By Jonathan Jones

If two men or two women show affection on a tv show, it’s termed either a lesbian or gay kiss but when two people of the opposite gender do the same, it’s not called a straight kiss is it?

I’ve been watching all the hoohah surrounding the ongoing lesbian storyline in the Australian soap Home & Away. Have you noticed how gay characters are never introduced into storylines in a natural way? It’s always forced.

Often, they’re brought in to boost ratings and there’s a massive build up to a very brief onscreen display of affection and then they either leave the programme almost immediately afterwards or they fade back into the background in terms of storylines. Sure, they’re still featured in subsequent episodes but their romantic lives aren’t touched on again except using the vaguest of references.

What is going on with that?