Laura Anne Grindstaff

Contributor

BIOGRAPHY

Professor, Deparment of Sociology, University of California, Davis. Author of The Money Shot: Trash, Class, and the Making of TV Talk Shows. Her contributions to SAGE Publications's Encyclopedia of Gender and Society (2009) formed the basis of her contributions to Britannica.

Primary Contributions (1)

Cheerleaders in matching navy and white uniforms run onto a football field, holding white pom-poms, with a crowd of spectators in the background.

cheerleading

Cheerleading, team activity in which elements of dance and acrobatics are combined with shouted slogans in order to entertain spectators at sporting events and to encourage louder and more enthusiastic cheering. Once exclusively a sideline activity geared toward supporting school sports,…

Publications (2)

Encyclopedia of Gender and Society (2009)

By Jodi O'Brien

2009 RUSA Outstanding Reference
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2009

"Given both the interdisciplinarity of the field of gender scholarship and the immense significance of gender to both indviduals and societies, it is probably impossible to produce such a compendium. The editor, advisory team, and contributors are to be credited for tackling a project of such immense scope...O'Brien's commitment to the possibility of a more-informed discourse on the highly complex and nuanced...

The Money Shot Trash, Class, and the Making of TV Talk Shows (July 2002)

By Laura Grindstaff

He leaped from his chair, ripped off his microphone, and lunged at his ex-wife. Security guards rushed to intercept him. The audience screamed, then cheered. Were producers concerned? Not at all. They were getting what they wanted: the money shot.

From "classy" shows like Oprah to "trashy" shows like Jerry Springer, the key to a talk show's success is what Laura Grindstaff calls the money shot—moments when guests lose control and express joy, sorrow, rage, or remorse on camera. In this new...