Why do I find women screaming at each other on TV so relaxing?
It’s hard to pin down why I find women screaming at each other on TV so relaxing. I wonder if it’s just a dopamine thing – it’s pure entertainment, which in itself is stress. It’s also just low-stakes television – you don’t need to follow plot points at all times, it’s not Succession– So you can kind of dip in and out of their fights like you might an episode of Orientalexcept with Botox-wearing 50-year-old hotel owners, rather than pub owners wearing leopard print. It’s also familiar – they go to a party, they fight, you choose a side – which makes it more like watching a sitcom or WWE than the kind of real, cortisol-draining argument you might encounter elsewhere.
I’m obviously not the only one who feels this way about women yelling at each other on screen. Tiktok users post about this all the time. “Nothing like relaxing to the soothing sounds of women arguing on TV,” one user posted. “Relaxing morning routine as a Bravo fan,” posted another, while serenely eating cereal to the sound of wild screams. “My relaxing skincare routine as a Bravo fan,” said another, dabbing cleanser on her face while Angie K delivers the aforementioned Zinger. Clearly, the Bravo effect is widespread. Women and homosexuals in particular – and this East Exclusively women and gay men posting about it – are taking place en masse at these spectacular and shocking rows.
When I reached out to other fans of the reality TV show, I was surprised by how many people said that watching Women Go Ham was more than relaxing — it was cathartic. “There’s something about being a woman and being angry that’s quite Thermal shush, “ Said Phoebe, 21. “Yet these women, no matter the problem, scream and scream.” Sophie, 26, agreed: “Women are primarily socialized to be polite and deferential, so it’s satisfying to see them express unlimited emotions.” “It’s refreshing to see women respond in a way that is emotionally driven and actually praised and more successful because of it,” added Annabelle, 29.
