Like most women, and some men, I enjoy watching soap operas. From prime-time hits like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" to daytime drama on "Days of Our Lives" and "Passions," I love watching the sexy-yet-troubled lives of these unbelievably gorgeous men and women.
Unfortunately, with a busy class schedule during the day, and the absence of prime-time soaps because of a certain strike, my days and nights have been sadly lacking in the overly acted drama department, and I have been left with anticlimactic reruns and my Netflix subscription.
However, light came flooding back into the tunnel in the form of YouTube.com. Through this wonder of modern technology, I was able to get my daily fix of drama with the video clips entitled "Luke and Noah's Story." More than 140 videos chronicle the story of two men who fall in love on the daytime soap "As the World Turns."
Now, despite my love of all things soapy, I had never watched "ATWT." However, I had heard about it being the first soap to show a kiss between a same-sex couple. So realizing that Luke and Noah must be this same couple, I began to watch these videos on a weekly basis. (Of course, telling you this shows, rather painfully, how much of a life I have outside of school and writing this column.)
Now since the debut of "Will and Grace" in 1998, gay-themed shows have not been absent from American television, and demonstrating how slowly it moves, a decade later, Americans finally saw the first, romantic on-screen kiss between two men with Luke and Noah.
When first beginning this story line, "ATWT" promised its viewers that the two men would be treated the same as any couple on their show, gay or straight. Therefore, fans, gay and straight, have become less than happy with this supposedly forward thinking show — since that first kiss six months ago, Luke and Noah have kissed a grand total of two times. This is compared to a previous relationship between Noah and his girlfriend, who kissed a total of 15 times within one month.
Now this may seem pretty trivial to some, especially at a time when our country is in the midst of war, elections and ever-rising gas prices, but this open homophobia and the extreme fan backlash are unprecedented.
We all know that one of the main sources of our political and social beliefs is film and television, and just as in the 1950s when a African American character was constantly absent from American homes, now gay and lesbian characters, or should I say romantically involved gay and lesbian characters, are similarly absent. Therefore, fans of "ATWT" are going full force to make these two characters treated equally by the shows writers and producers.
In the past, as in the case of "Will and Grace," fans simply looked aside when out right affection was absent between two seemingly in-love people. But now frustrated fans are putting pressure on the network to change their no romance policy.
The fact that the "Nuke" (fan nickname) storyline even exists is a big accomplishment for network television, and an even bigger step for gay and lesbian rights within American culture. However, for full equality to be met, such storylines cannot be hampered down by the fear of homophobic backlash.
That's why I find it so funny and ironic that the only backlash the show is getting from the storyline is angry fans that want fewer pecks on the cheek and more sex.
Though "Nuke" fans might have to wait a while longer to finally see their boys having just as much fun as everyone else, hopefully one day love, not fear, will rule the airways, and all characters will get their chance at some good old-fashioned nookie.
Tell Sarah what you think about "Nuke" at: sarah.maschoff@asu.edu.
