Corrie has always been about the women. The men are kept very much in the background being feckless, drinking too much, gambling the housekeeping money away on a nag, having a fling with a floozy or murdering their wives. And so this fan believes the time was more than right for a lesbian relationship on the nation's favourite soap and wholeheartedly welcomes it.Yes, the tabloids are going for titillation but that's to be expected. I'm in agreement with the Corrie actresses who've said that Sian and Sophie's relationship on Corrie is a romance, a love story. And it's a story about which the Lesbian and Gay Foundation approve too.
In her wonderful book Women and Soap Operas, Christine Geraghty says that all soap opera turns on the premise of female friendship - how they work, why they don't, what happens when a man comes between them - and lesbianism is just the next step forward in the development of women's friendships on screen.
If there was just one thing I could change in the lesbian romance of Sophie and Sian, it'd be for a lesbian relationship to to have taken place between two of the older women instead. But that's just an age-thing, because I'm old too. And I don't suppose Eileen and Gail cuddling up to watch 'Desperate Housewives' together on the sofa would have made the gossip magazines and generated as much publicity as the two very pretty and young actresses Brooke Vincent and Sacha Parkinson are currently doing.
When Corrie aired its first gay kiss when Todd tried to snog Nicky Tilsley, the storyline developed with Todd coming out, being proud, stutting his stuff around Manchester's gay village. With Sophie and Sian's storyline, it remains to be seen how it will go. Will Sophie be seen in lesbian-Christian groups, for instance. Will she come out and be proud, or simper after Sian and then run to the first "New Corrie hunk for Sophie!" that could well be announced in the tabloids in a few months time? Time will tell, but Corrie will handle it well, of that I'm sure.
If there was just one thing I could change in the lesbian romance of Sophie and Sian, it'd be for a lesbian relationship to to have taken place between two of the older women instead. But that's just an age-thing, because I'm old too. And I don't suppose Eileen and Gail cuddling up to watch 'Desperate Housewives' together on the sofa would have made the gossip magazines and generated as much publicity as the two very pretty and young actresses Brooke Vincent and Sacha Parkinson are currently doing.When Corrie aired its first gay kiss when Todd tried to snog Nicky Tilsley, the storyline developed with Todd coming out, being proud, stutting his stuff around Manchester's gay village. With Sophie and Sian's storyline, it remains to be seen how it will go. Will Sophie be seen in lesbian-Christian groups, for instance. Will she come out and be proud, or simper after Sian and then run to the first "New Corrie hunk for Sophie!" that could well be announced in the tabloids in a few months time? Time will tell, but Corrie will handle it well, of that I'm sure.
15 comments:
Brooke Vincent is a smashing young actress - I just hope the storyline is handled well and does her justice. I'm just so-o-o sceptical about this due to the whacking amount of publicity/fanfare in the run up to "the lesbian snog". It's being sensationalised already, which I think is a shame.
Just a quick follow up - I also would have preferred older characters for this storyline - less likely to be sensationalised, and also maybe more interesting long term? but maybe that's just me being old too.
Shame on you flaming nora for deleting posts just because they dont agree with your point of view. No wonder there are not many posters on this site any more. I wont be coming back either.
Speaking as a gay man, my problem with the storyline is that neither Sophie or Sian have shown any indication they may be lesbians before. They both had boyfriends until very recently (boyfriends they got very upset about losing) and their experimentation with being gay seems a bit out of nowhere. I'd have preferred a few hints that Sophie has feelings for Sian, and women in general; a little more has been shown so far. I'd have liked her to have perhaps talked to Rosie, or Sally, or even Emily, about how she's feeling, and shown her confusion. As it is we have a similar plot to Todd & Nicky; it's going to come out of nowhere.
I do trust the producers to handle the storyline well, however, and I also trust that Brooke and Sacha are capable actresses who will play it well.
Swamp Duck and any others who want to complain:
I NEVER delete posts because I disgagree with the statements in them. I DO delete posts from homophobes, racists and sexists.
I take it Flaming Nora that you think I'm a homophobe? I just don't agree with it. I don't see why one has to delete the comment. Maybe some agree with me. I've supported the blog and will turn a blind eye to this. I take it you'll be deleting comments by atheists in future?
I think a relationship between Eileen and Gail would have been fantastic! I agree Merseytart about the gay relationship coming out of the blue seemingly. As I've said before, I could see Sophie turning that way, since she's only had the one boyfriend and we know she's still a virgin, plus will the religion she's also trying to find answers, and herself. With Sian, I think it's merely a phase however. I hope if Sophie does "come out" she stays out.
To the "deleting posts" controversy : I know that Flaming Nora runs this space for all Coronation Street fans. Whereas some have been upset that their comments have been deleted, and whether they feel it was justified or not, the goal is to keep this space open and free of judgement for all fans. If someone doesn't like your opinion or think it's politically correct - that needs to be accepted. I'd hate to see any fan turned away from this blog and sharing their enjoyment of Corrie with other fans because they feel judged by the writers or the other fans. I'm sure this is Flaming Nora's goal also. Don't take it personally - it's just for the greater good!
I hope everyone continues to read and be a part of our community regardless of a difference in opinion. Let's all agree to disagree and enjoy Corrie, which is why we're all here anyway!
Yoork. I love this Corrie and I love this blog! Flaming Nora's doing a brilliant job and I respect her. Better than me - I haven't had comments in months on mine!
I respect the rights of homosexuals to be treated fairly without discrimination. I would never condone violence against gays, whether by word alone or by action. However I still do not think that it is a normal condition. Should I therefore be considered homophobic and have my comments, such as these, deleted by Nora ?
dear anonymous, just stop & think about what you are writing...
try replacing "gay" with some other group of people and see how it sounds.
what if i wrote "I would never condone violence against inter-racial children and I respect their rights to be treated fairly. However, I still don't think it's a normal condition."
Is that REALLY respect??
I do agree that i think with Sian it might be more of a curiosity but with Sophie it could very well be real. I hope so, too. Sophie has always been true to herself and if she's starting to experience these feelings then it should follow through for her. And as far as her having a boyfriend and this coming from nowhere, I knew a few gay teens and a couple of them had opposite sex boyfriends/girlfriends as their first "loves", even had physical relationships, and then realized it wasn't for them.
By the way there was a similar storyline on River City recently with two teenaged female friends - one fell for the other and there was a "kiss" - the kisser was gay, the "kissee" was not - there was a bust-up, then they talked it through and remained friends. Thought it was really well done, as "issues" were aired well, but fairly minimal sensationalism. I still think it would be good to have an older woman, maybe in her 40s, unhappy marriage maybe "discover her sexuality" - it happens fairly often in "real-life" - hey - I'm off to write a story myself now!!
When Kevin finds out his daughter's preferences he better not be homomphobic about it, otherwise Flaming Nora may delete all the updates on this story. Let's hope Kevin says Yippee and that it is great and he is so pleased.
As someone from across the pond, so to speak, I was fascinated to stumble upon this blog. I love hip, progressive storylines and it sounds like Coronation Street has all that and more.
Susan Gabriel
author of Seeking Sara Summers
(a novel about coming out later in life)
If anyone wants a sneak peek at friday night's episode (ai think it shows that this storyline indeed has potential to be handled rather well imo):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVso9il5mpk
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