I hate to admit this, but I was just watching Home and Away, a popular Australian soap opera which has taken on a lesbian relationship in its main storyline.
From the moment I read about this in the April edition of LOTL magazine I knew that it would be canned, and it seems that it was set up to fail. "The plot, which sees ploice officer Charlie Buckton, played by Esther Anderson, fall in love with trawler worker Joey Collins, played by Kate Bell, has already raised reactions from conservative groups about the "message" sent to the program's mostly teen audience." When I first read this article in the magazine I was horrified and annoyed by some of the reactions people had had towards the plot shift. The director of Pro-Family Perspectives, Angela Conway, described the plot shift as being "quite sexualised", although in the actual show no more than simple kissing has been shown to the audience, much less than what is shown between straight partnerships.
However, praise has been given to this daring move by the show, by people such as psychologist Dr Janet Hall, who believes that the show is just "reflecting society". It is a strong belief of mine that we should be allowed to experience all walks of life on television, we shouldn't have to search for it in the dark and worry about the right or wrongness of what we are looking for. It truly does anger me that they are going to can the lesbian relationship, it upsets me that 100 000 viewers have turned their backs on the television show and mothers have called the station expression that "they did not want their children exposed to same-sex relationships in a family show."
What has happened to society?
Have we as a community not made any progress in our fight for equality?
Why can't straight people see what they are doing to us?
Living Lesbian Blogger
Source: http://www.lotl.com/default2.asp?Category=507 ; LOTL April Edition.
From the moment I read about this in the April edition of LOTL magazine I knew that it would be canned, and it seems that it was set up to fail. "The plot, which sees ploice officer Charlie Buckton, played by Esther Anderson, fall in love with trawler worker Joey Collins, played by Kate Bell, has already raised reactions from conservative groups about the "message" sent to the program's mostly teen audience." When I first read this article in the magazine I was horrified and annoyed by some of the reactions people had had towards the plot shift. The director of Pro-Family Perspectives, Angela Conway, described the plot shift as being "quite sexualised", although in the actual show no more than simple kissing has been shown to the audience, much less than what is shown between straight partnerships.
However, praise has been given to this daring move by the show, by people such as psychologist Dr Janet Hall, who believes that the show is just "reflecting society". It is a strong belief of mine that we should be allowed to experience all walks of life on television, we shouldn't have to search for it in the dark and worry about the right or wrongness of what we are looking for. It truly does anger me that they are going to can the lesbian relationship, it upsets me that 100 000 viewers have turned their backs on the television show and mothers have called the station expression that "they did not want their children exposed to same-sex relationships in a family show."
What has happened to society?
Have we as a community not made any progress in our fight for equality?
Why can't straight people see what they are doing to us?
Living Lesbian Blogger
Source: http://www.lotl.com/default2.asp?Category=507 ; LOTL April Edition.
