“No Politics Here”: Age and Gender in Soap Opera “Cyberfandom”

Abstract

“Virtual” ethnographic investigation of soap opera “cyberfan” discussion groups refutes claims of resistive public space, finding that industry infiltration, “netiquette,” and other factors construct these Internet forums as sites of “escape” rather than politics. Moreover, “polyvalent” readings tend to reproduce the demographics strategy of advertisers—a strategy which flatters young female audiences at the expense of their older counterparts.