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ATWT Brings Up Issues Regarding LGBTI Discrimination

The story line about a homophobic landlord who makes life difficult for a tenant is not exactly new. In fact, that was the center of the storyline that ran through the majority of Three’s Company. In fact, the fact gays and lesbians have been showing up in the various media forms for some time. Those who follow anime may be aware of how Sailor Moon’s companions Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh, who are among the most famously out characters in anime and manga. Though, the American market was kind of shielded from this for some time.

In a recent story arc of As The World Turns, the characters of Luke and Noah end up trying to move in together, and their prospective landlord tells them that the empty apartment is rented. This, of course, violates the law. Noah wants to move on and find someplace else, but Luke is angry and decides to go after the landlord. So, Luke and his mom decide to stage a protest, and to make the whole issue of housing discrimination a part of his foundation.

Now, for the totally honest part of this. Even after watching the clip, I have no clue what any of this means. When someone says As The World Turns, I tend to think about Carol Burnett. When someone says General Hospital, I think about Veterinarian’s Hospital on the Muppets. Like it or not, I know little to nothing about Soap Operas. In fact, I tend to think of the movie Soap in which Whoopie Goldberg famously (or not that famously) says “He has no head! How do I write for a man who’s got no head?!”

It is, however, nice to see television shows dealing with major issues regarding discrimination. Many shows tend to skim passed these issues. While there have been some angry voices against CSI regarding the fact that many of the times in which we see a gay or lesbian character they are either the victim of or the perpetrator of a crime. However, it is a crime show, and there are a lot of people who are the victims of hate crimes. Additionally, we are not immune to being criminals ourselves. Still, it would be nice if one of the main characters on CSI or CSI: NY were to turn out to be gay or lesbian.

I will, however, point out that I do not watch a lot of television. In some ways, I am not unlike Dr. Maddow who has a segment devoted to popular culture every episode because, as she claims, that she needs just enough pop culture to be seen in public.

Video can be found on our main page of the ATWT regarding this incident mentioned.

Bridget “Sei” McBride is a trans-lesbian who lives in Vermont and has a strong passion for LGBTI rights. She has a BA in History and her hobbies include sci-fi, anime, fantasy, action movies, video games, and more. Currently, she is working on her MA in Individualized Studies at Goddard College. Her specialization is in cultural history and cultural comparison.