Women and Soap Opera: A Cultural Feminist Perspective

by Dannielle Blumenthal

Overview

Women's soap opera viewing has long been thought of by feminists and nonfeminists as an unproductive waste of time. Blumenthal takes the opposing view, arguing that women's indulgence in these programs 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. This book will be of interest to academics in the areas of sociology, women's studies, and media studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275960391
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/16/1997
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	1400L (what's this?)

About the Author

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

Table of Contents

A Cultural Feminist Study
Introduction
The Personal as Intellectual and Political
Feminist Study and the Academy: Research as Praxis
Feminist Perspective-Taking: Some Aspects
Feminist Qualitative Methodology: Some Aspects
Calling All Resources: Feminist-Compatible Methodologies and Methods
The Gender-Context Perspective and Its Antecedents
Conventional Wisdom: "Effects" and "Gratifications"
Complicating the Subject: "Audience Response"
The Politics of Meaning Construction: Feminist Perspectives
A Gender-Context Perspective: Women's Soap Opera Viewing as Interrelated Components of a Feminist Praxis
The Interplay between Women Viewers and Gendered Text
On Soaps: Feminine-Oriented Emotionality as an Attraction
On Talkshows: Masculinized Emotion Displays as a Turbanoff
On Feminism: The Interplay between Identity Construction and Meaning Construction in the Act of Viewing
Feminist Scholarship on the Gendered Soap Opera Text
Arriving at a Feminist Aesthetic
Academic Conceptualizations of Soap Opera Form and Content
Feminist Scholarship on Soap Operas: The Feminine Aesthetic as a Feminist Aesthetic
The Gendered Social Contexts of Women's Soap Opera Viewing
Overcoming the Social Devaluation of Women's Soap Opera Viewing
Soap Operas as Self-Nurturance: Setting Aside Time Away from Caring for Others
Soap Operas as Communal Womanspace
Conclusion: Implications of the Study for Future Research
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Concurring with Gloria Steinem that the personal is political, Blumenthal (City U. of New York) analyzes the draw of television soap operas for women and implications for further research. Admittedly, it took the author some time to understand "... how it was that the same person could study for Classical Theory on the one hand and sit spellbound in front of the serials on the other." She connects insights from feminist sociology with her memories of watching the soaps (a socially devalued pastime) with other women (empowerment through communal womanspace), and her current role as wife and mother (soap operas as self-nurturance: setting time away from caring for others). Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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