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 | 2000: Until 2000-DEC, none of the daytime soap operas had ever included a major, continuing homosexual role. Then, All My Children broke new ground. Bianca Montgomery (played by Eden Riegel) began to realize that she is a lesbian. She desperately tried to convince herself that she is a heterosexual, without success. She agonized about coming out of the closet. She finally came out to her mother, Erica Kane (played by Susan Lucci). Erica initially went into denial, but subsequently began to accept her daughter's sexual orientation. | ||||||
| 2000-DEC: A U.S. version of Queer as Folk debuted on the Showtime network. It follows the lives of five gay men in Pittsburgh. | ||||||
| 2001-APR: In the APR-26th episode of Friends, Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston) recalled a brief, experimental, lesbian experience from her college days. She and a fellow classmate Melissa, (played by Winona Ryder), got drunk, and had a passionate kiss and make-out session. Ryder denies that the event ever took place. At the end of the episode, Rachel kisses Melissa, who then confesses her attraction to Rachel. She immediately recants her confession. | ||||||
| 2001-MAY: The writers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer broke new ground when they portrayed a gradually developing relationship between two Witches, Willow (played by Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (played by Amber Benson). The "Willow" character is apparently a bisexual. Her relationship with a male star, Oz, failed. This is believed to be the first instance on television where a developing same-sex relationship has been accurately portrayed by two main continuing characters in a series. | ||||||
| 2001: Minute Maid sponsored an ad that featured Popeye and his arch-rival Bluto. In the past, the two were always shown fighting. But in this commercial, they played on the swings and sea-saw, they buried each other in sand and got tattoos together that said "Buddies for Life." Later, they drive a bicycle-built-for-two and pass their mutual friend, Olive Oyl. They don't seem to notice her. Although the gay overtones are obvious, Minute Maid spokesperson Dan Shafer denied that this was the intent of the ad. He said: "We're not going to go there. Any intent to draw a (gay relationship) parallel would be wrong. Anyone who knows Popeye and Bluto understands that's not the case, there's no intent like that." | ||||||
| 2002-FEB-14: Revealing what was probably the worst-kept secret in entertainment history, Rosie O'Donnel's lesbian sexual orientation was revealed on the women's discussion program, The View. | ||||||
| 2003-FEB: According to Agape Press: "Marvel Comics has announced that 'The Rawhide Kid,' a Marvel character since the 1950s, will make his first appearance as a homosexual in a February release. In an Associated Press report, Marvel's editor-in-chief Joe Quesada states that while the character will not come right out and say he is homosexual, it will be 'obvious through his actions and the things he says that his preference is men, not women.' " 1 [It is worth noting that if his "preference" is for men rather than women as a sexual partner, then he is apparently a bisexual not a homosexual.] | ||||||
| 2003-APR: The ABC network announced on APR-15 that Eden Riegel and Olga Sosnovska, playing the roles of Bianca and Lena on All My children, will share a kiss during the APR-23 episode. This is believed to be the first lesbian kiss on the daytime soaps. 2 | ||||||
| 2003-4 Season: Many TV programs with homosexual theme include "Will and Grace" "Queer as Folk," "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," and "Boy Meets Boy." Madonna sang kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera briefly on MTV Video Music Awards, after the latter sang "Like a Virgin" to her. Later that week, Meredith Vieira re-enacted Madonna's kiss with Associated Press write, Christy Lemire on The View. North America responded with a collective yawn. On SEP-21, during the Emmy awards, Brad Garrett kissed comedian Garry Shandling in the spirit of Madonna. | ||||||
| 2003-Summer: The Bravo cable network introduced Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in which five gay males revamp a straight person's appearance, clothing, and living space. It quickly became Bravo's most successful program to date. | ||||||
| 2004-FEB: A single anonymous posting on a popular gay gossip forum www.DataLounge.com on FEB-01 exploded into a news item on CNN within a little more than a week. The rumor was that Marcia Cross, who plays Bree Van De Camp on the hit TV show Desperate Housewives is, in real life, a lesbian. She denied the rumor on the FEB-09 episode of The View, saying: "It's very odd and I assume it's what comes with being 42 and single." Actually, it is "Bree's" son, the pot-smoking problem teen, who is expected to come out of his closet in a future episode. A new rumor has surfaced: that another Desperate Housewives cast member is going to reveal that she/he is gay in real life. | ||||||
| 2004-FEB-20: History was made when not one but two fictional
characters came out of the closet -- to viewers at least -- within two hours.
Also, one was caught in a same-sex encounter:
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| 2005-DEC-09: The movie Brokeback Mountain was released to a few theatres in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Broad distribution came in 2006-JAN. It is described in the media as covering the lives of two homosexual cowboys in Wyoming. Actually, the story deals with two bisexual sheep herders, and was photographed in Calgary, AB, Canada. It was nominated for more 2006 Academy Awards than any other film. More details. | ||||||
| 2006-MAR-19: The movie C.R.A.Z.Y. is a coming-of-age tale
about growing up gay in Roman Catholic Quebec, Canada, from the 1960s to the
1980s. It received ten awards at Canada's Genie awards earlier in
March. It won 14 awards at the Prix Juntra French Canadian movie
awards. It took the top prize in every category in which it was nominated,
including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting
Actress and Best Actor.
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There are some TV shows which have gay or lesbian characters for which we do not have the starting date:
| Kerry Weaver is Chief of Emergency Medicine and a lesbian on "ER." |
| Bad Girls is a UK program with main characters who are lesbians. |
References used:
- Allie Martin and Jody Brown, "Marvel Comics Puts Homosexuality in the Saddle," Agape Press, 2002-DEC-11, at: http://headlines.agapepress.org/
- "Lesbian kiss is daytime first," Associated Press, approximately 2003-APR-15, published by the Toronto Star, 2003-APR-16, Page F4.
- "The Jutras C.R.A.Z.Y. in love with Quebec's coming-of-age film," Toronto Star, 2006-MAR-21. Page C7.
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Copyright © 1999 to 2006 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-MAR-21
Author: B.A. Robinson
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