'All My Children' to Feature Transgender Character

In a story unusual even for a soap opera and believed to be a television first, ABC's "All My Children" this week will introduce a transgender character who is beginning to make the transition from a man into a woman. The character, a flamboyant rock star known as Zarf, kisses the lesbian character Bianca and much drama ensues.

The storyline begins with Thursday's episode of the daytime drama. "All My Children" was looking for something new, and knows its audience is always interested in anything to do with sexuality, said Julie Hanan Carruthers, the show's executive producer. The show was not interested in doing something just to be sensational, she said. GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and some transgenders were brought in as consultants in shaping the character, teaching the producers when it is appropriate to call a character "she" even before surgery. Read Fox News Story 11/26/06