February is Black History Month. But this February, it also seems to be “Lesbians Making History Month,” as two pop culture walls were torn down thanks to girl power.
On Monday, ABC sudser “All My Children” featured the first lesbian wedding in soap opera history. Characters Bianca Montgomery and Reese Williams were united in designer dresses and copious amounts of flowers for millions of viewers. The two-part episode received great attention in the mainstream media for its groundbreaking nature and commitment to showing a true life cycle of a couple’s relationship. Granted, there’s not many places we can actually get married, but still…
The show also received accolades from the LGBT community, with GLAAD president Neil Giuliano commenting that the show “simply reflects what's happening in the real world." Of course, the residents of Pine Valley also received their fair share of detractors, but here’s the thing—it got people talking. And, that’s good marketing. Push the limits. Expand (and actually talk to) your audience. Show us who we are, not who you want us to be. And we’ll be loyal viewers.
On the animated pop culture front, DC Comics announced that after recently killing off Batman, the next action hero for “Detective Comics” will be Batwoman, a “lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night.” Who doesn’t know a lesbian crime-fighting socialite?!? This was such cool news, but what made it even cooler was the way DC Comics writer Greg Rucka described her sexuality.
“Yes, she’s a lesbian. She’s also a redhead. It is an element of her character. It is not her character. If people are going to have problems with it, that’s their issue.”
Kudos to ABC Television and to DC Comics for understanding that their audience is as diverse as the colors on the screen and page. Who would you like to see as the next LGBT crime fighter? Any character on TV you would like to finally marry their same-sex partner?
(Photo credit: TV Guide)
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