The social impact of the Reese and Bianca relationship is continuing to have an impact abroad. On a Dutch soap opera a brochure showed up featuring an image of Reese and Bianca at their 2009 groundbreaking nuptials. Here is what was said about the show and the featuring of the brochure:
AMC’s Bianca & Reese Pop Up On Dutch Soap GTST
ALL MY CHILDREN’s Bianca (Eden Riegel) and Reese (Tamara Braun) were seen on Dutch soap opera GOEDE TIJDEN SLECHTE TIJDEN on Friday, on a marriage equality brochure. GTST fan and We Love Soaps contributor Mark offers us a recap:
Nuran Baydar (played by Toprak Yalçiner) and Rik de Jong (played by Ferri Somogyi) have feelings for each other. But because Rik isn’t muslim Nuran feels like she can’t be in a relationship with him. Both of them have started dating other people and both of them are rushing into marriage. Rik with Yvon Terstal (played by Terence Schreurs) and Nuran with Bilal Demir (played by Sinan Eroglu). Especially that last marriage is doomed because Bilal is actually gay.
On Friday Nuran went to a bridal shop to try on her wedding dress. Rik saw her through the window and couldn’t resist to enter the shop. As an excuse he said he wanted to pick up some brochures for Yvon. He wasn’t really paying attention to those brochures because one of them was the one about gay marriage.
When I saw the episode I didn’t notice it was Bianca and Reese. I saw it today when the show uploaded it on their website. The show always does this with letters, cards and photos that are used in the episodes as props. It’s a fun extra for the fans.
click to view a clip from the show
The brochure itself talks about how gay marriage has been legal since 2001, but that there are still a few differences between gay couples and straight couples. Like when a couple has children. Only the biological parent is seen as a legal parent. The other parent has to adopt the child to become a legal parent.
Here are the front and back covers of the brochure, it’s all in Dutch with no translation.
I think it’s amazing that the Reese and Bianca story is still having an impact, particularly on the global discussion on Gay Rights Equality. It’s only too bad Chuck Pratt didn’t see it the way we did and the way the world saw it. I’m proud of both Tamara and Eden’s work and how they managed to make Reese and Bianca so valid in today’s global discussion on the rights of those who do not share equality on certain levels. The whole aspect of inequality in terms of the issue of children from a gay or lesbian couple where the other parent has to adopt the child(ren) from the union still needs some work. What is bothersome is that while surrogacy is needed in the issue of sperm/womb donor, there should be no separation between the aspect of parenting. In whatever union that is — in terms of two women or two men — they are parents. Once that decision is made to have a child, end of story. It’s no different than that of heterosexual couples.
Jumping off soap box now.
I should have had this up earlier, but alas I didn’t realize what the day was. This is an anniversary of sorts for us Tamara fans. It was on this day eleven years ago we first discovered the talent we know as Tamara Braun. This is the anniversary of her first airdate as our favourite mob moll, Carly Corinthos. I can still remember that episode, “The role of Carly Corinthos will now be played by Tamara Braun.” And that began four years of one of the best characters on GENERAL HOSPITAL and one of the most successful recasts on the show. In the subsequent years we were treated to a myriad of emotions and highs and lows as Tamara took us through Carly’s life both apart and with and apart and with and apart from Sonny (Maurice Benard). Together we experienced Carly’s disappointment at the thought she might not be able to conceive a child with Sonny and her desperation throughout the Panic Room storyline with the psychopathic Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) and the South American run with Lorenzo Alcazar (Ted King). We were gripped when she gave birth to Morgan and dealing with the aftermath of Sonny’s shooting his wife in the head. The poignant alternate storyline where we went through the life Carly and Lorenzo had up until his death as the elderly Carly looked on and comforted him. Then the horror of a mother dealing with the death of her beloved Michael (Dylan Cash). All in all Tamara made Carly her own and no actress has really been able to capture that vulnerability and fieriness quite the way Tamara did. Carly’s maturity was never more evident as when Tamara played her, and her humanity was never more present as Tamara gave Carly that growth one has to expect if a long-term soap opera character is to survive. Thank you Mark Teschner for your good eye at realizing what Tamara could and did bring to the show. So Happy Anniversary Tamara. 
