In a story that is believed to be a television first, the ABC daytime serial All My Children has introduced a transgender character who is beginning to make the transition from a man into a woman.
The character, a rock star known as Zarf, kisses the lesbian character Bianca, with the requisite drama ensuing. The storyline began with the Nov. 30 episode.
Stevie Conlon of Illinois Gender Advocates told Windy City Times that the storyline is 'a positive development.' She added that, if she were writing the show, she would make sure that two issues were covered. 'First, I'd make sure that they dealt with recurring issues that trans people face,' she said. 'There are general issues like dealing with family and then unique ones [ connected with ] appearance and things like changing records. Then, I'd like to demonstrate that trans people are real people.'
Conlon added that this character development also presents another opportunity besides educating the public about issues. She stated that, in the past, trans characters have been either 'guest murderers or guest victims,' citing such movies as the 1980 feature Dressed to Kill, in which a transsexual murders one of his psychiatrist's patients—and then goes after the prostitute who witnessed it.
However, despite the advancement that Zarf is making, Conlon hopes that this will not be the end of the line as far as positive trans characters: 'One good trans character is not fair to the experience. There are trans men, trans women and [ even ] those who live their whole lives as another gender without any surgery. You can't bundle us all [ into one character ] .'