I really enjoy the Real Housewives series on Bravo. As my blog has already exhibited I watch a lot of Bravo. However I think the Real Housewives series is particularly enlightening. You get to see exaggerated egos which is always good for typing. I understand that many of these people are to some extent playing a character but I believe the characters are based on their own personality structure in most, if not all, cases. While the Atlanta cast isn't my favorite I think an analysis of their enneagram types would still be fun.
Sheree
Sheree is undoubtedly a 3w4 in my opinion. I believe she's probably sexual or self preservation first. She seems to have a fair amount of narcissistic entitlement that was present before the show even began filming according to sources. She is concentrated on the bottom line which for her is to be in the spotlight and treated like the queen she believes herself to be. She has a sort of hard exterior shell, and a defended body style which indicates to me that she is a formidable opponent and probably one of the assertive types (3,7,8). She is competitive, assertive, and vain but seems to posses a fairly strong connection to low 9 as she often doesn't want to put in the effort to achieve the success she believes she deserves. "Designing" a clothing line and wanting just to get it on the runway without the proper attention to details personifies the 3 rushing to the end in order to get the recognition, the sort of the ends justify the means approach.
She wants to promote the illusion of being a "designer" but her design input and knowledge is limited. However as a competency type she wants everyone to believe she knows everything about fashion and the fashion industry.
I got the impression she was really only concerned about people seeing her name in lights rather than the actual construction or product that she produced. It has always been about Sheree and she even possess enough narcissism to believe herself to be too good for most (if not all) of the men who try to court her (yeah, I said court). It appears to be very important for her to maintain appearances and at the beginning of Season 2 when she told of her "downsized" home there seemed to be a bit of shame as she thought it indicative of her failure. I think much of the second season following her divorce and financial fluctuation was an attempt to save face in the eyes of the public. However the veil falls periodically to reveal a more aggressive version of the polished, sophisticate she'd have audiences believe.
Notice in this video Sheree is oddly disconnected from what's going on and would rather spend attention to how she will look the day of the show (both the narcissism and possible sexual subtype focus coming to a head).
She also has a strong connection to counterphobic 6, as well as 8 in the tritype which gives her a pretty pronounced temper. Here she is in the infamous season 2 fight with a party planner who wasn't delivering the goods.
NeNe
NeNe is an interesting character and seems to be the viewers' favorite. She possesses a strong personality and occupies the most dramatic space on the show. As for type, she's a little bit harder to call for me because of a few contradicting character nuances. I originally believed that NeNe could be a 2w3, social subtype. She has the effusiveness of the 2, relationally focused, image conscious, (sometimes more status/image conscious than the 3's, which is not uncommon for the social 2) flattering as well as incredibly concerned with her family and friendships. She seems to always find her way to drama and is frequently at the epicenter of the drama. She is known for her gossiping and occasionally "uppity" attitude. However, she is extremely concerned with loyalty and honesty in friendships, and she herself is often honest to a fault (which could be 2 or 6). She is definitely confrontational when necessary and doesn't feel the need to default to positivity when something needs to be addressed (which would typically place her outside of the positive outlook triad of 2,7 or 9). She feels a compulsive need to be honest (as she defines it) and wants everyone to be "real" (which she feels she often is despite a fair amount of image construction), which I see alot with 6s.
Her issues compounded around being adopted and not knowing her real father could indicate 6 or 2 for me. I notice a fair amount of 6s (especially women) who have compounded father issues as this represents the original authority in their lives they believe they've lost. She seems distrustful due both to early broken trust in her relationships with parental figures (both of her parents were largely absent in her life) and seeks structure and stability in her relationship with her husband (2 or 6). She does like to refer to herself as a "queen" and has that sort of bossy countenance you get with 2's quite frequently. She's outrageous and extremely extroverted and concerned with helping others with her foundation to assist abused women (due to her experience with abuse) which is again a tough call between 2 and 6.
Here's a more organic interview with NeNe:
The more outrageous NeNe:
Kim:
Kim is another outrageous character. In the first season I really found her (at first) to be much more raw or at least seemingly raw. I was working with limited information about 8s at the time and thought she could be one. However as the season drew on, and I saw her response to conflict it became clear to me that she is a 9w8 social or sexual subtype. She is a really good representation of how the 9 can develop a really defined line to 3 and play into image management. Kim has low self esteem and covers it through the big hair, makeup, and plunging necklines. She is a merger, meaning that she latches onto friendships in an effort to merge to reduce conflict. Her friendship with NeNe is tumultuous and is a constant backdrop to the show. Her relationship to "Big Papa" is largely undefined however she seems hopelessly tied to him but unsure of the connection. I think Kim wants to spend most of her time spending money, socializing, and drinking wine. She has a leisurely demeanor about her despite her apparent brassiness. I think she hides her vulnerability and passivity behind the loud brassy 8 wing and most of the time does a pretty good job of projecting that image. However when we can see Kim in relationship with another one of the housewives there is a tendency to drop borders and want to merge. 8's tend to have pretty defined boundaries, whereas with Kim it's not clear that she knows where she ends and the other begins. She wants to avoid conflict and when she does engage it lacks the bite of an 8. She ultimately secedes to prevent further fighting or drama. She also has a sort of 9ish naivety and falls back into toxic relationships and friendships (whether it be with NeNe or Big Papa). She's a good example of the Princess 9 that you can get with the social and sexual subtypes; where they project an air of superiority, confidence and an almost 2ish entitlement socially or in relationship but underneath you can see the lack of awareness of the ego. She has built an ego out of superficial concerns but really might see herself as unassuming, quiet, passive Kim. I believe she worked as a nurse which probably expresses more of her general tendency which would be to suspend the self in order to stay happy. She seems relatively unaware of her true self (her thoughts of being a country or pop singer despite an ability to sing) to me shows the 9 being asleep to the self and a developed connection to low 3. She has replaced a developed sense of self with an aggressive, narcissistic image that isn't very well maintained and uncomfortably disconnected from who she really is.
You can see the lack of ego and passive demeanor when she's not around the other loud, assertive housewives. You can see her search others' eyes for approval (strong 2 in the tritype) and an attempt to merge for conversation.
Here you can see Kim's tendency to retreat and flee in conflict (9)...Surges of anger and aggression (8), and her self perception as a relatively drama free, nice, harmless person in the famous Season 2 fight with Sheree:
Lisa
Lisa is one of the more subdued housewife characters and to me is a really good representation of a 3w2 (most likely sexual subtype). She is bright eyed, friendly, and seemingly interested in other people. She is very much in love with her husband and seems to put that relationship above all others in her life. However, underneath the friendly mask I can sense that 3ish steelly resolve. She is a shrewd business woman and very competitive and driven. I believe that networking and the maintenance of friendships is mostly important to her to keep important relationships afloat that might serve her in the future. I do believe that her love relationship is most important, and that is probably her most cherished.
Lisa stays relatively clear of drama and tends to engage in more active image management and face saving so that she keeps the appearance of being just a "friendly, successful woman". The 3w2 for me seems to be constantly seeking approval through gestures of kindness or helpfulness but with less concern for the actual maintenance of the relationship and more concern for needing others to see them as the perfect person or an all around good person. Lisa's involvement with the other women on the show seems to stay pretty surface and she possesses a less intense approach than her 3w4 counterpart Sheree. I think Lisa keeps her competitiveness fairly hidden but that winning is of paramount concern for her. She engages in sly competitiveness as we saw with the creation of her fashion line as an alternative to She by Sheree. What is interesting about Lisa is watching her when others become emotional, she will patiently listen but you can see her discomfort with the emotional expression (as well as the discomfort with her own emotional vulnerability as we saw when she processed feelings about her dead brother). She knows how to give an appropriate response to emotional output but doesn't seem to want to really deal with the emotional authenticity. However she's a smart business woman and is willing to do the necessary work needed to make something successful (whether it is a relationship or a job.)
Here's an introductory video of Lisa. You can see the 3 dropping accomplishments paired with the 2 friendliness. She's charming, positive and self aggrandizing. This video nicely sums up my typing of her:
Kandi
Kandi is the newest housewife so it's been difficult to get a solid read on her because she has been laying low on the radar. However, I'm not entirely sure that her lower profile on the show isn't indicative of her personality. She's proclaimed quite obviously that she doesn't like to engage in drama. She's very much dedicated to her music career. She has a permanent smile on her face which for me typically indicates (3,7 or 9-positive outlook). However the question is why the smile is pasted there in the first place. At first exposure she seemed like a 3w2 (probably self preservation). She is mostly concerned with working and maintaining a certain position in the music industry (which has been primarily behind the scenes). As the show picks up with Kandi she is trying to ramp up a comeback as a solo artist (after years spent in the group Xscape and writing songs for other musical artists). I can see that she is a hardworker and genuinely cares about those in her sphere. Her relationship to her fiance AJ was important as was her mother's approval of the relationship. I saw the approval seeking of her mother as very 3ish, however 9s (and occasionally 6s) can engage in that kind of parental approval seeking although the motivation clearly differs. I can't discern whether she's motivated to gain approval from her mother of her success, to avoid conflict or to avoid punishment. Her mother seems to be a 6 or 2 and definitely feels the need to bestow her opinion. Kandi is probably the least dramatic of the show and tried desperately to keep herself clear of dramatic altercations, however with the always saucy never quiet NeNe (who incidentally seemed to have a hard time accepting the new girl) steering clear of drama is not always possible. She seems to have taken to Kim early on in the show and they became fast friends. I believe they see eye to eye on the avoidance of drama (however due to Kim's enmeshment with the other ladies she has a harder time staying out of drama). Despite Kandi's avoidance of drama she seems confident of her assertiveness which to me places her more in the 3 space.
Kandi's personality may become more clear as time goes on so for now I'd have to go with self preservation 3w2 or 9. She feels a bit more like a heart type as she wants people to see her as a nice, down to earth, hardworking individual, not that she's not those things but the maintenance of those qualities to others seems important. I think she felt a responsibility toward empowering Kim when she recorded the "Don't be Tardy for the Party" track, which to me is a great example of the relatively healthy 3 trying to inspire others to greatness and confidence. She is relatively private (as is Sheree and Kim) but more guarded and contained which could be that self preservation energy at work.
Here's an interview:
Dwight:
The 6th housewife is the fabulous Ms. Dwight. He's often OOC but a very interesting character nonetheless. I'm not going to go too in depth of a discussion of Dwight but he seems to be a pretty good representation of a 7w6 or 4w3. I definitely think he's the social subtype. He is flamboyant, creative, honest, assertive, grandiose, witty, and elegant in presentation. He's certainly knowledgeable about all things tasteful, and even has a tendency to dip into tacky (something both 4w3s and 7s can have a tendency to do). It's difficult to tell whether he's motivated by the need to maintain options and avoid anxiety or to distinguish himself from the ordinary. He has a 2ish element to his personality that comes out in his belief that he is bestowing his help and taste on others (which would indicate 4 moreso than 7) however the social 7 can often see themselves as martyrs who are helping others to step outside of their limited vision and see the possibilities. He likes to dispense advice to others and maintains a stark honesty and bluntness in his presentation. He's certainly an epicure an an artiste, but there is a certain amount of discomfort with the self (his plastic surgery indicating a disconnect between the fabulous image and the inner certitude of worth).
Dwight dispensing advice:
Final Weigh In:
Sheree: 3w4 sx/sp 3-5-8 tritype
NeNe: 2w3 so/sx or 6w7 so/sx 2-6-8 tritype
Kim: 9w8 so/sx or sx/so 9-2-7 tritype
Kandi: 3w2 sp/so 3-9-7 tritype
Lisa: 3w2 sp/sx or sx/sp 3-7-1 tritype
Dwight: 4w3 so/sx or 7w6 so/sx 4-7-1 or 7-4-1.
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