All My Children is setting a new precedent for daytime television and primetime television with their story about Zarf, a male who wants to become a female. AMC broke ground several years ago when they turned the character of Bianca Montgomery into a lesbian. She shared the first daytime kiss with a female. However since then, daytime has shied away from portraying full-blown homosexual romances.

In an article from today’s Baltimore Sun, Matea Gold discusses all of the planning that went into the storyline including consulting with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The ultimate point of the story is to perhaps turn Zarf (aka Zoe) and Bianca into a couple.

The most interesting point of the article for me was the idea that even though soap operas are not afraid to portray storylines that include DNA paternity tests, advanced plastic surgery and other controversial storylines, they avoid storylines that involve homosexual relationships.
The best line from the article is:

Carol Dickson, who runs the official All My Children fan club, is excited about the story line.

“They’re not playing it safe, which is what I like,” she said.