Pushing+Cultural+Limits?

Even though soap operas catered to the interests of their female listeners and some were created by women, they were constrained by sponsors, producers and network censors. Daytime serials “addressed and created an explicitly feminine” culture while “reinforcing and acknowledging the differences between men’s and women’s lives within the hierarchy of American culture” (Hilmes 174). These programs provided women with a fantasy world but one in which women were still wives and homemakers.

Many programs dealt with controversial issues that the female protagonist had to overcome, but nearly all resolved them in a way that reinforced traditional female roles. In an episode of //Today’s Children//, Frances Moran contemplates postponing her marriage to Bob so that she might fulfill her desires for a career. She receives advice from Judge McCoy, a family friend, who tells her “‘The male has ever been the provider and protector—the female has ever been the bearer of the young—and do you women of today think you can suddenly and completely change the natural laws that have gone on since time began?’” (Hilmes 162). Ultimately, Frances chooses to marry Bob and give up her career aspirations: “‘My dream—my painted dream—I guess—yes, I guess my place is here—with Bob’” (Hilmes 163). This episode of //Today’s Children// represented the majority of soap opera storylines that introduced controversial issues dealing with gender roles, but in the end the conflict is resolved by endorsing the traditional roles of women.

One program that defied traditional gender roles was //The Story of Mary Marlin//, in which a young wife with a small son accompanied her newly elected senator husband to Washington only to have her husband vanish and her assume his senatorship. Not only did this serial feature a widowed woman in power, but the creator, writer and producer Jane Crusinberry fought the network to include relevant political issues into the storylines. By setting //Mary Marlin// in Washington, Crusinberry meant to feature sensitive political issues, including unions, juvenile delinquency, and elections, all of which caused sponsors and networks discomfort (Hilmes 176-7). Because of this both the sponsors and the network worked to censor Crusinberry’s treatment of these subjects.

Other shows featured unconventional family situations. //Judy and Jane//, a program featuring two women as business partners, political allies, and friends who lived together, introduced a bankrupt, homeless immigrant movie producer named Ben Feinstein into the storyline and the home in 1937 (Loviglio 85). Many programs also featured multiethnic communities of working class immigrants like Ben Feinstein. //The Guiding Light//, //The Right to Happiness//, and //Life Can Be Beautiful//, in addition to //Judy and Jane//, all featured Jewish immigrants as central characters (Loviglio 96). The inclusion of these types of characters represents the changing understanding of the population of the United States at this time. What it meant to be American changed during the 1930s, and radio soap operas reflected this change.

Soap creators and the audience understood that daytime serials were meant to “go too far” and be excessive in presenting “actions and characters who offended various sensibilities and provoked impassioned audience responses” (Hilmes 177). Even if these soap operas explored taboo situations they always ended in accordance with the social norms of the age.

**The Soap Operas**