Women and Soap Opera: A Cultural Feminist Perspective

(Hardback)

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Description

Women's soap opera viewing has long been thought of by feminists and non-feminists as an unproductive waste of time. The author of this study takes an opposing view, arguing that women's "indulgence" in these programmes is actually liberating. In overcoming the social opposition to the stigma attached to the feminine content and style and engaging in soap opera viewing, women celebrate their femininity, particularly their gendered identification with romance, relationality, intuitiveness, talkativeness and other aspects of emotionality.

Reviews

"With her book, Dannielle Blumenthal does for daytime soap operas what Janice Radway did for romance novels. Blumenthal takes a genre that traditionally has been undervalued by society, as well as communication researchers, and shows how soap opera viewing is an empowering activity for women. A strength of Blumenthal's work is the range of methods she applies to the study of daytime soap operas--content analysis, surveys of soap opera viewers, and analysis of open-ended comments from the viewers themselves. Blumenthal's analysis resolves some of the contradictions inherent in understanding the appeal of soap operas--how a genre that simplifies and trivializes some of women's concerns can empower women and be a feminist activity."-Elizabeth M. Perse Associate Professor, Department of Communication University of Delaware
.,."provides a succinct synopsis of broad feminist issues and their impact on methodological and critical approaches that all readers can appreciate."-Popular Culture Association in the South Newsletter
...provides a succinct synopsis of broad feminist issues and their impact on methodological and critical approaches that all readers can appreciate.-Popular Culture Association in the South Newsletter
..."provides a succinct synopsis of broad feminist issues and their impact on methodological and critical approaches that all readers can appreciate."-Popular Culture Association in the South Newsletter

Author Bio

DANNIELLE BLUMENTHAL is a Ph.D. recipient from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York.