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Now, in 2003, ABC and All My Children breaks new ground again with the decision to show the first lesbian kiss on daytime television--and so far, there hasn't been much fallout. According to Michael Cohen, publicist for All My Children, no advertisers have pulled their ads from the show because of the kiss, and ABC has received no negative feedback from viewers. Local affiliates have received some negative feedback, but it appears to be minimal (while Boston's ABC affiliate, for example, received many complaints from viewers, others, like ABC's affiliate in Tuscon, AZ, received only a handful of complaints).

Still, this didn't stop many local ABC affiliates from displaying a "viewer discretion advised" warning on the bottom of the screen, both during the "kiss" episode and during the episode prior to it. The warning alerted viewers that "Tomorrow's episode of AMC will contain adult situations," a statement it has not issued before other episodes showcasing drug abuse, death, abortion, attempted rape, and other criminal behavior. This kind of double-standard asserting that images of violence, manipulation, self-destruction, and criminal behavior are less harmful to viewers than a sincere kiss between two women is so obviously misguided as to require no further comment.

The actresses themselves have been very supportive of the storyline in the press, through appearances and interviews on shows like The View and Entertainment Tonight, as well as in interviews with the gay press. "It was a long time coming," Riegel told an Entertainment Tonight reporter about the kiss episode. "We've put so much blood, sweat and tears-- and love--into building the storyline to this point, I wanted it to be real, true and special."

"I didn't realize how hard it was going to be," laughed Sosnovska. "I felt fine with it. Just because I was going to kiss this woman, it wasn't a problem. I think that it has been built up, and it's such a big thing, that when it actually came down to it, we thought, 'Wow, this is a bit important.'"

What has gone largely unnoticed by the media in their rush to cover the first lesbian kiss on daytime television, however, is the historical significance of Lena's character--not only is she the first recurring bisexual character on daytime television, but she is one of the only explicitly bisexual characters on television ever (along with Sandra Bernhard's character on Roseanne and Brittany Daniel's character on the short-lived sitcom That 80's Show).

The media's failure to mention this milestone is a reflection of the ignorance and controversy that continues to surround the topic of bisexuality in American culture. Many Americans do not understand the difference between lesbian and bisexual women, and consequently lump them both together as "lesbians" most of the time; because bisexual women are generally an invisible minority in America, there is little vocal dissent of this practice.

There is also a taboo quality to public discussions of bisexuality that doesn't apply to lesbianism anymore, because bisexuality challenges the idea that sexuality is fixed and innate--i.e. that you're either one of "us" or one of "them"--in a way that lesbianism doesn't, and because of the persistent association of bisexuality with promiscuity.

If the past is any indication, All My Children may try to avoid the additional controversy inherent in defining Lena as bisexual and turn her into someone who was a lesbian all along and just didn't know it (as Buffy did with Willow and ER did with Dr. Weaver, both of whom had satisfying sexual relationships with men prior to falling for a woman).

But unless or until they do this, Lena is currently the only bisexual women on daytime OR primetime television, and her continued presence on the All My Children is as much a sign of progress for lesbian and bisexual visibility as her kiss with Bianca.

Which brings us to the most important question: what's going to happen next? Many a television show has played up a lesbian kiss episode only to drop the storyline afterwards by having one of the characters leave or decide she's not really gay, by breaking the couple up, or by decreasing the characters' screen time so much that they're barely visible.

AMC has indicated that they will continue to pursue the Lena-Bianca relationship, at least for now. "A relationship will develop between Bianca and Lena," an All My Children spokesperson said in a statement. "However, at this time, there are no plans for explicit love-making scenes on-screen."

In other words, while straight characters will continue to hop in and out of bed with each other (including an attempted rape scene next week), Bianca and Lena will only be having implied sex.