The Affective Labour of One Born Every Minute in its UK and US Formats

This article examines the relationship between the British and American versions of the hit reality television birthing show One Born Every Minute (OBEM) in order to consider how the representation of different national childbirth practices invites a different kind of affective labour from the spectator. It argues that OBEM UK attempts to position the spectator in an ethical relation of care towards the subjects depicted. By contrast, on the US version, any such intimacy is forestalled by the use of distancing techniques, including an external voice-over and a heavy-handed dramatic shaping of the material through comedic devices.