Abstract

Qualitative audience studies have arguably been the best possible expression of feminist engagement in media studies. Seminal studies such as Janice Radway’s Reading the Romance (1984), Ien Ang’s Watching Dallas (1985), and David Morley’s Family Television (1986) can all be categorized as audience research that allowed for the voice of “ordinary women” (and sometimes “ordinary men”) to be heard. This research bears witness to a spirit of solidarity and recognition of unequal gender relations without imposing ideological dogma or political correctness.