Last week, As the World Turns fans witnessed a rarity on dramatic daytime television: a passionate kiss between two young men. Sure, you can tune into just about any episode of The Jerry Springer Show and see... well, you can see just about anything. But that's about sensationalism – over-the-top "stories" that even Jerry Springer has called silly. But the incident on As the World Turns was not designed to be silly, sensational or over the top.
For those of you who either missed the episode or are not an As the World Turns viewer, a clip of the kiss has been uploaded to the YouTube web site – and it has been viewed by well over 150,000 people. Here's a quick play-by-play. The two young men, Luke and Noah, have had some awkward moments over the past few weeks. They are the same sort of longing glances and awkward pauses that everyone has when they are infatuated with someone – regardless of gender or sexual orientation. On Friday, August 17th's episode, Luke, who is openly gay, was helping Noah, who is apparently questioning his sexual orientation and battling a homophobic father, with his tie. In true soap fashion, their eyes met and both fell silent. The two men moved closer as an unsure Noah looked overcome by the realization that he could – just possibly – be gay. The two kissed rather passionately and then the show ended. Quite a cliffhanger for the week!
The kiss was a far cry from the you-remind-me-of-my-grandmother peck on the lips shared by All My Children's Bianca and Lena a few years back. Much to do was made about daytime's first lesbian kiss, a kiss that lasted... hmmm... maybe a second-and-a-half.
As you may expect, many fans of AMC were outraged by what some called a degradation of morals and the advancement of "the gay agenda." It's very similar to the feedback that I have been receiving from fans of As the World Turns.
"I really don't care for the close contact of Luke and Noah kissing," writes Sheri. "My daughter watches also and I would like to see the show without the actual male to male contact. I am fine with being gay, I just would prefer not to see it on my soap that I have been watching for 30 something years. Please leave it to our imaginations. I will not watch the show if I have to watch sex and kissing among the guys. That does not make me feel sexy. I really felt uncomfortable."
One of the problems, as I see it, is that it is still very much taboo. In spite of programs like Ellen, Will & Grace, Queer as Folk and Noah's Arc, it's still very difficult for people to discuss the issue of homosexuality without tempers flaring. For many big city dwellers, someone being gay is just another part of everyday life. I'm frequently amused by folks who remark that there is "no one gay" in their town. As much as I think some reality television is totally over the top, I like watching programs like Wife Swap where people of totally different backgrounds get to experience life in someone else's shoes. Not every gay person is a promiscuous drag queen running rampant trying to "recruit" new members for the gay community. And let's face it: every group of persons has some sort of stereotype associated with them.
Many people argue that they don't want to see a gay storyline on television because they are not gay and cannot relate. I'm a pretty average 32-year-old white guy, but I've never used the "I cannot relate" comment when watching The Cosby Show or The Golden Girls. I've never tried to solve a murder, but I watch "CSI." I've never come back from the dead (Well that's not entirely true, click here to read a blog entry about that ordeal), but I watch the soaps.
Further complicating things are persons who revel in "outing" people – whether they are homosexual or not. Tabloid magazines herald the news that so-and-so is really gay. Recent celebrities targeted by sensationalist gay headlines include Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey and R&B singer Usher (who, as a random aside, appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful a few years back). With so many people supposedly being gay or closeted, I think it does a disservice to people who really are gay.
But not everyone targeted by these headlines is necessarily a celebrity. With the booming popularity of the Internet and its very much unregulated status, anyone, anywhere can post just about anything about anybody. There have been cases of teens being picked on or slandered on their MySpace pages over their sexuality (or perceived sexuality). There have even been cases when some of these teens have ended up committing suicide because of the teasing and taunting. Heck, I've had people post all kinds of things about me here on my Soap Central blog.
If it isn't easy for someone to step forward and admit to posting an Internet blog entry about someone, imagine the courage it must take for someone to identify themselves as gay.
