Males that watch Soap Operas

[Khan]

 

It didn't come across that way -- but, whatever.  I apologize.

[Gray Bunny]

Male here. DAYS and GL are my all-time favorites. I started DAYS in the summer of '95 seeing a commercial for the possession storyline and became hooked, thanks to the Carrie/Austin/Sami and Hope/Bo/Billie triangles. As mom started buying her flaming lil' son issues of Soap Opera Digest, I saw Lark Voorhies of "Saved by the Bell" fame was on B&B so I started watching to see her. She wasn't on much, but I got hooked on Brooke/Ridge/Taylor and Stephanie/Sheila (Brooke had a meltdown in Barbados; Steph was being poisoned by Sheila).  By the next summer, I was checking out all the soaps at one point and took a liking to Guiding Light the most. I love me some strong dynamic divas and was instantly drawn to Kim Zimmer's Reva, Wendy Moniz's Dinah, and Cynthia Watros' Annie. 

 

I eventually watched Y&R, AMC, OLTL, and occasionally ATWT. To this day, I still record DAYS, Y&R and B&B. 

[All My Shadows]

I'm male and a lifelong soap fan, though I didn't really start watching on my own until I was 11 years old. Growing up in south Louisiana, everyone watched soaps. Here, they're more stereotypically for older people than for women.

My faves are All My Children and As the World Turns.

[Antoyne]

I remember I believe my mom may have watched All My Children when I was a child. I have distinct memories of knowing Erica Kane/Susan Lucci.

 

I was really big into Dawson’s Creek and Savannah growing up which made the transition to soaps pretty easy.

 

I started with Passions then moved onto Days. Slowly but surely I got into OLTL, AMC, and GH.

 

Eventually I started watching Y&R with the occasional viewing of B&B but I just didn’t have time to watch that many soaps.

 

I now only watch Y&R and DAYS, but mainly Y&R. I still have a soft spot for a lot of the Days characters, mainly the vets but the show just isn’t appointment viewing for me anymore.

Lol Khan you’re better than that, it was clearly a joke.

[JabotCEO]

Male viewer here...  Like most, I started watching when I was a child with my mom and grandparents.  OLTL was my favorite in the 80s with outlandish stories like Viki going to Heaven (which was a huge space ship!), Clint traveling back in time to Buchanan City, and Victor Lord's secret, underground city, Eterna.  I loved anything and everything involving the larger than life Buchanans.  Viki the great heroine, Clint the cowboy, Tina the schemer, Asa the bombastic patriarch, Bo the moral compass of the family, Cord and Megan the hitherto unknown adult children of Clint and Viki, etc.  It was always an adventure with that family.  The only times I abandoned OLTL was when JFP was EP (there are no words to describe that woman) and when Dena Higley was head-writer in the mid-2000s. 

 

My second favorite was All My Children.  While OLTL was outlandish, AMC was more subtle and nuanced.  Erica, Adam, Brooke, Palmer, Daisy, Opal, Phoebe, Langley, Dixie, Tad, Ruth, Joe, Mona, Travis, Jack, Tom, Hayley, Trevor, Natalie (who I was so in love with!), etc. were such multi-layered characters.  Pine Valley was the perfect sleepy, upscale suburb.  So many of the characters resembled members of my own family and people in my suburban hometown.  Unlike OLTL which retained much of its talent and key characters up until its final days, AMC was gutted by the mid-2000s.  Its final months on the air with Lorraine Broderick as head-writer were a blessing.

 

I watched GL during the mid-to-late 1990s.  I enjoyed the Spaulding and Lewis families and their stories.  However, I lost interest once it became the "Reva" show.  That certainly isn't an indictment of Kim Zimmer, or the character of Reva, the show was just so unbalanced and lopsided.  And, then there was the San Cristobal drama that ensued.  Blah!  I have watched many episodes on YT focusing on Beverlee McKinsey's Alexandra.  WOW!  Just WOW!  I enjoyed Marj Dusay, and she was the only Alexandra I knew when I watched GL in the 90s, but BM truly was a gem.  One of the best actors to ever grace daytime television.

 

Today, I watch Y&R.  After the Prospect Park relaunches of AMC and OLTL failed, I missed having a daily dose of drama.  I went with Y&R because it reminded me of AMC in many ways.  Victor Newman and Adam Chandler, both men from humble beginnings who have created massive empires, and while both value family above all else, they are constantly undercutting their children and spouses. Katherine Chancellor and Phoebe Wallingford, two wealthy, respected women who rule over their respective towns, but neither can handle their alcohol very well.  Plus, Y&R still had so many legacy characters with rich histories front and center: Jack, Nikki, Ashley (until recently), Phyllis, Victor, Sharon, Nick, Lauren, etc.  Watching vintage Y&R clips on YT really makes me appreciate it even more -- and also saddens me that it doesn't look as good as it did in the 90s and early 2000s and that the stories aren't nearly as compelling.  However, I do think Josh Griffith and Tony Morina are trying to make a better Y&R.  Anything is better than having Mal Young!

[YRfan23]

I’m a proud male soap viewer! Haha been watching soaps since I was 9...well I guess maybe earlier then that since I use to be in the room whenever my mom watched Y&R/B&B although I wouldn’t be watching those 2 on my own till way later! Lol

[LostinSalem]

Male here, was 10 years old when Tabitha and Timmy hooked me into PSNS during the prom boat storyline. Occasionally watched DAYS for the last blast teens. After PSNS ended I got into OLTL the last few years and became a fan before its cancelation and loved Ron’s writing. Couldn’t get into GH but when Ron joined DAYS I decided to give DAYS another try and today I still tune in every once in a while. I also love Dark Shadows and have seen all of the post Barnabas stuff, need to watch the earlier episodes now.

[SoapDope]

I have watched soaps all my life. The CBS lineup was on in the house growing up. My Mom started watching ATWT & GL as a child and started Y&R with it's 1973 debut and it became her favorite. I was around when Capitol and B&B premiered and the primetime soap boom of the late 70's and 80's. 

 

Soaps have always had male viewers, but back in those days soaps were mainly considered for women. I think shows like Dallas helped make it more accepted that men watch soaps too. It's a shame that the remaining soaps are a joke and a shadow of their former selves. When I was a kid there were 14 daytime soaps and now only 4 remain. Networks want to quickly do them in and fill the air time with reality and talk shows. TV is no longer escapism. We live reality and now have to watch it on TV too.