Lesbian kiss coming to All My Children

Daytime television viewers--considered to be among America's most conservative audiences--will see their first on-screen lesbian kiss next week, ABC-TV officials said Monday. The kiss will take place during the April 22 episode of the Emmy-winning soap opera All My Children, marking what ABC said would be a first in the world of daytime television. It comes in a scene featuring teen character Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel), who came out as a lesbian in 2000, and her new friend Lena (Olga Sosnovska). Bianca, "in a moment of truth and true love...comes to terms with her feelings," ABC said. All My Children has tackled a number of controversial topics during its 33 years on the air, including AIDS, abortion, drug abuse, racial bias, and teenage alcoholism. "The theme of All My Children from the beginning is the belief that, as God's children, we are all bound to each other by our common humanity despite our many personal differences; that it is our failure to understand and respect those differences that causes most of life's pain and suffering," Agnes Nixon, the show's creator, said in a statement. "The Bianca story is our latest effort to dramatize that belief," she added. (For more on All My Children's lesbian relationship, pick up the April 29 issue of The Advocate, on stands Tuesday.)