Same here.

Given how marginalized and ostracized the gay community is and has been, are you surprised that they're excited about the possibility of being humanized on a major network tv show? How should they react?

Well, definitely not act as though carrot dangling and "we'd love to tell a gay story, but not play all the beats" or "we're too scared to tell a gay story, so we're gonna be ambiguous about it for another year" are just the best things ever.

Seeing how the story has played out so far, seeing the kiss, this story isn't "being humanized." This story, just like everything else on GL, is half-assed and unacceptable. It's another crappy, blatant attempt to woo the gay audience. Well, count me out!

You're right, there is a liberal agenda, the same liberal agenda that forged the Enlightenment, inspired the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution, created the abolitionist movement against slavery, fought for women's sufferage, and struggled for civil rights. That is equal rights for ALL. Obviously gay characters can and should do far more than simply come out but coming out to family and friends is one of the most terrifying and important decisions a gay person can make and there is a desperate fear among many that their parents, children, and friends will no longer love or accept them if they know who they really are. That's reality that's, sadly, still almost universal for gays. Milestones are the cornerstone of drama and always have been. Should drama ignore that fact simply because it's not convenient for some?

Great point RVD, but my problem with these TV shows is that these characters are taken on the same damn journey over and over again. TPTB *use* the gay audience for their own press in these stories, only to throw them(and the characters) away when it's convenient. Or, even worse, throw every single anti-gay story or message at them. I'm surprised Luke hasn't had some Matthew Shepherd story yet.

Gay characters are so often put into a corner or marginalized on most of television, especially soaps. I mean, if people want to be excited about Otalia, then great for them. But I just absolutely see the writing on the wall for them. And I'll absolutely eat my words if GL does a realistic and wonderful portrayal of them.

I don't oppose a soap writing a gay story at all. But I, personally, would rather see a gay couple or a gay character deal with something else other than the milestone. If everyone else does, then great!

That was actually really hot! Honestly, we had our sweet gay couple at ATWT with Luke/Noah. I want them to make these two power dykes who have hot lesbian sex. If GL plays it like that, it could create all kinds of buzz for the show.

I agree... very well said bleedingroseca!

I don't watch ATWT or AMC, but from what I do know of those shows, they are gay characters and the writers are always trying to write a love story for them. The difference with GL is that Liv and Nat are not gay characters. They are two women who are falling for each other. This is a story that has been building for a long time and is about two people realizing their true feelings for each other. It's great soap opera. After watching today's show, I'm convinced that Liv is head over heels. But there's the confusion in it because they've always been straight. Granted, CC could have chemistry with almost anyone, but this is the first pairing for Nat that I am enjoying. Their initial reaction is running in the opposite direction, hence Liv's going to the bar to check out men and Nat agreeing to a date and then kissing Frank. When Frank kissed Nat earlier, she had a completely different reaction to the kiss than she did to the one after kissing Olivia. They need that period of realizing their true feelings and I hope GL doesn't rush the pairing because I think they could have potential to be a supercouple. Think Roger/Holly, Josh/Reva, etc. It's always about the yearning, once they were together, they were usually pretty boring. It wouldn't bother me and I think the kiss was hot, but I don't need to see that between them all the time. For me, their pairing is about the love. It's so visible when they are talking to each other or even when they are talking to other people about each other. But so far, at least as far as I'm concerned, GL's hitting a home run with this one.

Excuse me, how did it become clear? I've watched enough of GL over 2008, I keep up with what is going on through watching sporadic episodes and synopses(and apparently, there is very little going on, as evident in the last few times I watched).

And there IS very little that is organic about this....Olivia is a woman who has been with men her entire life, enjoyed the power she lorded over them, and all of a sudden she develops an attraction to a woman, a woman she once hated? And don't give me that, "This has been slowly developing since last year..." nonsense. We've barely seen any of Crystal Chappel and Jessica Leccia since Gus's death and Rafe's exit. Yeah, save for the scenes at the Beacon where Liv's health was failing and Ava's baby's death and stuff like that, but where is Liv's grappling with the gay issue or with this attraction? And Natalia is Catholic. Where's the religious angle of this story? Why would a stiff, conservative woman who prays to the saints her whole life suddenly find herself in a situation like this, not questioning living with a woman and her child, being close to them not ONCE?! And Springfield is supposed to be a small town. Why are Olivia and Natalia just now hearing or noticing people staring at them or treating them as though they are a lesbian couple?

If you really think this story hasn't been developed slowly over the last year, then the previous poster is right and you haven't been watching their scenes often enough to have seen that development. Olivia & Natalia's friendship has been given plenty of airtime plus the consistant writing needed to make this situation completely believable and organic to both characters.

You ask why Olivia isn't grappling with the gay issue. You ask where Natalia's religious issues are. Well if you watched their scenes with any kind of regularity, you would know that those questions haven't been asked yet because the possibility that they might have feelings for each other beyond friendship has literally just occurred to them last week and hasn't been processed or articulated by either of them. If you watched the show you would know that the kiss they showed was only the jumping off point for the rest of the story which will now follow. All of those issues will be addressed in time.

Watching "Sporadic episodes" and reading synopses isn't the best way to glean subtext and understanding of a storyline. You miss too many details that way.

Edited January 25, 200916 yr by Farraday