Historically, queer soap opera characters have lived loveless, sexless, and tragic lives when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The plotlines for gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters on daytime television have typically been limited to subjects like coming out, AIDS, homophobia and unrequited love, a far cry from the wildly romantic, outrageous, and sexually voracious adventures of straight soap characters.

Daytime television currently has two new opportunities to develop complex gay characters that can continue to exist beyond the arcs of their coming out stories. Luke Grimaldi (played by Van Hansis) on As the World Turns and Lucas Jones (played by Ben Hogestyn) on General Hospital are both gay teens struggling to come to grips with their sexual orientation.

On As the World Turns, Luke is in the earliest stages of coming out. His father, Holden, suspects that Luke may be gay and regularly tries to open the door for a coming out conversation, even if he isn't sure he wants to hear the truth. But Luke refuses to engage him, and is focused more on dealing with his feelings for his best friend Kevin (who may or may not be straight).

To complicate matters, Luke's family has been duped by Jade, a young woman claiming to be the lost daughter of Luke's dead aunt. When Jade realizes that Luke's mother and grandmother have discovered her secret, she confesses the scam to Luke in hopes that he will help her. Luke is bitter about Jade's betrayal of their friendship, but he's truly shocked when she suggests that unless he helps her she will out him to his family. Moments later, Luke's mother walks in on the staged scene of him and Jade in bed together naked.

Luke's character could have a marked impact on the way in which queer characters are portrayed in daytime television. He is the son of two prominent characters, and part of the powerful Grimaldi family that is often central to the ATWT universe. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Luke would easily be sent away to the Himalayas or killed off in a freak skateboarding accident. The high-profile of his family could mean that his character is more likely to be developed, and that the Luke storyline could exist long past his inevitable outing.

Further, Luke's apparent, if rather unwilling, participation in Jade's underhanded scheme adds a few much-needed shades of gray to his character. Luke will be far more memorable and compelling if his flaws must be reconciled with his status as a noble victim.

On General Hospital, Lucas (nephew of the famous GH character Luke) recently came out to both family and friends, becoming the first recurring gay character in the show's history. Sadly, his coming out was precipitated by being the victim of a hate crime. Lucas's mother struggles with the news her son is gay, but his father lovingly accepts him (“Mom loves you as much as I do. She just found out you were gay and had to revise her expectations. She just wants you to be happy. That's all I want for you.”) When his father dies shortly thereafter, Lucas expresses regret that he didn't come out to his father sooner.

Lucas's best friend Georgie sets him up on a blind date with her friend Guy, who is later gay-bashed by the same man who attacked Lucas. Lucas and a friend intervene and stop the assault, and Guy presses charges against his attacker. Guy's actions prompt Lucas to come forward and testify about his own attack, but Guy is openly disappointed with Lucas. He tells Lucas that if he had come forward sooner, then the attack on Guy might never have happened.

Both As the World Turns and General Hospital made it a point to have several prominent characters deliver pro-gay speeches. Clearly, those behind the shows want to communicate a very gay-tolerant message to their audiences. Both Lucas's dying father and later his uncle made stirring comments that being gay was nothing to be ashamed of and that Lucas would have to be strong in facing down the bigots he would inevitably encounter.

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