From the soap queen to the Aga-saga: different discursive frameworks of familial femininity in contemporary 'women's genres'

This article draws on recent feminist work in the fields of queer theory, c ultural studies and media studies to counter notions of a monolithic or hom ogeneous femininity. It offers a discursive analysis of two popular 'women' s genres' the Aga-saga and the soap opera, to argue that these offer at lea st two possible modes of femininity which women can draw on in constructing and reconstructing their feminine identifies. However it then suggests tha t, whereas both forms offer models which can assist the negotiation of femi nity, only the soap opera offers a paradigm which can assist a resistant fe minity. An exploration of the fictional female character, the soap queen, r eveals both her glamour and her resemblance to the drag queen. I Whilst the glamour is posited as a further model for the negotiation of feminity, the similarities to the drag queen are offered as an indication of the possibi lity of resistance, since this resemblance can suggest the performativity o f gender identify.