Lena Kundera and Bianca Montgomery
Encyclopedia
Lena Kundera and Bianca Montgomery are fictional character
s from the American
daytime drama All My Children
. Commonly referred to by the portmanteau "Lianca" (for Lena and Bianca), they were the first lesbian
couple on an American soap opera. Lena was portrayed by Olga Sosnovska
, and Bianca
was portrayed by Eden Riegel
. Lena and Bianca's romance "quickly became a hit with viewers" and regularly surpassed older more established heterosexual
couples for the #1 spot on Internet
and soap opera magazine readers' polls. The characters are the first to share a same-sex kiss in American soap opera history.
and good girl Bianca Montgomery
's romantic life as tortured; she consistently fell for heterosexual
or unavailable women. When the series showcased her having fallen in love with best friend and confidante Maggie Stone
(Elizabeth Hendrickson
), this theme was continued. Maggie declared herself heterosexual and told Bianca she was only romantically interested in men. To show Bianca moving on, and to add conflict to Bianca and Maggie's relationship, the writers introduced Lena Kundera in December 2002. Lena, a "sassy" bisexual
from Poland
, was characterized as a temptress "in the mold of Juliette Binoche
". Bianca instantly found Lena attractive and competed for her attention with friend Boyd Larraby (Marc Menard
), as they bet on which one of them could date Lena first. Viewers watched as Lena began spending time with Bianca as part of an "evil plan" to take over Bianca's mother's company, but also as she found herself falling in love with Bianca. In an interview reported by the New York Post
, Brian Frons
, head of ABC Daytime
, stated that he considered the Lena and Bianca pairing "much bolder" than romantically pairing Bianca with "longtime" galpal Maggie.
Bianca was 19 and Lena was in her late 20s, around the same age as Boyd. The writers had Bianca win the bet against Boyd, and Lena and Bianca bond easier despite their age difference. Boyd was suspicious of Lena's intentions, and persuaded mother-figure Myrtle Fargate (Eileen Herlie
) to chaperone the couple. Though Myrtle saw nothing to convince her of malice on Lena's part, Boyd's suspicions were valid. "Lena has made a lot of mistakes in her past," clarified Eden Riegel
, Bianca's portrayer. "She has not proven herself a very nice person. Of course, Bianca doesn't know that. And now Lena is working with Michael (a bad guy played by William deVry) to try to take down Enchantment." Michael Cambias
, portrayed by actor William deVry
, was scripted as Lena's business partner and lover. As part of a secret plot to destroy Bianca's mother, Erica Kane
, and her cosmetics company (Enchantment), Lena was told by Michael to get close to Bianca so Bianca could be more easily manipulated.
The writers showcased Lena's guilt regarding the takeover plan after she developed romantic feelings for Bianca. She refused to continue the manipulation, but was blackmail
ed by Michael into following through with the takeover. Lena eventually decided to leave town rather than betray Bianca and tell her the truth. She informed Bianca that she could never see her again. "For Bianca, this was a huge disappointment," said Riegel. "Every time she opens up to a woman, she gets her heart broken."
To reunite the couple in dramatic fashion, the show had Myrtle urge Bianca to follow Lena to the airport and demand an explanation; on the April 23, 2003 episode, the two characters shared the first same-sex kiss in American soap opera history. "It's that kind of old romantic airport scene in which the two lovers decide whether they can take the risk and take a chance on love -- only it's two women this time," relayed Riegel. Riegel had never kissed a woman before. "I was a little nervous because I wanted it to look natural and organic and real and true," she said. "I didn't want it to seem tentative." Riegel and Olga Sosnovska
discussed practicing the kiss. "We thought about maybe trying it out in the dressing room first," Riegel laughed. "But then we just thought, 'We are professionals. This will be fine." The writers detailed "fun and daring" moves in the episode, such as having Bianca discuss with Myrtle her confusion about Lena leaving her. Myrtle, in her aristocratic British
accent, replied, "Maybe it was too hot!" Giving insight into Bianca's unlucky romantic life, she suggested that Bianca loves unavailable women because her mother is always running away from true love.
The physical aspects of Lena and Bianca's romance were heavily downplayed by the series. When asked if she thought she and Riegel had succeeded in living up to the "couple's groundbreaking and progressive" reputation, Sosnovska responded, "Yes, we succeeded to a certain extent. We succeeded in making this couple acceptable." After a pause, Sosnovska continued, "Not acceptable in a realistic sense, since our relationship hasn’t been portrayed truly realistically, which would have been nice." She described Bianca and Lena's physical relationship as "kind of ostentatiously reserved" compared to what gets shown between heterosexual couples, "although I’m quite shocked by what does get shown between the heterosexual couples." Even though the couple had recently started "dating" again, as the writers also scripted a love triangle
including Maggie, there was an apparent double-standard regarding intimacy between the same sex lovers; in the entire year of Lena and Bianca's on-again, off-again relationship, the two women had only kissed twice onscreen. The final obstacles given to the couple's onscreen intimacy were Bianca's rape
by Michael and pregnancy with his child, which were controversial and seen by viewers as desperate attempts by the network to avoid lesbian love scenes. AfterEllen.com
editor Sarah Warn
stated that it was a way to assure Bianca's continued asexuality
. Warn added that "the pregnant-lesbian storyline" is a favorite refuge for television writers who both want to avoid dealing with the sexual aspects of lesbian relationships and who want to "normalize" the lesbian characters — "to show viewers that, at their core, lesbians are just like heterosexual women — who of course, all want to be mothers". In 2004, though Lena and Bianca were allowed to kiss for a third time onscreen, it came at the end of their romance, as Lena went back to Poland to tend to her ailing mother and the couple was later written to have broken up over the phone.
had featured its first lesbian kiss between fictional characters on the soap opera Brookside
ten years earlier in December 1993, portrayed by actresses Anna Friel
and Nicola Stephenson
. Lena and Bianca sharing a kiss, however, and also being between two people of the same sex, was something that had been thought of as unlikely for American soap opera. The kiss received media attention such as TV Guide
, Soap Opera Digest
, and other publications. On the day before the kiss aired, Riegel and Sosnovska appeared on the morning talk show The View and answered questions from Barbara Walters
and the other hosts, including guest host Monica Lewinsky
. Star Jones
introduced the segment by stating that All My Children had dealt with a number of controversial topics, including "AIDS, abortion, drug abuse, racial prejudice, and teenage alcoholism, but no storyline has generated the kind of buzz as the lesbian kiss". The kiss was shown to the audience and followed up with questions by the hosts consisting of whether the actresses were nervous acting out the intimate scenes and what it was like to portray lesbians.
Critics were mixed on how the Lena and Bianca kiss was portrayed, on whether it was as realistic as it should be. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com
stated, "Not the most passionate kiss, but satisfying enough, given that most of the episode was devoted to showcasing the big event." The kiss represented a change in American culture. Stephen Tropiano of PopMatters
said, "In perhaps what could be a step in the right direction, daytime television has at last included the first on-screen kiss between a same-sex couple." Tropiano, however, criticized shows treating same-sex kisses as "big events". He stated, "Over the years, television has repeatedly made the same point by treating a kiss exchanged between two members of the same sex as something out-of-the-ordinary and unnatural. It's the network brass more than television series writers and producers who have reinforced society's negative attitudes toward public displays of affection between gay and lesbian couples by treating same-sex kissing as a taboo
subject." Tropiano wondered now that Lena and Bianca had kissed if they would kiss again or go beyond that in regards to physical intimacy; he felt that it was not likely until society, or at least, television, began to regard a same-sex kiss as just a kiss.
When asked if soap opera fans were ready for the kiss, Riegel stated, "I know that on the (Internet) message boards, there is a small but vocal minority that didn't want to see this. But the vast majority (of fans) were ready, excited and with the storyline." For All My Children fans, who had witnessed Bianca's unlucky romantic life, the kiss "was long overdue".
television was already significantly ahead of soap operas in their representation of gay men and lesbians. With the pairing of Lena and Bianca, American soap opera was given a level of LGBT
visibility that it had not had before, and now had two lesbian icons instead of Bianca by herself. The pairing "quickly became a hit with viewers" and regularly surpassed older more established heterosexual couples for the #1 spot on Internet and soap opera magazine readers' polls. "In another historical first, in October 2003, 60,000 votes were cast" in Soap Opera Weekly
s Hottest Soap Couple contest; Lena and Bianca emerged as the winning couple; this resulted in the first time a same-sex couple had ever been featured in a 2 page "glossy" centerfold poster, which was "sold at grocery store check-out counters across America with nary a complaint". This was viewed as groundbreaking social change.
Though the couple was popular, they were also controversial. Sosnovska was asked if she realized that by accepting this role she would be stepping into "so much" controversy. "I’m still coming to terms with this phenomenon of Lianca," she replied, "with the devotion that I’m shown as a couple on TV, and the whole concept of fans. The letters that I get are heart breaking. It’s horrible that even now in the 21st century [so many lesbians] feel the need to hide. Not everyone is confident enough to face the world, and not everyone lives in a safe environment." She continued, "I never really thought about it before--it doesn’t occur to you that this medieval type of mentality occurs. It’s horrifying what happens." Sosnovska did, however, see the decision to be out
as a personal choice. "I don’t blame people who choose not be out," she relayed. She donated her time to fan sponsored fundraisers that raised money for several charities connected to the Lena and Bianca storylines. Over $20,000 had been raised for the New York City
Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. Sosnovska stated, "I would never have known what a powerful tool TV could be, especially daytime. It’s frightening to the extent it’s a huge responsibility on the producers, directors, and actors to influence minds. You can’t underestimate the force of it."
Sosnovska was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from fans. "I apologize to anybody who’s sent me anything and hasn’t gotten a reply. I physically can’t keep up with it (the volume of mail), especially when I go away," she said in emphasis of a recent trip to London
she had made. In addition to helping with fundraisers, Sosnovska was outspoken about gay marriage. "I've been listening to the debate about gay marriage, she said. "It’s very difficult to wrap my head around people who oppose such a basic right. There’s no logic behind any of these reasons [against gay marriage]. [Those opposed to it] have no idea about the fact that they’re talking about normal people." In this respect, Sosnovska hoped her role as Lena had helped, if even a little, since "the more human faces you can put to this story, the better".
AfterEllen.com
cites that lesbian and bisexual women do not have "many characters" they can call their own, and had never had a daytime couple that they "could pin [they're] hopes and dreams on". Sosnovska and Riegel together as Lena and Bianca "became that couple" and the audience was given "the chance to see two sexy, confident, and very out women together as daytime television's first lesbian couple". Though prime time dramas such as The L Word
feature more lesbian and bisexual content, it is only available on cable. All My Childrens advantage is that it is seen "everyday in homes across the country that might not intentionally tune into shows with lesbian characters". The fact that a significant portion of viewers grew up with some of these characters enabled the series to develop "a certain comfort level" with the audience that other television characters do not have.
AfterEllen.com theorized that what endeared the Lena and Bianca romance to "so many viewers across the country" and allowed them to create a significant contribution to the acceptance of lesbians and bisexual women onscreen and in society was chemistry. This chemistry, the website reasoned, made the pairing a fan favorite. The website stated that "one of the main reasons that viewers both gay and straight" thoroughly liked this pairing "was the amazingly realistic portrayal of two people in love who just happen to be women".
"They are both sensational actresses who, though heterosexual, committed wholly to the relationship," said Mimi Torchin, former founding editor-in-chief of Soap Opera Weekly and then columnist for the magazine along with soap opera website SOAPnet.com
. "You weren't aware so much that history was being made but rather that this was something beautiful and special that you had never seen before," she stated. "There was a purity to their love that made it non-threatening to the straight audience."
Lena and Bianca's romance was a classic soap opera story of love and redemption--the bad girl saved by the love of an innocent. They became one of the show's most successful romances. "[Lena and Bianca were the No. 1 couple in daytime]," said Riegel. "They embraced Bianca with a fervor usually reserved for only the hunkiest of heroes. That experience taught me to never underestimate the open-mindedness of daytime audiences."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s from the American
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
daytime drama All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. Commonly referred to by the portmanteau "Lianca" (for Lena and Bianca), they were the first lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
couple on an American soap opera. Lena was portrayed by Olga Sosnovska
Olga Sosnovska
Olga Sosnovska is a Polish-born UK/US-based actress.-Career:Sosnovska is perhaps best known in America for her role as Polish businesswoman Lena Kundera on the soap opera All My Children...
, and Bianca
Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child...
was portrayed by Eden Riegel
Eden Riegel
Eden Sonja Jane Riegel is an American actress. She portrayed Bianca Montgomery on the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium...
. Lena and Bianca's romance "quickly became a hit with viewers" and regularly surpassed older more established heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
couples for the #1 spot on Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and soap opera magazine readers' polls. The characters are the first to share a same-sex kiss in American soap opera history.
Writing and portrayals
The writers characterized resident lesbianLesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and good girl Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child...
's romantic life as tortured; she consistently fell for heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
or unavailable women. When the series showcased her having fallen in love with best friend and confidante Maggie Stone
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...
(Elizabeth Hendrickson
Elizabeth Hendrickson
Elizabeth Hendrickson is an American actress. Her big break came when she was cast as character Frankie Stone on the daytime drama All My Children...
), this theme was continued. Maggie declared herself heterosexual and told Bianca she was only romantically interested in men. To show Bianca moving on, and to add conflict to Bianca and Maggie's relationship, the writers introduced Lena Kundera in December 2002. Lena, a "sassy" bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, was characterized as a temptress "in the mold of Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
". Bianca instantly found Lena attractive and competed for her attention with friend Boyd Larraby (Marc Menard
Marc Menard
Marc Menard is a Canadian actor. He starred as Michael Krieger on the MyNetworkTV serial Watch Over Me. His previous acting credits include All My Children, House and the film John Tucker Must Die.-Filmography:...
), as they bet on which one of them could date Lena first. Viewers watched as Lena began spending time with Bianca as part of an "evil plan" to take over Bianca's mother's company, but also as she found herself falling in love with Bianca. In an interview reported by the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, Brian Frons
Brian Frons
Brian Frons is an American television executive, and president of ABC Daytime.- Educational background :Frons holds a Master of Science degree in Communications from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the State University of New York at Fredonia.-Television...
, head of ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
, stated that he considered the Lena and Bianca pairing "much bolder" than romantically pairing Bianca with "longtime" galpal Maggie.
Bianca was 19 and Lena was in her late 20s, around the same age as Boyd. The writers had Bianca win the bet against Boyd, and Lena and Bianca bond easier despite their age difference. Boyd was suspicious of Lena's intentions, and persuaded mother-figure Myrtle Fargate (Eileen Herlie
Eileen Herlie
Eileen Herlie was a Scottish-American actress.-Life and career:Eileen Herlie was born Eileen Isobel Herlihy to a Catholic father and a Protestant mother in Glasgow, Scotland, and was one of five children. Herlie was trained as a theatre actress. Among her West End London theatre successes were The...
) to chaperone the couple. Though Myrtle saw nothing to convince her of malice on Lena's part, Boyd's suspicions were valid. "Lena has made a lot of mistakes in her past," clarified Eden Riegel
Eden Riegel
Eden Sonja Jane Riegel is an American actress. She portrayed Bianca Montgomery on the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium...
, Bianca's portrayer. "She has not proven herself a very nice person. Of course, Bianca doesn't know that. And now Lena is working with Michael (a bad guy played by William deVry) to try to take down Enchantment." Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias, formerly a brief resident of the fictional town of Pine Valley, appeared on the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor William deVry, from January 23, 2003 to August 2003, and later in a ghostly vision in 2004 and 2006.The character is one that lives in...
, portrayed by actor William deVry
William deVry
William deVry is an Canadian television actor now living in Vancouver. He has appeared on several soap operas. He played the roles of Joshua Doors on Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, Tim Charles on Port Charles and Michael Cambias on All My Children...
, was scripted as Lena's business partner and lover. As part of a secret plot to destroy Bianca's mother, Erica Kane
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...
, and her cosmetics company (Enchantment), Lena was told by Michael to get close to Bianca so Bianca could be more easily manipulated.
The writers showcased Lena's guilt regarding the takeover plan after she developed romantic feelings for Bianca. She refused to continue the manipulation, but was blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed by Michael into following through with the takeover. Lena eventually decided to leave town rather than betray Bianca and tell her the truth. She informed Bianca that she could never see her again. "For Bianca, this was a huge disappointment," said Riegel. "Every time she opens up to a woman, she gets her heart broken."
To reunite the couple in dramatic fashion, the show had Myrtle urge Bianca to follow Lena to the airport and demand an explanation; on the April 23, 2003 episode, the two characters shared the first same-sex kiss in American soap opera history. "It's that kind of old romantic airport scene in which the two lovers decide whether they can take the risk and take a chance on love -- only it's two women this time," relayed Riegel. Riegel had never kissed a woman before. "I was a little nervous because I wanted it to look natural and organic and real and true," she said. "I didn't want it to seem tentative." Riegel and Olga Sosnovska
Olga Sosnovska
Olga Sosnovska is a Polish-born UK/US-based actress.-Career:Sosnovska is perhaps best known in America for her role as Polish businesswoman Lena Kundera on the soap opera All My Children...
discussed practicing the kiss. "We thought about maybe trying it out in the dressing room first," Riegel laughed. "But then we just thought, 'We are professionals. This will be fine." The writers detailed "fun and daring" moves in the episode, such as having Bianca discuss with Myrtle her confusion about Lena leaving her. Myrtle, in her aristocratic British
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
accent, replied, "Maybe it was too hot!" Giving insight into Bianca's unlucky romantic life, she suggested that Bianca loves unavailable women because her mother is always running away from true love.
The physical aspects of Lena and Bianca's romance were heavily downplayed by the series. When asked if she thought she and Riegel had succeeded in living up to the "couple's groundbreaking and progressive" reputation, Sosnovska responded, "Yes, we succeeded to a certain extent. We succeeded in making this couple acceptable." After a pause, Sosnovska continued, "Not acceptable in a realistic sense, since our relationship hasn’t been portrayed truly realistically, which would have been nice." She described Bianca and Lena's physical relationship as "kind of ostentatiously reserved" compared to what gets shown between heterosexual couples, "although I’m quite shocked by what does get shown between the heterosexual couples." Even though the couple had recently started "dating" again, as the writers also scripted a love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
including Maggie, there was an apparent double-standard regarding intimacy between the same sex lovers; in the entire year of Lena and Bianca's on-again, off-again relationship, the two women had only kissed twice onscreen. The final obstacles given to the couple's onscreen intimacy were Bianca's rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
by Michael and pregnancy with his child, which were controversial and seen by viewers as desperate attempts by the network to avoid lesbian love scenes. AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
editor Sarah Warn
Sarah Warn
Sarah Warn is an American writer and the former editor of entertainment website AfterEllen.com.-Biography:Warn graduated from in Tacoma, WA in 1992. She then attended Wellesley College in 1996 with a degree in women's studies, and received a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard...
stated that it was a way to assure Bianca's continued asexuality
Asexuality
Asexuality , in its broadest sense, is the lack of sexual attraction and, in some cases, the lack of interest in sex. Sometimes, it is considered a lack of a sexual orientation...
. Warn added that "the pregnant-lesbian storyline" is a favorite refuge for television writers who both want to avoid dealing with the sexual aspects of lesbian relationships and who want to "normalize" the lesbian characters — "to show viewers that, at their core, lesbians are just like heterosexual women — who of course, all want to be mothers". In 2004, though Lena and Bianca were allowed to kiss for a third time onscreen, it came at the end of their romance, as Lena went back to Poland to tend to her ailing mother and the couple was later written to have broken up over the phone.
2003 kiss
All My Children made television history on April 23, 2003 when Lena and Bianca shared the first same-sex kiss in American soap opera history. The kiss was not the first same-sex kiss for daytime television. The United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
had featured its first lesbian kiss between fictional characters on the soap opera Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
ten years earlier in December 1993, portrayed by actresses Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
and Nicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson
Nicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
. Lena and Bianca sharing a kiss, however, and also being between two people of the same sex, was something that had been thought of as unlikely for American soap opera. The kiss received media attention such as TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
, and other publications. On the day before the kiss aired, Riegel and Sosnovska appeared on the morning talk show The View and answered questions from Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
and the other hosts, including guest host Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
. Star Jones
Star Jones
Star Jones is an American lawyer, journalist, writer, and television personality. She is known for her role as a co-host of the ABC weekday morning talk show The View...
introduced the segment by stating that All My Children had dealt with a number of controversial topics, including "AIDS, abortion, drug abuse, racial prejudice, and teenage alcoholism, but no storyline has generated the kind of buzz as the lesbian kiss". The kiss was shown to the audience and followed up with questions by the hosts consisting of whether the actresses were nervous acting out the intimate scenes and what it was like to portray lesbians.
Critics were mixed on how the Lena and Bianca kiss was portrayed, on whether it was as realistic as it should be. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
stated, "Not the most passionate kiss, but satisfying enough, given that most of the episode was devoted to showcasing the big event." The kiss represented a change in American culture. Stephen Tropiano of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
said, "In perhaps what could be a step in the right direction, daytime television has at last included the first on-screen kiss between a same-sex couple." Tropiano, however, criticized shows treating same-sex kisses as "big events". He stated, "Over the years, television has repeatedly made the same point by treating a kiss exchanged between two members of the same sex as something out-of-the-ordinary and unnatural. It's the network brass more than television series writers and producers who have reinforced society's negative attitudes toward public displays of affection between gay and lesbian couples by treating same-sex kissing as a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
subject." Tropiano wondered now that Lena and Bianca had kissed if they would kiss again or go beyond that in regards to physical intimacy; he felt that it was not likely until society, or at least, television, began to regard a same-sex kiss as just a kiss.
When asked if soap opera fans were ready for the kiss, Riegel stated, "I know that on the (Internet) message boards, there is a small but vocal minority that didn't want to see this. But the vast majority (of fans) were ready, excited and with the storyline." For All My Children fans, who had witnessed Bianca's unlucky romantic life, the kiss "was long overdue".
Popularity
Lena and Bianca's romance was groundbreaking. Prime timePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
television was already significantly ahead of soap operas in their representation of gay men and lesbians. With the pairing of Lena and Bianca, American soap opera was given a level of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
visibility that it had not had before, and now had two lesbian icons instead of Bianca by herself. The pairing "quickly became a hit with viewers" and regularly surpassed older more established heterosexual couples for the #1 spot on Internet and soap opera magazine readers' polls. "In another historical first, in October 2003, 60,000 votes were cast" in Soap Opera Weekly
Soap Opera Weekly
Soap Opera Weekly is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
s Hottest Soap Couple contest; Lena and Bianca emerged as the winning couple; this resulted in the first time a same-sex couple had ever been featured in a 2 page "glossy" centerfold poster, which was "sold at grocery store check-out counters across America with nary a complaint". This was viewed as groundbreaking social change.
Though the couple was popular, they were also controversial. Sosnovska was asked if she realized that by accepting this role she would be stepping into "so much" controversy. "I’m still coming to terms with this phenomenon of Lianca," she replied, "with the devotion that I’m shown as a couple on TV, and the whole concept of fans. The letters that I get are heart breaking. It’s horrible that even now in the 21st century [so many lesbians] feel the need to hide. Not everyone is confident enough to face the world, and not everyone lives in a safe environment." She continued, "I never really thought about it before--it doesn’t occur to you that this medieval type of mentality occurs. It’s horrifying what happens." Sosnovska did, however, see the decision to be out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as a personal choice. "I don’t blame people who choose not be out," she relayed. She donated her time to fan sponsored fundraisers that raised money for several charities connected to the Lena and Bianca storylines. Over $20,000 had been raised for the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. Sosnovska stated, "I would never have known what a powerful tool TV could be, especially daytime. It’s frightening to the extent it’s a huge responsibility on the producers, directors, and actors to influence minds. You can’t underestimate the force of it."
Sosnovska was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from fans. "I apologize to anybody who’s sent me anything and hasn’t gotten a reply. I physically can’t keep up with it (the volume of mail), especially when I go away," she said in emphasis of a recent trip to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
she had made. In addition to helping with fundraisers, Sosnovska was outspoken about gay marriage. "I've been listening to the debate about gay marriage, she said. "It’s very difficult to wrap my head around people who oppose such a basic right. There’s no logic behind any of these reasons [against gay marriage]. [Those opposed to it] have no idea about the fact that they’re talking about normal people." In this respect, Sosnovska hoped her role as Lena had helped, if even a little, since "the more human faces you can put to this story, the better".
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
cites that lesbian and bisexual women do not have "many characters" they can call their own, and had never had a daytime couple that they "could pin [they're] hopes and dreams on". Sosnovska and Riegel together as Lena and Bianca "became that couple" and the audience was given "the chance to see two sexy, confident, and very out women together as daytime television's first lesbian couple". Though prime time dramas such as The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
feature more lesbian and bisexual content, it is only available on cable. All My Childrens advantage is that it is seen "everyday in homes across the country that might not intentionally tune into shows with lesbian characters". The fact that a significant portion of viewers grew up with some of these characters enabled the series to develop "a certain comfort level" with the audience that other television characters do not have.
AfterEllen.com theorized that what endeared the Lena and Bianca romance to "so many viewers across the country" and allowed them to create a significant contribution to the acceptance of lesbians and bisexual women onscreen and in society was chemistry. This chemistry, the website reasoned, made the pairing a fan favorite. The website stated that "one of the main reasons that viewers both gay and straight" thoroughly liked this pairing "was the amazingly realistic portrayal of two people in love who just happen to be women".
"They are both sensational actresses who, though heterosexual, committed wholly to the relationship," said Mimi Torchin, former founding editor-in-chief of Soap Opera Weekly and then columnist for the magazine along with soap opera website SOAPnet.com
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. "You weren't aware so much that history was being made but rather that this was something beautiful and special that you had never seen before," she stated. "There was a purity to their love that made it non-threatening to the straight audience."
Lena and Bianca's romance was a classic soap opera story of love and redemption--the bad girl saved by the love of an innocent. They became one of the show's most successful romances. "[Lena and Bianca were the No. 1 couple in daytime]," said Riegel. "They embraced Bianca with a fervor usually reserved for only the hunkiest of heroes. That experience taught me to never underestimate the open-mindedness of daytime audiences."
See also
- Bianca Montgomery and Maggie StoneBianca Montgomery and Maggie StoneBianca Montgomery and Maggie Stone are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama All My Children. Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel, and Maggie was portrayed by Elizabeth Hendrickson....
- Reese Williams and Bianca MontgomeryReese Williams and Bianca MontgomeryReese Williams and Bianca Montgomery are fictional characters and a lesbian couple from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Reese was portrayed by Tamara Braun, and Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel. On Internet message boards, the pairing is commonly referred to by the portmanteaus "Rianca" ...
- SupercoupleSupercoupleA supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...
- List of fictional supercouples