Ask. Tell. — Homosexuality and the media

Will gay characters ever thrive on daytime soaps?

TV execs may finally be comfortable enough to broadcast the prime-time adventures of Ellen, and Will, and even Jack. But same-sex love in the afternoon? That's about as likely as a faithful husband.

Eight years ago on ABC, One Life to Live's gut-wrenching story line about gay teen Billy Douglas turned homosexuality into a front-burner plot to rival familiar arcs like amnesia and multiple personalities. ''I know it was a good thing to do,'' says OLTL's Emmy-winning Erika Slezak, who plays Viki Buchanan. ''When you look at the amount of people who watch TV, it'd be morally wrong not to use that time to do some good.''

But Billy's story ended when he left town after landing a beau. Today, not one of the 10 network soaps features a leading gay character. That's a problem they may be in no hurry to rectify, because in daytime — a land where sexual pair-offs are crucial plot developments — committing to one gay character may mean committing to several, and that makes producers skittish. In fact, finding the last recurring gay character on a CBS soap requires a trip to As the World Turns, circa 1988. As for NBC, the folks at Days of Our Lives and Passions have been too busy spinning yarns about satanic possession and supernatural kerfuffles to fuss over an actual issue. (The Bold and the Beautiful producer Bradley Bell, NBC daytime chief Sheraton Kalouria, Days executive producer Ken Corday and head writer Tom Langan, Passions head writer James E. Reilly, and execs from Procter & Gamble, which owns ATWT and Guiding Light, all declined interviews for this story.)

In soaps, survival often means being part of a ''core family,'' daytime terminology for a character so entangled with the rest of the cast that he or she can't easily be written out. That's a barrier no gay character has ever broken. Now, though, there's buzz that All My Children, which introduced one of daytime's only lesbian plotlines in 1983, may make the leap with no less central a character than Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel), the teenage daughter of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci). Is her lack of interest in all things male a preamble to a DeGeneres-esque revelation? An ABC spokesperson coyly replies: ''We will not compromise ... Bianca's secret by confirming or denying any rumors.''

Mimi Torchin, editor in chief of Soap Opera Weekly, says the story — if it happens — will make for classic soap opera. ''Erica's gonna go off the deep end, but I think she'll come around,'' Torchin predicts. ''It's a very good chance to reach kids who might be feeling alienated and disenfranchised.''

And given the sharp decline in the ratings for daytime soaps in recent years — even industry legend Agnes Nixon, creator of One Life to Live and All My Children, admits that ''it's panic time'' for writers — what do soaps have to lose?
— Nicholas Fonseca

Why can hip-hop artists still get away with gay-baiting lyrics?

How do you get gabby music-bizzers to shut up? Ask them about homophobia in hip-hop; you're almost guaranteed a nice, long moment of silence. But the industry should be talking about gay-bashing rap lyrics. There's Eminem, of course, whose latest album includes lines like, ''My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/That'll stab you in the head/Whether you're a fag or lez/Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest/Pants or dress/Hate fags? The answer's 'yes.''' And nasty epithets also pepper recent albums from DMX, Common, and others.