SOAPS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

From Variety.com:

Even though the soap opera is the daytime staple of soccer moms and retired dads, it is here that gays have achieved the ultimate acceptance: They have become just another neighbor with an endless stream of problems.... On CBS, "As the World Turns" introduced 17-year-old Luke a year ago, and since then the character has admitted and accepted his sexual orientation. "We saw him come through that," says Passante, now head writer at the venerable soap. "He has become far more out and proud, truthful about who he is. This is a kid who is waiting for the next best thing to happen, and we're going to follow him every step of the way. People have accepted it as something that happens in the natural course of family life."

Complete story, here.