LESBIAN TV WEDDING PRAISED

A US day-time soap opera has been praised for its historic depiction of a lesbian wedding.

The Emmy-winning, 39-year-old soap opera All My Children is scheduled to air the marriage of lesbian couple Bianca Montgomery and Reese Williams today.

It is said to be the first ever marriage of a lesbian couple on scripted US daytime television.

“This is a milestone in daytime drama,” said Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) President Neil G. Giuliano.

“Bianca and Reese’s wedding is a joyful day that countless people – gay and straight alike – dream of for themselves and the ones they love.”

Bianca, played by actress Eden Riegel, first came out in 2000 and is notable as daytime drama’s first contracted regukal gay character. Bianca’s relationship with Reese gives the couple the distinction of being the only lesbian couple currently depicted on daytime or primetime broadcast television in the US.

This week, the couple – along with family, friends, and Bianca’s two children – will travel from fictitious Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, to the state of Connecticut, where gay and lesbian couples can legally wed.

All My Children has received seven GLAAD Media Awards for its inclusive representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It has been nominated again this year.

South Africa saw its first television same-sex wedding in December 2006, when Steve (Emmanuel Castis) and Luke (Gary D’Alessandro), tied the knot on the soapie Isidingo; just five days after same-sex marriage became legal in the country.