Women's need to remain interpersonal with friends and fellow soap fans has been increasingly enhanced with the introduction of the Internet. What traditional face-to-face interaction accomplished for soap fans during the pre-Internet days, has exploded online proving that soap opera audiences are legitimate and exist successfully. Perhaps, online communities represent a visible representation of female soap audiences overcoming patriarchal rule as they seek to identify their success as a group, as they shatter ownership reigns, and represent women's culture on a global scale.

In terms of shattering ownership reigns, online communities allow audience members to become involved in the production and creation of narratives. William Bielby expresses this sentiment by identifying electronic bulletin board systems as a forum for fan criticism where service providers supply a cyberspace for fans and viewers alike, to openly express their views about daily soap opera narratives. Bielby maintains that since providers do not have to sustain access to industry for their online existence, fans become totally autonomous without having to worry about control of content from soap management and production teams. (Bielby: 1999, p.38). In this sense, the Internet affords online communities a sense of autonomy that did not exist in the days of face-to-face interaction because previously, soap opera audience members could only interact with each other vis-à-vis traditional print media which could have been subject to editorial control of content.

Nancy Baym identifies the emergence of USENET forums and their ascending success as popular forms to communicate for online communities. She argues that USENET is the largest, oldest, and most widely accessible network for soap operas audiences to conduct interactive relationships with other fans (Baym: 2000, p. 5). She probes the communal nature of online audiences and concludes that in viewing soap operas and expressing opinions about these experiences online, the nature of the soap opera audience becomes interconnected (Baym: 2000, p. 14). In this regard, soap audiences mimic women's culture online by engaging in what can be considered a feminine way of expressing themselves; they compose online in an interactive and interconnected way by sharing their experiences and accepting alternative viewpoints instead of emasculating cyberspace by competing for floor space or devaluing others' views.

Ultimately, online communities seek to draw attention to the subculture of female audience members by permeating global culture to show society that soap opera audiences reflect a successful example of female presence and accomplishment in a patriarchal society.

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I want to read about radio soap operas again!

Actually, I want to read about audience ownership...

I want to read about online audiences...