Bianca Montgomery

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Bianca Montgomery

Eden Riegel as Bianca Montgomery
All My Children
Portrayed by Eden Riegel
First appearance Originally February 8, 1988
Last appearance December 28, 2007
Cause/reason Returned to home in Paris
Created by Agnes Nixon
Profile
Nickname(s) Binks (coined by Leo du Pres and Kendall Hart Slater)
B (often called such by Maggie Stone)
LesBianca (taunting nickname given to her by Greenlee Smythe)[1]
Gender Female
Date of birth Retconned to February 9, 1984
Age 24[2]
Occupation Runs Cambias Enterprises
Title CEO
Residence Paris, France

Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She is portrayed by actress Eden Riegel; others who have portrayed this role include Lacey Chabert, Nathalie Paulding, Gina Gallagher, Caroline Wilde, and as a baby, Jessica Leigh Falborn.

Bianca is the daughter of characters Erica Kane and the late Travis Montgomery.

Born February 8, 1988, her birthday was revised to February 9, 1984 on January 31, 2002 by the show's producers.[2] Her middle name is from her paternal aunt, Christine Montgomery. She is well-beloved in the community of Pine Valley and is well cared for by her famous mother.

During the course of the show, Bianca suffers from Reye's syndrome (when she is a baby); and Anorexia nervosa. Her sweet nature is often related to her late grandmother, Mona; and sometimes goes by the nickname, "Binks".

Outside of the fictional world, the character has emerged as a gay icon within the LGBT community. With newspapers such as The New York Times citing her as "the first lead character on a major daytime drama to be a lesbian",[3] Bianca has gone on to be the subject of numerous books, said to have inspired soap opera writers to begin with the scripting of sexual identities of tortured teen characters,[4] and is considered a heroine on the show.[3][5] Throughout the soap opera medium, as well as outside of it, her popularity has been cited as groundbreaking.[6][3][4]

Contents

[edit] Background

[edit] Casting and character creation

As a teenager, actress Eden Riegel nearly gave up on the dream of wanting acting success, stating that she had seen a number of talented people who were struggling, and that she started to doubt whether she would ever have the success that she wanted, deciding that it was time to major in social and political theory, go to law school, and become a lawyer. However, while attending Harvard, she received "a call from a casting director who thought that the five-foot-six beauty should audition to become Erica Kane’s daughter."[7]

Later, the character would eventually be revealed to be a lesbian,[8] a story that All My Children creator Agnes Nixon cites was in part inspired by Chastity Bono's memoir Family Outing.[9] Nixon explained the feelings she wanted to demonstrate with the character's mother, Erica, detailing the reality of the thought process and actions most parents have upon finding out that their child is gay: "I think the right word for Erica's reaction is denial, Nixon stated. I read Family Outing by Chastity Bono. Cher had loads of friends who were gay, but she wasn't able to deal with [Chastity's being gay]. In this prejudicial society in which we live, the first reaction from a parent usually is, 'What did I do wrong?'"[10]

Nixon, well-known for her socially relevant storylines,[10] stated that the makings for the Bianca story began in 1947; a college housemate "came out" to Nixon when Nixon was of the same age as Riegel in 2000.[10] Nixon acknowledged, however, that their original lesbian story in 1983, which lasted two months, did not work out as well as she had hoped; it needed perfecting. Nixon clarified, "Now, in a soap, if you want to do a story about a social issue seriously, the character has to be really well integrated. Bianca's story is the result of that — with growth and maturity."[10]

[edit] Further concept

While Riegel is heterosexual,[9] she has a lesbian sister, Tatiana Riegel ("Tanya" to her friends), who, eighteen years Riegel's senior, Riegel wanted to do right by with Bianca's storyline.[9] With Tatiana living in Los Angeles, where she works as a film editor and Eden having lived on the East Coast most of her early life, the two sisters did not grow up together, but maintained a close relationship.[9] As Bianca was being developed, Riegel, who looks up to her older sister, sought her advice, stating that her sister was one of the people she was most concerned about with Bianca's story.[9]

At the time, there were strict instructions from the show not to reveal Bianca's secret of being gay (as the storyline had not played out on television screens yet). However, Riegel informed Tatiana two months before the storyline finally began.[9] Making for what could easily be evisioned as a storyline on a soap opera, Riegel told Tatiana Bianca's secret on the day of their father's third wedding. Tatiana stated that Riegel was very excited about dishing on Bianca's sexual preference and that she was happy for her sister. "I just thought it was a kick that she would be playing a lesbian — specifically, Erica Kane's daughter!" exclaimed Tatiana.[9]

Tatiana did have her concerns, though. She did not want the show to do a simple gay stereotype.[9] Riegel voiced the same concerns earlier on about the character, clarifying that she asked the show's writers and producers to make the character three-dimensional and not so heavily centered on the character's sexual orientation.[9] Having grown up close to an out-of-the-closet sister, who "came out" in her early 20s, Riegel was familiar with how Bianca should be if stereotypes were to be avoided. At the time of Tatiana's "coming-out" process, Riegel and brother Sam were children, and Tatiana elaborated that being gay was not an issue and that she could not remember having had a conversation with them about it at that age. By the time Eden and Sam were old enough to know what being gay meant, they had grown to love Tatiana's girlfriend and the family was even closer.[9] As Riegel acquired the role, she and Tatiana discussed certain specifics of the character. Riegel portraying Bianca also set her into the mindset of what it must have been like for Tatiana to grow up as gay, stating that she had never heard Tatiana's whole coming-out story, that it was nice to talk about.[9]

A year and a half after Bianca's storyline of coming out as a lesbian launched, both Riegel and Tatiana felt that the show had done a great job in telling the story of a gay woman and her struggles.[9]

[edit] Characterization and story influence

Julie Hanan Carruthers, executive producer of the show, issued her thoughts about the Bianca character in a Variety Magazine interview, giving insight into the heart of the story. Carruthers elaborated, "It was so successful. We did not tell a story about a lesbian. We told a story about a young girl coming out and her life around it. That was a big lesson to all of us here. It's really all about the story. If you can make people care on a human level, it's not sexual preference. It's about the human experience."[11]

The writers characterized Bianca's personality as very kind-hearted, but intolerant of nonsense. These traits, she is written to share with both her parents and her grandmother. Like everyone in Bianca's family, she is detailed as protective of her loved ones. While not always scripted to agree with them, the character is seen as loving them all greatly.

Megan McTavish, the show's head writer at the time, said she was "most astonished that fans elevated Bianca into one of the serial's 'tent poles' — soap parlance for characters who hold enormous sway with viewers". McTavish detailed that if a character is nice to Bianca, the audience tends to like that character, and if he is mean to Bianca, the audience knows he is a bad guy. "It's stunning," she cited. The lesbian girl became the moral tent pole of our show."[3]

In an interview with TV Guide, new head writers of the series, James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten, stated that since Riegel's portrayal, the character is simply too iconic to ever recast.[12]

[edit] Storyline

[edit] Truth and early romances

The storyline opens in 2000. Some time after a teenage Bianca returns from rehab for her eating disorder, she stuns her mother by revealing that she is a lesbian and that she has a romantic relationship with a girl in rehab named Sarah.

Bianca tells her mother (Erica) that she is gay.
Bianca tells her mother (Erica) that she is gay.

Erica has a difficult time accepting this fact, and even relays to Bianca that she may grow out of being gay. Bianca's close friend, Leo du Pres, often counsels Bianca on her life matters, cheering up the tortured teenager whenever he sees her saddened.

Leo du Pres counseling Bianca.
Leo du Pres counseling Bianca.

Sarah's family also disapproves of the two girls' romance, and Sarah ends up engaged to a man, despite still being in love with Bianca.

Bianca's second girlfriend is Mary-Frances "Frankie" Stone. Frankie comes to Pine Valley to help out her Aunt Vanessa Cortlandt (later known as "Proteus") in a plot to distract Bianca. Frankie, however, develops true romantic feelings for Bianca, but is murdered by one of Vanessa's henchmen.

Soon after, Frankie's identical twin sister, Mary-Margaret, better known as Maggie Stone, arrives in Pine Valley. She becomes good friends with Bianca and often stands up for her whenever she is harassed and bullied by homophobic classmates. The two share an up-and-down relationship, where, eventually, both girls seem to be mutually romantically interested in each other. They never can get together, though. Bianca is romantically interested in Maggie, but Maggie states that she is heterosexual, despite their close dynamic. Later on, Maggie is romantically interested in Bianca, but Bianca is in a romantic relationship with another woman by then.

At the time that Maggie is romantically interested in Bianca, Bianca meets Polish-born newcomer Lena Kundera at Enchantment Cosmetics where Bianca works for her mother (Erica). Lena, a bisexual spy for rival Michael Cambias, begins dating Bianca and the two fall in love. They experience ups and downs when Lena's original intentions are revealed, but the two manage to stay together.

Lena and Bianca share the first lesbian kiss in American soap opera history (2003).
Lena and Bianca share the first lesbian kiss in American soap opera history (2003).

In 2003, when the two women share a kiss, chaste by soap opera standards, it is the first time two women kiss romantically on an American daytime soap opera.[13][6]

[edit] Rape and Miranda

Later that year, after Bianca is raped by Michael Cambias, she pushes Lena away. She keeps her rape a closely-guarded secret, initially telling only Maggie. Eventually, the entire town of Pine Valley learns of the rape, which encourages Bianca to become closer to her mother, with whom she felt an estrangement.

During a normal doctor's physical, it is discovered that Michael's rape of Bianca has left Bianca pregnant. Bianca decides to keep the child. The pregnancy helps bond Bianca with her older sister, Kendall Hart, who, until then, had always scorned her.

Michael is charged with rape, but is acquitted, to the outrage and collective disgust of the entire town. During this same time, Kendall announces she has married her sister's rapist, and is pregnant with his baby. This so-called "announcement", however, is a ruse planned by Dr. David Hayward and Kendall, which is meant to fool Erica, and to protect the emotionally ravaged Bianca.

But Michael is later found murdered. It is eventually discovered that Bianca herself shot him in self-defense, and blocked it out of her memory due to the trauma of the rape (much like her late grandmother, Mona, had done when she shot Jason Maxwell to protect Erica). No charges are filed against her. Michael's "funeral" is attended by Bianca and her closest family and friends, who throw venomous "eulogies" in his memory.

Bianca gives birth to a daughter in 2004, whom she names Miranda. Miranda, because she loves the name, and her middle name, Mona, after her beloved maternal grandmother.

Bianca right after she gives birth to Miranda.
Bianca right after she gives birth to Miranda.

The child is later thought to have died in a helicopter crash, but in reality, she has been kidnapped and renamed Bess. The kidnapper is Paul Cramer, former husband to Bianca's new best friend, Babe Carey.

Cousin Greenlee Smythe and Bianca become friends when they share a common bond regarding Leo. While mourning Miranda, whom she thinks is gone, Greenlee, who had once called Bianca "LesBianca", gives her a necklace that Leo had given her, a bond which solidifies their close friendship.

As Lena has to go back to Poland to take care of her mother, she and Bianca eventually break off their romance. Bianca eventually discovers that Bess is Miranda, her daughter, but during an attempt to take the child back, she falls from a second story balcony during a scuffle with J.R. Chandler and winds up in a coma. Bianca never remembers how she fell; whether or not J.R. pushed her. Miranda is recovered and brought to Bianca's hospital room and Bianca awakes from her coma.

Although she has very few enemies and is the most compassionate of people, she and J.R. are avowed archenemies due to his antics while they were in Florida, despite their previous closeness in childhood and adolescence. Bianca holds J.R. totally responsible for her injuries from her fall.

[edit] Later stages of love life

Bianca and Maggie's confusing relationship becomes an issue again, as Bianca finds that she never stopped being in love with Maggie. Maggie, however, is romantically involved with bad boy Jonathan Lavery at the time.

After Bianca helps free Maggie from her abusive relationship with Jonathan, the two bond again. Though Bianca and Maggie's relationship is not exactly made clear, the two, along with baby Miranda, relocate to Paris together in 2005. While there, Bianca heads up the international division of Cambias Industries, which Enchantment now owns.

Bianca, Maggie and Miranda live in Paris offscreen for a while, where Bianca is the proxy shareholder of her daughter's shares, since Miranda is a Cambias by blood. Deeply in love, Bianca and Maggie become lovers offscreen and are happy together. It is unclear whether Bianca still works for Cambias International upon one of her visits to Pine Valley, but it is presumed that she does. She is also a partner in Fusion Cosmetics, the company her sister (Kendall) helped found.

In early 2007, Bianca returns to Pine Valley, but without Maggie, who she states has cheated on her in Paris with a woman named Cecelia (details concerning the affair are not explicitly discussed). While trying to keep her love life to herself, she gets to know her older half-brother, Josh Madden. She later has a one-night stand with a woman named Leslie.

Maggie returns to Pine Valley on January 15, 2007 with hopes to reconcile with Bianca, who admits that she is still in love with Maggie. Bianca and Maggie end their relationship temporarily, with their romance still open-ended, as there may be a chance allowing for them to romantically reunite later.

During the Satin Slayer storyline, where Babe has apparently been murdered, Bianca shows genuine remorse over Babe's "death", as well as the fact that she did not forgive Babe for Babe's role in the baby switch of Miranda and Little Adam when she had the chance. However, upon learning that Babe is alive and well, she wastes no time in doing so, much to Babe's joy.

Bianca also enjoys an interesting relationship with Zarf (later known as Zoe), a transgender lesbian rock star. Bianca's sexual orientation is the reason for the rift between her and her former stepmother, Barbara Montgomery, which causes her to deny Bianca contact with half-sister Molly. Barbara's bigoted and insulting remarks toward Zoe causes Bianca to lash out and verbally attack her.

However, Barbara makes an appearance at Miranda's birthday party and apologizes to Bianca for her criticism about her sexual orientation, and her nasty remarks toward Zoe. Bianca forgives Barbara and allows her to give Miranda a present that Bianca's father treasured. Despite their disagreements, Bianca and Barbara do care about each other.

Bianca develops a romantic interest in Zoe, although Zoe tells her that at this point in her transition process, she is not ready for a romantic relationship and that she may never be. Zoe informs Bianca that she is moving back to London to record a new album and possibly tour in support of the record.

Bianca then decides to return to Paris with Miranda to continue on with their lives there, while still remaining close to Zoe to support her through her transition. There seems to be a possibility that Bianca may re-new her relationship with Maggie, who is also living in Paris.

[edit] Two homes

Bianca calls from Paris on August 14, 2007. She phones her sister, Kendall, to see how she and the babies are doing. While she mentions coming home to Pine Valley, Kendall insists she stay in Paris as there is more than enough family in Pine Valley looking out for her and the boys. Bianca is alarmed; however, to discover that Kendall is spending more time with Spike than newborn Ian. Kendall tells Bianca that she feels Spike needs her more since Ian is in NICU and that there is not much she can do with the infant. Kendall feels horrible about the situation. Bianca, in what seems to be a glimpse into her own life, relays to Kendall that when it is two people you love most in the world, it is unfathomable to choose between the two. The phone call ends with Kendall saying good-bye to an off-screen Bianca following the exchange.

Bianca decides to return on December 26, 2007, for a brief visit. She cheers up her family with words of wisdom during their time of recent despair and later visits Babe. She tells Babe that she kept Zoe close for Miranda's sake, but that even though Zoe adores Miranda, Zoe does not think of Miranda as a daughter, but thinks of herself as Miranda's "wild and crazy" friend. Thus Bianca and Zoe drifted apart. She says that she wants a family for Miranda and vows that Miranda will have that. She soon bids farewell to her friends and family once more, and departs on December 28, 2007.

[edit] Cultural impact

[edit] Popularity

Eden Riegel on the cover of Girlfriends magazine, 2004 edition.
Eden Riegel on the cover of Girlfriends magazine, 2004 edition.

The Bianca Montgomery character's romantic pairing with Lena Kundera resulted in American daytime's first lesbian kiss.[13][6] The following year, in 2004, Eden Riegel graced the cover of Girlfriends, North America’s only lesbian monthly magazine, as the content within the piece discussed Riegel's titled breakthrough lesbian role.[14] Bianca's popularity, since Riegel's portrayal, has varied over the years, ranging from mania, to admiration, to viewers displaying an overt mix of overprotectiveness for the character.

[edit] Icon

Having made a significant impact on daytime television, Bianca is cited as a gay icon by soap opera and gay/lesbian media alike, in that while she is not the world's first lesbian soap opera character, she became the first long-term lesbian character on an American soap opera.[15]

AfterElton.com, a website that focuses on the portrayal of gay men in the media, a counterpart to AfterEllen.com, a reversed version for lesbian and bisexual women, addressed the impact Bianca had on viewers, pointing out that All My Children creator Agnes Nixon told The Advocate in 2000 that out-lesbian Chastity Bono's memoir was the inspiration for the Bianca storyline, and that she hoped that outing an already-established character as gay would make for a more integrated storyline.[6] AfterElton.com noted that the representation of gay and lesbian characters in the media is very important when taking into account that the viewing audience for soap operas is enormous.[6] Noted was The Museum of Broadcast Communications' assertion that soap opera is “the most effective and enduring broadcast advertising vehicle ever devised. It is also the most popular genre of television drama in the world today and probably in the history of world broadcasting: no other form of television fiction has attracted more viewers in more countries over a longer period of time.”[6]

“ 'Erica Kane's daughter is gay!'

When resident villainess Greenlee Smythe uttered the above line of dialogue, ABC's All My Children entered uncharted territory for daytime television. By revealing that a core character is lesbian.

 ”

—Author C. Lee Harrington[16]

Jeffrey Epstein, at the time a staff writer for Soap Opera News, was criticized by AfterElton.com for his statement in 1998, where he discouraged the idea that there would be more gay or lesbian representation to come on daytime television due to soap operas being mostly viewed by women and that gay or lesbian romances do not really feed into a lot of women's fantasies.[6] AfterElton.com relayed that the viewing demographic for soap operas continues to grow and diversify, further clarifying, "The popularity of the Bianca storyline on All My Children was proof that audiences were more than ready for a lesbian relationship, and his assessment of women's romantic fantasies in regards to gay male characters may prove to be equally outdated."[6]

Lesbianation.com, self-proclaimed as the leading online community for lesbians, voted Eden Riegel as Number 7 on their top ten list of Women We Love: The Ladies of June '06, stating, "We were swamped with requests to add All My Children hottie Eden Riegel to our list this month — and here she is!"[17]

Riegel's portrayal of Bianca is also favored by viewers for her romantic loves, or what some viewers hope can be her romantic loves, more notably her relationships with Maggie Stone and Babe Carey. The one with Babe Carey was never romantic, seeing as Babe is heterosexual, but that has not stopped fan expression citing speculation that Bianca is secretly in love with Babe, mainly in part due to Bianca never seeming to display much anger towards Babe for any of Babe's harmful antics. Bianca even wanted to forgive Babe after knowing Babe's part in the baby switch of their children. Soon, AfterEllen.com took notice and commented on the matter of the Bianca-and-Babe hopefuls.[18]

[edit] Awards and nominations

In 2001, Riegel was voted Soaps' Hottest Newcomer by Soap Opera Digest[19] and the following year was voted Soaps' Hottest Teen in 2002 by the same magazine. Riegel modestly accepted, "What does that mean, 'hot'? Does that mean I'm hot, like sexy? I feel pretty damn hot. I wish I knew what it meant. No, that's very flattering."[20]

Along with Riegel's acclaim, the Bianca Montgomery character was the winner of the first GLAAD Media Award as Favorite OUT Image of 2003. With her win, GLAAD stated the following:

“ The winner of the first people's choice award in GLAAD Media Awards history, the Favorite OUT Image of 2003 Award, was also announced Monday. With the help of founding sponsor ABSOLUT VODKA, GLAAD promoted an online poll in which fans voted for their favorite gay character or openly gay personality from the world of entertainment. The winner — Bianca from All My Children — was selected from voters in over 20 countries. Actress Eden Riegel, who plays Bianca Montgomery, accepted the award.[21] ”

In 2005, Riegel won an Emmy for the role.[22] When she decided to leave the show that same year, to pursue other acting ventures, it was noted that the gay community would be losing a viable voice.[23]

[edit] Controversy

[edit] First news of storyline

At first hint that Bianca, the daughter of legendary character Erica Kane, may be gay, many viewers were against the storyline, and did not hold back whatsoever in their discontent.[24]

"Viewers were deeply attached to the character as the 16-year-old daughter of the leading diva of soaps, Erica Kane. ABC held a series of focus groups to gauge audience reaction." Female viewers in Boston and some in Atlanta found the storyline "refreshing and reflective" of what they called the "real world and its diversity". The Atlanta group, however, had a good portion who were concerned about morality and did not want a major character "saddled with a lifelong problem".[3]

While Boston viewers leaned toward the feeling that Bianca's problem was being in the closet, Atlantans voiced that the problem was her sexual preference itself.[3]

[edit] Rape outrage

Also a highly debated topic was Bianca's rape, which resulted in a big outcry from viewers who hated the storyline, some of which argued that the rape seemed to amount to “punishment” for her sexuality;[25] others felt that it was mainly unnecessary, while there were also the ones who felt that it realistically captured what a lot of gay women face from men who want to force themselves on lesbians.[26] When GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) was asked by Metro Weekly why GLAAD sent out an action alert voicing their concern over the rape storyline of Bianca, but two days later sent out another release which seemed to support how the storyline was told, Joan M. Garry, executive director of the organization, responded that they had "some concerns" about [the storyline], and "that the broader context of the [daytime television] genre kind of needs to be taken into account."[27] However, Metro Weekly felt that that this did not answer their question.[27] They wanted to know why there was a sudden reversal in GLAAD's statement, specifically citing that GLAAD's second press release spoke of rape experience for lesbians and how men who rape lesbians not only engage in gender based acts of violence, but in acts of hate violence, and that this release was supportive of how Bianca's rape storyline was told, as opposed to GLAAD's first press release on the matter.[27] Garry simply noted that she felt that their first press release concerning Bianca's rape was premature.[27] Metro Weekly followed that by then asking what is the actual process that GLAAD uses in selecting what to criticize, what raises their organization's red flags. Garry relayed, "There's a whole host of input we receive about things as we hear about them, as we see them in script form, as we see them in pilots. We have a strong team of program folks who represent different regions around the country, different communities. We get an awful lot of stuff that comes across the transom via our website raising concerns. And we did get quite a number of concerns coming over email, particularly about All My Children. So it's basically community feedback, as well as some of our own observations and perceptions. Combine that with conversations that we have with folks that are actually producing the images and we really try to work our way through those different opinions and shape a position we think makes sense."[27]

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Riegel detailed what it was like in preparing for her character's rape scenes. She explained that it was grueling and that there were only four people in the episode.[28] She found it to be "very work-intensive", emotionally haunting, and voiced that she had trouble sleeping, elaborating that those type of scenes really stay with a person.[28] Riegel and co-star William deVry (Michael Cambias) rehearsed the scenes on their own, which normally would not have been the case.[28] Riegel commented that it definitely required more work than an ordinary episode.[28] Later asked on the matter of if she was scared of deVry during Bianca's rape scenes, she admitted that she really was and that it was a testament to deVry's acting skills.[28] As Soap Opera Digest further queried Riegel on the matter of fear, bringing up the question of whether she was frightened or intimidated by the gravity of the storyline when first told about it, she stated, "Absolutely, I was. To be honest, I didn't know if I could handle it. But I knew it was a very important thing to do and that the show was serious about handling it well. I knew we could reach people, and that it was powerful stuff. I could feel the power of it. And I knew I should put myself through this because ultimately it might help somebody, touch somebody, make people talk about it. And rape is something people should talk about."[28]

[edit] "Give Bianca her baby back"

“ As Americans were choosing sides over gay marriage and arguing about campaign references to Vice President Dick Cheney's openly gay daughter, there was one concern quietly uniting people across the ideological spectrum: Bianca Montgomery deserved to get her baby back. ”
 
— Patrick D. Healy of The New York Times[3]
Babe (Alexa Havins) and Bianca on the cover of Soaps In Depth magazine, during the baby switch storyline.
Babe (Alexa Havins) and Bianca on the cover of Soaps In Depth magazine, during the baby switch storyline.

In 2004, with Bianca's rape having left her subsequently pregnant with Michael's child, and with a storyline called the baby switch having robbed her of her daughter, viewers were fed up with all the pain the character faced. The amount of mail sent to the ABC studios requesting and demanding that Bianca's baby be returned to her was cited as astounding for a fictional character, especially one of daytime — and who is also gay: "Bianca's sexuality did not seem to matter to the thousands of fans who wrote letters, e-mail messages and blog entries insisting that the only safe place for the baby was back in the arms of Pine Valley's one known lesbian."[3] After much campaign from viewers, Bianca was eventually reunited with her baby later that year, and everything the character had faced up to that point, plus overcoming this latest obstacle, "transformed Bianca into a courageous soap heroine who had fans rooting for her."[3] Viewers became even more invested in her trials and tribulations and hopeful for the character finding romance.[3]

To have someone like Bianca who is openly gay, a mother, proud of who she is, who has fallen in love with another woman, who is taking heroic action — to have the audience embrace this character fully is pretty incredible. The audience went from 'I don't want to see a lesbian relationship' to saying, 'Bianca should be in love.'[3]

There was opposition to all of the increased love for the character. Critics of gay marriage complained about a sympathetic gay heroine, saying that Bianca made daytime television even more licentious.[3]

[edit] Lesbian community angers

Bianca's romantic attraction to transgender rockstar Zarf/Zoe caused quite an uproar from the gay and lesbian community,[29][30] and fans in general,[31] all of whom were quick to point out that, as a lesbian, it is illogical for Bianca to be intensely romantically attracted to a transgender woman still of the male form, and that even more stressing was that the show tried to sell it off as a soul-love, that sexual orientation can be negated if you just love that person's soul.[29] Viewers titled the couple "Barf" (for Bianca and Zarf), and TV Guide, which reported the nickname, named the storyline one of the worst of 2007.[31]

The San Francisco Bay Area Reporter, Inc., a free weekly newspaper serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) communities in their area, were one of the first to comment on their discontent with the matter:

We have repeatedly voiced our displeasure over the transgender/lesbian storyline between Zarf/Zoe and Bianca. We disagree with the basic premise Zarf/Zoe as a MTF transgendered lesbian. We want Bianca to be with a woman (and she did have a one-night stand with Leslie on New Year’s Eve, which has to be a first for a daytime soap). We don’t want her already messy love life in which she has never been allowed to have a fully realized relationship with another woman (her first lover went crazy and was institutionalized, her next was killed, the next was a corporate thief who then had to return to Poland, the next identical twin of the one who was killed wasn’t sure she was even queer and then left her for another woman). We don’t want her life complicated with the complexities of a transgender relationship.[32]

Several websites and blogs readily unleashed their anger over Bianca being romantically connected with Zoe. Adahlshouse.com, run by blogger/crossdresser Lean Dahlstrom, specified: "One of the major missteps was the budding romance between Zoe and Bianca — which Zoe put the brakes on, out of concerns that with her transition, it wasn’t the right time to start a relationship (although seemingly the door was left open for something down the road). Which upset a number of lesbians who’d been supportive of Zoe previously. It’s hard to know how widespread the discontent was, but those who were opposed to the relationship were pretty vocal."[33] Dahlstrom further stated, "A bit part of the problem is that Bianca is apparently the only lesbian in Pine Valley — and one of the few gay or lesbian characters on any soap opera. So rather than being seen as a lesbian, she’s seen as the representative of the lesbian communities, so needless to say, people are quick to say 'that’s not me!'"[33]

The Wow Report delivered a particularly scathing remark. "LesBianca, as the fans have so sensitively dubbed her, can fall for the local pre-op transsexual rockstar," the site stated with skepticism. "Because you know how those lesbians are...always falling in love with drag queens and such...they don’t care if it’s a goat, as long as it’s in a skirt! Hubba Hubba!" The commentaty followed up with, "Am I right, ladies? OMG, don’t get me started. (And All My Children is winning GLAAD awards for that crap — What is wrong with the world?)"[34]

On April 2, 2007, not long after it was revealed that character Maggie Stone cheated on Bianca, CYN's commentary of celegaytions.com sounded off with, "So what’s a naive lesbo to do? How about fall for a transsexual rock star named Zarf (Jeffrey Carlson) who claims he’s a she — and a lesbian to boot. I’m all for taking the road less traveled, but this time I’m ready to hail a cab and get the hell out of this disaster."[30] Later, the same commentator referred to Bianca and Zoe's relationship as a ratings stunt (citing the internet-talk that it was just a way for the show to romantically pair Bianca with a man while not having to call the individual a man),[29] as the commentator triumphantly declared that no GLAAD awards were won for this particular "love story".[35]

There were instances of the conservative heterosexual soap opera community also feeling that Bianca being intensely romantically attracted to Zarf/Zoe in her male form was contrived.[36]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Who's Who in Pine Valley: Bianca Montgomery", soapcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. 
  2. ^ a b Who's Who in Pine Valley: Erica Kane. soapcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Healy, Patrick D.. "After Coming Out, a Soap Opera Heroine Moves On", The New York Times, 2005-02-24. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. 
  4. ^ a b Since Bianca Montgomery, daughter of Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane on All My Children came out to her mother in 2000, soap scribes began fiddling with the sexual identities of tortured teen characters. sovo.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  5. ^ Article cites its top heroines during Satin Slayer storyline. Bianca one of its most beloved. SHOCKING DEATH! We Reveal Which Of These Heroines Is Killed. "It's not pretend.". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Kregloe, Karman. "Soaps Come Clean About Gay Teens (page 3)", AfterElton.com, 2006-03-23. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  7. ^ Here with Eden. theatermania.com (2006-07-10). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  8. ^ Eden Riegel. Bianca Montgomery on All My Children. wchstv.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Behrens, Web. "Sister act: All My Children's Eden Riegel got expert advice on playing a lesbian—from her out sister, Tatiana - Television - Brief Article", The Advocate, 2002-01-22. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  10. ^ a b c d Behrens, Web. "You better sit down, Erica - Brief Article", The Advocate. Retrieved on 2007-10-04. 
  11. ^ "How the soaps cleaned up their gay acts. Daytime television create new roles", Variety Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. 
  12. ^ Branco, Nelson. "The plot to save ‘All My Children’: New headwriters Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown dish on recasting Babe, Dixie’s death, and creating a diverse canvas", TV Guide. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. 
  13. ^ a b Top Story: Daytime Television Shows First Lesbian Liplock. hollywood.com/news. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  14. ^ "Eden Riegel on her breakthrough Gay Role", Girlfriends. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  15. ^ British Soap "Emmerdale" Takes On A Lesbian Teen Relationship. AfterEllen.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-11.
  16. ^ C. Lee Harrington (2003). Homosexuality on All My Children: transforming the daytime landscape. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN. 
  17. ^ "Women We Love: The Ladies of June '06". Lesbianation.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  18. ^ "Is All My Children's Bianca Still a Lesbian?", afterellen.com, Lisa Yim, 2004-12-21. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  19. ^ "Soaps' Hottest Newcomers 2001 Eden Riegel (Bianca, AMC)", Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  20. ^ "Soaps' Hottest Teens 2002: Eden Riegel (Bianca, AMC)", Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  21. ^ GLAAD Award. glaad.org. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  22. ^ About the Actors: Eden Riegel. soapcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  23. ^ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS. Hollywood Celebrity Buzz: Daytime’s lesbian diva leaving All My Children. wchstv.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
  24. ^ Bianca's Out and Fans Are Reacting. soapcentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  25. ^ "Women are from Mars? Part 2", Lynne Joyrich / Brown University. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  26. ^ "All My Children Begins to Examine Reality of Rape Experience for Lesbians", glaad.org, 2003-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  27. ^ a b c d e Shulman, Randy. "Visible Progress: GLAAD's Executive Director discusses Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, All My Children, and other new gay TV shows", Metro Weekly, 2003-08-21. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  28. ^ a b c d e f "Eden Riegel (Bianca, AMC) Discusses Bianca's Rape", Mara Levinsky. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  29. ^ a b c Warn, Sarah. "AMC introduces trans character, throws lesbian storyline under the bus (again)", AfterEllen.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-13. 
  30. ^ a b "Lesbian Angst", celegaytions.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  31. ^ a b Logan, Michael. "Michael Logan's Worst of 2007", TV Guide. Retrieved on 2008-02-10. 
  32. ^ Brownworth, Victoria A.. "THE LAVENDER TUBE: HOMOPHOBIA: LIVE AND IN COLOR", Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-10-04. 
  33. ^ a b Farewell Zoe, welcome Christine. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  34. ^ "April 20, 2007", Mara Levinsky. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  35. ^ "2007-04-02", celegaytions.com, Bye-Bye Binx. Retrieved on 2007-08-09. 
  36. ^ The Naked Truth by Carolyn Aspenson. eyeonsoaps.net. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links


v • d • e
All My Children
Current characters
Main crew
Created by: Agnes Nixon  • Headwriters: James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten  • Executive producer: Julie Hanan Carruthers
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