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Vulnerable Women on Screen and at Home: Soap Opera Consumption

Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick; 180 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, bbstern{at}aol.com

Cristel Antonia Russell

Marketing Department at San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-8239, crussell{at}mail.sdsu.edu

Dale W. Russell

Amsterdam School of Communications Research at the University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands, d.w.russell{at}uva.nl

Daytime television soap operas primarily appeal to women, providing emotional release, personal gratification, companionship, and an escape from reality. This article reviews the extant literature on soap opera consumption to reveal a vulnerability system in which industry profits flow from a genre that specializes in conveying images of vulnerable women living in luxury to downscale viewers living in constrained circumstances and repeatedly exposed to unrealistic and inappropriate role models. The soap industry has recently acknowledged its audience’s vulnerability and has attempted to bring together producers, writers, and network executives to encourage awareness of the industry’s role in shaping consumers’ attitudes and behavior.

Key Words: soap opera • television • vulnerability • product placement • women

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