During adolescence I used to watch the soap opera called Days of Our Lives. I haven’t watched it in years, and decided to watch an episode and go to a soap opera fan chat room for my ethnography. I figured that I needed to know what this show was about in order to contribute to the conversation. The chat room consisted of eight women from all parts of the United States (Ohio, Texas, Missouri). A couple of them were stay-at-home moms, but all the other women were at work. I thought that this was interesting because it extinguished the stereotype of soap opera fans being couch potatoes and Bon-Bon eaters. Most of the women were bored with their jobs, and used this chat room as a place of escape from their work life.
I believe that these women were able to socialize well on this site because they had this soap opera in common. All of the women on the site tended to share the same moral perspectives on the characters in this show. They gossiped on what they thought a character should do in a particular situation. They were blunt and honest in their opinions by saying things like "Bo should dump Hope, I am sick of her whining." Other than engaging in the relationships of the characters, they also engaged in talking about their personal real-life relationships. I even had one woman offer to give me her phone number in an instant message! The women seemed to sometimes bring the drama of the show into their daily lives. One woman who is getting married in November is pregnant, and afraid to tell her fiancé. I believe that the baby is her fiancées', but she said that she is not going to tell him until after they get married. She believed that it would cause problems in her life, because as a couple "they are going through a lot of stuff right now."
These women seemed to share the agenda of wanting to talk about their daily lives both personal and professional. Of course they loved talking about the show, but they often used it as a trigger /platform to talk about what was actually happening in their real-lives. I enjoyed talking to these women, and was surprised at how candid they were online. Media offered them the opportunity to speak without the in -person reservations that many people possess.
I think that the chat room offered the women a chance to socialize in way that offered them affection for a life that may not have been what they anticipated. "These female fans developed a sense of agency and social empowerment" by being a part of this site. They offered each other advice, shared moral perspectives, and felt free and open to talk about their personal lives. I think that this kind of situation is beneficial for women because it gives them an opportunity to talk to other women and get advice about how to handle personal matters.