Do today's Daytime Soaps even have matriarchs (and patriarchs)?

[rlj]

Sharon was not a good girl, she got raped but like Karen from OLTL and Nikki who  got raped, not a good girl.  She poked a hole in a condom to get preggers, just sayin!

[rlj]

Bad girl becoming Perils of Paulina happened with Rachel, Erica, Nola, Lisa and Nikki/Lauren in the 80s

[DramatistDreamer]

The idea that a "good girl" can't be raped is an incredibly offense statement to make. I'll carry on with the Ignore feature. SMDH. 

[rlj]

Never said that!

[Fevuh]

I would say Eric on B&B although he’s stupid.  

[~bl~]

Characters aren't allowed to "grow" up anymore, they have adult children and still act the same way they did 15 years earlier. I think that's part of why we have less/few/none matriarchs/patriarch characters. If you get into that role, you may end up off contract or written out, (it has happened enough times) that it feels like it is intentional.

 

When it comes to character types: I recall in one of the soap books that one of the types mentioned - and now disappeared is the sensitive man. (I don't know when they started in soaps, the first reference I saw to them elsewhere was Alan Alda's character on "MASH" being the example.)

 

Others I don't recall seeing as much anymore are charming well-educated playboy - I think they tried this with Y&R's Kyle, to copy his father Jack, but it didn't completely work. As they redeemed him very quickly, and well he wasn't "bad" enough to be a bad boy or good enough to be good, not sure?

 

Actually for the most part professional characters aren't really a thing anymore either they are independently wealthy, a CEO and don't have an actual job, we see on screen. The only Newman child who was educated was Adam. Soaps used to be filled with upper middle class professionals (like Tom Horton, a doctor), GH's Alan was a doctor even though he could have lived off the family wealth. 

 

The unlucky in love character aka the "black widow" - could be a good or bad person that goes through love interests every few months or years or contract renewals. The unconventional character (sometimes comic relief other times not) appears less often as they aren't as hot. 

[Sindacco]

These are two very good points.

[Soaplovers]

Ingenures exist but they're written as goody two shoes with no brains, backbone or personality.

 

Tara on AMC always knew Erica was up to no good..and didn't fall for her tales.  If they were featured today...Tara would believe anything Erica said without question.

 

I think Caroline on BB in the late 80s was an ingenue..but had a backbone, career and a personality...even Taylor did as well in the early 90s.

[Skin]

 

Bianca came to my mind immediately when I read that soaps don't have ingenue's anymore. Granted she debuted in the 90's but she was pretty easily defined as an ingenue, Eden's performance was well received, and the character was renowned both critically, commercially, and culturally.