Gay characters on soaps

[All My Shadows]

Fo' sho'!

"Sharon and Phyllis: Let the love story begin!!"

[DavidEvanSmith]

Anyone wanting fleshed-out gay characters and stories, please read Beyond the Horizon and tell me if I've done it justice!

Check the signature for links to the fiction!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

If you want a good soapy gay storyline, trying watching one of the UK soaps when they occasionally tackle it on. At least they have the guts to go full throttle with it.

[DRW50]

Most of the UK soaps, with the exception of Hollyoaks, haven't tackled a major gay storyline in years. I've been especially disappointed with Eastenders, but then that's how I feel about most of Eastenders now.

This article talks about how much the UK soaps have changed with gay stories, not for the better.

http://www.afterelton.com/TV/gayslives/04-06-09

I'm hoping All That Matters is finally going to turn the corner in giving Roman a storyline. He's one of my favorite gay characters at the moment.

[NorrthCafe]

Funny! I've been blogging about this very topic. Anyone see a (positive) pattern in the introduction of gay/lesbian characters in daytime?

ATWT: Luke and Noah were (as I remember) the only two halfway decent people left in Oakdale under the age of 30. They had standards and self control and given who their parents are, that couldn't have been easy.

AMC: Bianca is the show's moral center and has been for some time (as I blogged; she's Mona's spiritual heir).

GL: Natalia, highly religious, a great person, she picks up where GL's Maureen left off in taking care of any and everyone in need, highly self sacrificing. As Maureen saved Ed from the worst of his nature, Nat did the same for Liv.

BnB: Ok, just my furtive imagination at work, but the writers have certainly created a 'Rebecca-esque' relationship between Stephanie (Mrs. Danvers) and Taylor (Rebecca). Both characters tout their role as the 'moral majority' - despite their misbehaviors. I don't know how many have seen the film 'Rebecca' (1940), but it's a classic and if it's not a blueprint for the BnB with the Brooke/Stephanie/Taylor dynamic, I don't know what is.

[All My Shadows]

Maddie was pretty decent. Her biggest flaw was that she was prone to gossiping/eavesdropping/meddling in her brother's affairs, but even by then, she had mellowed out a little bit. All three of them (at that time) were good kids basically.

[thus making a long, drawn-out, emotional triangle between the three of them a fabulous idea]

[brimike]

Yup - but as a gay man, I can't tell you how badly I want a gay villain on a show. I'm seriously salivating over it. Enough with the self-righteous, morally outstanding, do-gooders. The white-washing of homosexuals is stale. Making them all angelic goes totally against the concept of equal rights. If homosexuals are just like everybody else, then why can't we show ALL kinds of homosexuals - the ones you love, and the ones you love to hate?

[MarkH]

Oh my. I guess. Are we already ready for that?

What about just a gay...whatever...doctor, lawyer, nurse...whatever...finding love, doing all the things that soap characters do, openly, without hesistation or apology...

[brimike]

LOL! Maybe it's just me. Not to get all personal, but my coming out was about the least stressful thing I've ever done in my life. I dated women for awhile, and then I dated men, and my friends/family didn't really react at all. Or if they did, they didn't do it around me. Being gay is about as important to me as having blue eyes. It's just not something I think about. Don't get me wrong - I consider myself very lucky and blessed in that regard. I know many people struggle with it. I credit both my generation, and the evolved nature of my friends and family at the time. So I tend to look at gays-in-the-media from a different perspective. But I know I'm in the minority, so I don't mean to imply that everybody else is as ready as I am for this. Forgive me if I came across bratty, Mark. I do tend to see this from a perspective other gay men do not, and I totally respect that.

Absolutely! I'm all for that! But it would be nice if a gay male "vixen" swooped in to steal the man of our gay hero's dreams. Granted, they can't do the "I'll get pregnant with his baby" story - but there are other ways to do it.

[All My Shadows]

I always figured that the gay equivalent of the "I'll blackmail him by threatening to announce that I'm pregnant for him" was "I'll blackmail him by threatening to announce that we made out/slept together/have mutual romantic feelings." That, in and of itself, is enough to send some "straight" guys' worlds crashing down.

Oh my, the deliciousness of Sonny Corinthos trying to hide a queeny thang-on-the-side. Named Jason.

[DavidEvanSmith]

I'm gonna just shamelessly self-promote, since we're talking about stories for gay characters that don't involve moral supremacy.

Aurora/Shawn/Jenna

Aurora Borealis (aka Eddie Dawson) is a drag queen who captured the attention of Shawn Marks, a high-level executive at Von Stadt International. Shawn, by day, dates social climbing, selfish diva Jenna Baldwin, who is otherwise consumed with snagging her elderly father's millions (he won the lottery) and making a name for herself as a fashion designer and businesswoman. Shawn is "number 3" at international conglomerate VSI, but easily overqualified and underappreciated by "number 2", the boss's son, Leo Von Stadt. Shawn worked so hard to get where he is, that he is terrified to lose hard-earned respect from his peers if it got out that he likes boys -- and one drag queen in particular. The more confident and showy Jenna got about her relationship with Shawn, the more involved and connected Shawn became with Aurora/Eddie. Shawn had mastered his double life almost perfectly, until an arrival from Eddie's mother revealed that Eddie was the son of Theodore Baldwin... and Jenna's half-brother. Shawn's two very separate worlds finally collided, as Jenna met her newest rival for her father's millions, though Jenna is completely unaware Eddie is also a rival for Shawn's heart. Eddie of course is aware of Shawn's double life but is so wrapped up in their connection that he doesn't want to rock the boat and lose Shawn. But it's frustrating for Eddie because it doesn't appear Shawn will EVER be able to have an "out and proud" relationship with Eddie... but does Eddie need to walk the streets arm-in-arm with Shawn, or is having Shawn to himself in the privacy of Eddie's home really enough?

Crystal/Rod/Christian

Crystal and Rod were college sweethearts. Life was idyllic. On the homefront, Rod's life was idyllic as well, until his father Terrence came out of the closet. Rod's mother Emma left town under a cloud of humiliation, but Rod and his sister Fiona stuck by their father and supported his decision to live a more authentic life. Rod and Fiona's support was challenged when Terrence brought home the man he wanted to be with... Christian, a man less half Terrence's age -- and younger than Rod and Fiona. Christian was also an aspiring actor, who could definitely benefit from a relationship with Terrence, an established director/producer in New York's theatre community. Rod was instantly suspicious of young Christian's motives and became consumed with proving Christian's intentions were self-serving. Rod hired a private investigator to dig up information on Christian, Rod left one establishment where he bartended to work the bar at the gay bar Terrence and Christian frequented. All the while, the more time Rod spent focused on Christian, girlfriend Crystal was left out in the cold. A perfect illustration of where Rod's mind was, he accidentally called Crystal by Christian's name during sex on Valentine's Day! Time and time again, Christian proved loving and loyal to Terrence, both infuriating and placating Rod.

Terrence, however, was diagnosed with AIDS and since he was diagnosed very late, he suffered a rapid deterioration. Christian and Terrence did have a heartfelt Canadian wedding, but Terrence lasted for only a month afterward before passing away. Rod's grief over his father created an even bigger rift between Rod and Crystal, and she desperately resorted to attempting to get pregnant to give Rod something joyous to counteract the devastating loss of his father. Meanwhile, Christian was the only one who understood Rod's grief, which drew them closer together.

BTH's next installment holds the twist that takes the Crystal/Rod/Christian triangle to a whole new level.

[DeeeDee]

[All My Shadows]

:lol:

Wow, Maurice really doesn't smile, does he? There's this picture that I'm thinking of...someone Photoshopped his face onto the body of a woman...and I'm dying laughing just thinking about it, but I'd have no clue where to look for it.

[jfung79]

Aren't we getting a gay villain with Zac on ATWT?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^one note cartoon characters don't count.