Radway (1984) uses interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic research to examine a group of women's uses of romance novels. He research was conducted in a town she calls "Smithton," and much of her work was facilitated through the group's leader, "Dot." Though Radway (1984) admits that she expected to make an argument about the harmfully gendered messsages of romance novels, instead she found that the books were surprisingly liberating in some ways.
1. Women used romance novel reading as a way of escaping from their daily lives.
Radway (1984) argues that romance novel reading allowed women to bracket off portions of their day in which they were not responsible for care of others. Though romance novels contain somewhat normative gender roles, the way readers used these novels allowed them to circumvent some oppressive gender roles in their own lives.
2. Readers likes and dislikes shaped the continued production of available literature.
Radway's (1984) interactions with Dot let her to confirm Hall's (1980) theory that audience members formed a feedback loop with producers. Radway (1984) learned that Dot corresponded with romance novel publishers, and that the publishers took her ideas seriously. Dot was therefore able to shape which authors and types of books were published, based on her reader's circle's particular tastes. In many cases, these specifications included gendered elements, including the type of sexual encounter and the level of violence that could be tolerated by readers.
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