phil talk show opens with the announcement, “Get ready for Dr. Phil’s biggest challenge yet …. Dr. Phil takes on an entire town …. One family at a time.” A sound bite from psychologist Phillip C. McGraw promises, “I am so your guy for this.” This fast-paced opening concludes with a preview of the episode’s content. McGraw’s enthusiastic voice-over accompanies scenes showing the psychologist delivering his familiar brand of “tell it like it is” therapy to a couple from Elgin, TX: McGraw (addressing the Elgin couple): If you ever lay another hand on her, I will force you to file charges and put him in jail. McGraw (voice-over): This is about you. It’s about your town, your family. McGraw (addressing a football stadium full of fans in Elgin, TX): If you’ve got problems with teen pregnancy, you got problems with drugs in your town, you got a problem with kids that aren’t motivated, you need to say so and ask for help! McGraw (addressing the Elgin couple): From the second I rang that doorbell, you are not alone.

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