[Jaymitch1]

does anyone know why there is such a lack of black or gay characters in home & away and neighbours?
there has been the odd one or two very short passing 'novelty' lesbian storylines in the past few years, in both soaps, but thats about it. i dont get it. in british soaps we have gay characters, we have characters from all different ethnic backgrounds, and we have gay storylines, but these australian soaps dont have any!! it just dawned on me recently, whats it all about?! are there no minorities in australia

[twistedmorals]

You might not want to start a thread with that tagline.


And actually there was a really dodgy campaign in australia in the 1970's White Australia people could migrate there but only if they looked a certain way.

The ethnic diversity seen on screen now is probably a direct result.

[_nomad_]

I'm not sure about the lack of ethnic diversity but there is a lot of controversy in Australia whenever gay storylines happen. All those 'family group' bigots went nuts over the recent Charlie/Joey storyline in Home and Away.

[broadshoulder]

To be honest Australia isnt as diverse a country as the UK, US or Western Europe.

The recent controversy over the 'Hey hey its Sturday' blacking up means they have a long way to go on that front.

[Jaymitch1]

Originally Posted by _nomad_

I'm not sure about the lack of ethnic diversity but there is a lot of controversy in Australia whenever gay storylines happen. All those 'family group' bigots went nuts over the recent Charlie/Joey storyline in Home and Away.

yes i remember reading about it. and home & away backed down in the end. which is exactly what they should NOT have done. it will never move forward otherwise.

[evamoo]

ive never been to oz, but maybe there arent many black people there?
id imagine if you want more 'ethnic' characters (what does that word mean btw?) its more southern asian, due to australias location?

i think h&a and neighbours are early timeslot shows, and being gay doesnt fit into their ideal.

[rick182]

Oz consits of more Greek and Itlian, Also Asien, them Afro Carribiens

[crystal_meth]

Originally Posted by evamoo

ive never been to oz, but maybe there arent many black people there?
id imagine if you want more 'ethnic' characters (what does that word mean btw?) its more southern asian, due to australias location?

i think h&a and neighbours are early timeslot shows, and being gay doesnt fit into their ideal.

No, all the hundreds of thousands of aborigines and maoris were unfortunately subjugated by the invaders of their territory - poisoned, shot, murdered, dispossessed, 'the stolen generation', etc. The many still that remain, mixed race, and full generations of families are shunted into the 'outback' or 'northern territories' which are pretty much uninhabitable except by their skillful knowledge of the ways of the land. However, they are considered by most to be wasters, alcoholic ingrates who commit crimes, refuse to work, and burn down the shanty towns that the government occasionally donates to them in some kind of goodwill gesture. Fortunately, human rights activists have worked hard to get these horrifically abused indigenous people land rights and compensations.

However, the average Oz / Kiwi in my vast experience of travelling to those countries is racist as heck, anyone of colour is commonly called a 'wog' and there is little / no integration.

Whilst Australia has had an advertising campaign here in the UK asking for labour workers, they have been at the same time holding people imprisoned in vast camps in the desert for attempting to illegally cross the borders - those people tend to be from vietnam and other SE Asian countries. I'm sure they're perfectly willing and able to do farming and other labour jobs but ... somehow.... they get imprisoned in the desert and the Oz government would prefer us white brits over there instead. Funny that. I wonder if they want black / asian Britains or just the white ones?

As for their attitude to sexuality quite frankly the mind can only boggle if that's the attitude to the indigenous peoples they have destroyed the country of.

[crystal_meth]

Originally Posted by rick182

Oz consits of more Greek and Itlian, Also Asien, them Afro Carribiens

Yes, they like WHITE immigrants. Immigrants of colour, BAD. Indegenous aborigines very very very BAD (except for trading art for profit).

[BumbleSquat]

Originally Posted by evamoo

i think h&a and neighbours are early timeslot shows, and being gay doesnt fit into their ideal.

Maybe someone should tell them that gay people exist at all times of the day then!

[Cal2008]

Prisoner had gay storylines so have they gone back in time.

[rick182]

Prisoner wasnt aimed for family viewing was it?

[lobeydosser]

Why should they? I f people want to watch certain storylines they can tune in elsewhere. Not everyone wants 'serious' subjects raised at tea-time!

I don't think the Aussies are as obsessed with 'diversity' as we seem to be - but it's govt policy here and the way it's been implemented has indirectly led to BNP triumphs in elections so the situation could get quite dangerous.

I am NOT anti-anyone but I really don't see why Aussie soaps should change their format which obviously works with their home audience. They're only soaps for heaven's sake - part of Neighbours' charm is that you can't take it too seriously.

I sometimes think UK soaps could take a leaf out of their book.

[ppaupy]

Originally Posted by lobeydosser

Why should they? I f people want to watch certain storylines they can tune in elsewhere. Not everyone wants 'serious' subjects raised at tea-time!

I don't think the Aussies are as obsessed with 'diversity' as we seem to be - but it's govt policy here and the way it's been implemented has indirectly led to BNP triumphs in elections so the situation could get quite dangerous.

I am NOT anti-anyone but I really don't see why Aussie soaps should change their format which obviously works with their home audience. They're only soaps for heaven's sake - part of Neighbours' charm is that you can't take it too seriously.

I sometimes think UK soaps could take a leaf out of their book.

Until being gay/lesbian or a person of colour is seen as nothing out of the ordinary in soapland and indeed real life then of course they have to be seen in soaps..as sadly many people see soaps as a real reflection of lives...and all need to be seen.

we all pay the same licence fee and same household bills as straight people so have the same rights to have a voice in every area of tv.

[twistedmorals]

Originally Posted by rick182

Prisoner wasnt aimed for family viewing was it?

Plus it's the male fantasy lipstick lesbian argument. Women can be exploited for tv but show a genuine honest relationship involving people of the same sex and the storyline will soon get crushed.

But then it's the same here. It neer is a genuine couple who gt together and have a relationship. There is always some reason why they have to keep it secret as if reminding the viewing public it's dirty and wrong or summat. But no

We are not that foolish. relationships are relationships.

Think about it Della and Binnie in EE. Della had to be seen having a relationship with Steve.

Colin and Barry, Colin had to get ill and all thought he was HIV+

Zoe and Sarah in Hollyoaks. Zoe was living with Sarah's dad.

Craig and JP in HO Craig was with Sarah at the Time.


Todd and Kris in Corrie. Todd was with Sarah at the time.

Sean and Marcus. Sean's jealousy made him make a pass at someone else.


It's sickening really
Look at Colin and Justin 25 odd years together. Shock Two people genuinely in a relationship no drama wow!!!


The soap world still needs a reality check.

[RenoXOX]

Originally Posted by BumbleSquat

Maybe someone should tell them that gay people exist at all times of the day then!

I'm shocked! Shocked and stunned

[stud u like]

There aren't really any city based soaps in Australia. They are either small coastal towns or a suburb. Neither of these would be particularly attractive to young gay people. I should know I live in a small coastal town that has absolutely nothing for me. No gay clubs or pubs, no saunas, no cinemas and the local library has a crappy gay book section.

As for black people they hardly have any indiginous australians on the show. At least Prisoner often had them. One in a high social position and one as a prisoner where "bloody wog" and other negative terminology was thrown at the poor wild aborigine.

[Keeki]

Originally Posted by crystal_meth

No, all the hundreds of thousands of aborigines and maoris were unfortunately subjugated by the invaders of their territory - poisoned, shot, murdered, dispossessed, 'the stolen generation', etc. The many still that remain, mixed race, and full generations of families are shunted into the 'outback' or 'northern territories' which are pretty much uninhabitable except by their skillful knowledge of the ways of the land. However, they are considered by most to be wasters, alcoholic ingrates who commit crimes, refuse to work, and burn down the shanty towns that the government occasionally donates to them in some kind of goodwill gesture. Fortunately, human rights activists have worked hard to get these horrifically abused indigenous people land rights and compensations.

However, the average Oz / Kiwi in my vast experience of travelling to those countries is racist as heck, anyone of colour is commonly called a 'wog' and there is little / no integration.

Whilst Australia has had an advertising campaign here in the UK asking for labour workers, they have been at the same time holding people imprisoned in vast camps in the desert for attempting to illegally cross the borders - those people tend to be from vietnam and other SE Asian countries. I'm sure they're perfectly willing and able to do farming and other labour jobs but ... somehow.... they get imprisoned in the desert and the Oz government would prefer us white brits over there instead. Funny that. I wonder if they want black / asian Britains or just the white ones?

As for their attitude to sexuality quite frankly the mind can only boggle if that's the attitude to the indigenous peoples they have destroyed the country of.

Them's fightin' words. I am an Australian and for you to virtually accuse us of being a nation of racists and homophobes is grossly unfair and is itself actually a form of racism.

What happened to the Australian aboriginies is horrific.
I started school in the mid 1980s and was taught from primary school about the evils that were perpetrated against them. However, today's Australians are not responsible for the crimes of their ancestors and modern day Australians do not run about shooting, murdering and poisoning Aborigines. Which country came into Australia and claimed it as its own? Why I believe it was Britain so many of those perpetrating the atrocities were British. We also do not 'shunt' Aborigines and biracial Aborigines off to the outback. That is ridiculous. You seem to be under the impression that the Aborigines are one big tribe. They are not. They are separated by different languages and customs. The tribes that live in the outback do so because they have an ancestral and spiritual connection to the land that their ancestors once inhabited. However there are a lot of Aborigines living in cities and regional towns. My next door neighbour of ten years is Aboriginal and his daughters are biracial. If Australians were really how you seem to perceive us wouldn't me and the rest of the villagers have hounded them into the outback with burning torches by now? By the way, what happened to the Maoris in New Zealand has nothing to do with Australia. We are two separate nations. Check your atlas. I am not denying that Aboriginal communities have many social issues to contend with. Alcoholism, welfare dependence and chroming are a major problem affecting Aborigines in my local area. These problems stem from the cultural displacement and fracturing of families and community that occured in Australia's history which has a had a tragic ripple effect through generations of Aboriginal families. There are There are government agencies in my local area that assist Aborigines wth education, health care and social problems like alcoholism so our government does more than just token 'goodwill' gestures.

As for the term wog I have not heard anyone under the age of 60 use it and that was in the 1980s. Most Australian recognise it for the old fashioned racist terminology that it is. As for a lack of integration, that is not true. Australia ia country that prides itself on multiculturalism. It is not uncommon for children (especially in the capital cities where most immigrants settle) to have friends of many different cultural backgrounds. I am sure you have encountered racists in Australia but is wrong to label it as some sort of Australian trait. Racism and rednecks can be found in practically every country in the world. My former neighbour was English and he was a non stop whiner and was always phoning the council on his neighbours and the past couple of English tourists I've come across have done nothing but complain. Am I to deduce that all English are a moan-a-minute? Of course not. A few irritating people are not representative of the whole of a nation.

Since when have we been advertising for British immigrants? I think that went out in the sixties. Also we should not accept everyone who wants to sneak into Australia. We have checks for a reason. People who try to sneak in could have a contagious disease or be murderers, rapists or terrorists. Conditions in detention centres should definitely be better but you can't expect us to accept everyone no questions asked. Does England?

Now about sexuality. When I was growing up one of my father's best friends was a woman named Leigh. She was a lesbian. No one had a problem with it. A good friend of mine happens to be a lesbian. One of my mother's best friends is a gay man. My sister's best friend is a teenage boy who is gay. Not one of these people have been bashed or chased by villagers with burning torches and pitchforks. I don't follow Aussie soaps but there was a recent winner of an Australian reality show who was gay and no one had a problem with it. How can this be considering you believe us to be a nation of homophobes? You say you have vast experience travelling in Australia? That implies several visits. Why do keep coming if you hold us in such contempt? I love my country and I'm proud to be Australian. How dare you post such horrible things us.

[stud u like]

Originally Posted by Keeki

Them's fightin' words. I am an Australian and for you to virtually accuse us of being a nation of racists and homophobes is grossly unfair and is itself actually a form of racism.

What happened to the Australian aboriginies is horrific.
I started school in the mid 1980s and was taught from primary school about the evils that were perpetrated against them. However, today's Australians are not responsible for the crimes of their ancestors and modern day Australians do not run about shooting, murdering and poisoning Aborigines. Which country came into Australia and claimed it as its own? Why I believe it was Britain so many of those perpetrating the atrocities were British. We also do not 'shunt' Aborigines and biracial Aborigines off to the outback. That is ridiculous. You seem to be under the impression that the Aborigines are one big tribe. They are not. They are separated by different languages and customs. The tribes that live in the outback do so because they have an ancestral and spiritual connection to the land that their ancestors once inhabited. However there are a lot of Aborigines living in cities and regional towns. My next door neighbour of ten years is Aboriginal and his daughters are biracial. If Australians were really how you seem to perceive us wouldn't me and the rest of the villagers have hounded them into the outback with burning torches by now? By the way, what happened to the Maoris in New Zealand has nothing to do with Australia. We are two separate nations. Check your atlas. I am not denying that Aboriginal communities have many social issues to contend with. Alcoholism, welfare dependence and chroming are a major problem affecting Aborigines in my local area. These problems stem from the cultural displacement and fracturing of families and community that occured in Australia's history which has a had a tragic ripple effect through generations of Aboriginal families. There are There are government agencies in my local area that assist Aborigines wth education, health care and social problems like alcoholism so our government does more than just token 'goodwill' gestures.

As for the term wog I have not heard anyone under the age of 60 use it and that was in the 1980s. Most Australian recognise it for the old fashioned racist terminology that it is. As for a lack of integration, that is not true. Australia ia country that prides itself on multiculturalism. It is not uncommon for children (especially in the capital cities where most immigrants settle) to have friends of many different cultural backgrounds. I am sure you have encountered racists in Australia but is wrong to label it as some sort of Australian trait. Racism and rednecks can be found in practically every country in the world. My former neighbour was English and he was a non stop whiner and was always phoning the council on his neighbours and the past couple of English tourists I've come across have done nothing but complain. Am I to deduce that all English are a moan-a-minute? Of course not. A few irritating people are not representative of the whole of a nation.

Since when have we been advertising for British immigrants? I think that went out in the sixties. Also we should not accept everyone who wants to sneak into Australia. We have checks for a reason. People who try to sneak in could have a contagious disease or be murderers, rapists or terrorists. Conditions in detention centres should definitely be better but you can't expect us to accept everyone no questions asked. Does England?

Now about sexuality. When I was growing up one of my father's best friends was a woman named Leigh. She was a lesbian. No one had a problem with it. A good friend of mine happens to be a lesbian. One of my mother's best friends is a gay man. My sister's best friend is a teenage boy who is gay. Not one of these people have been bashed or chased by villagers with burning torches and pitchforks. I don't follow Aussie soaps but there was a recent winner of an Australian reality show who was gay and no one had a problem with it. How can this be considering you believe us to be a nation of homophobes? You say you have vast experience travelling in Australia? That implies several visits. Why do keep coming if you hold us in such contempt? I love my country and I'm proud to be Australian. How dare you post such horrible things us.

I love Australia and have done for years. I have spent a month in Sydney and not been called a "whinging pom" however my friend had only spent a day on aussie soil and got called one.

I know Australia is very open to homosexuality. My same friend was staying somewhere in the bush and the woman there was very excited that my friend and his boyfriend where "knocking knees" in her hotel.

A whole family came from Dubbo to see the Mardi Gras in Sydney. I thought that was really cool to travel quite a distance 258 miles.

We saw a lot of aborigines. It was all very exciting. We saw a lot of Indians too but not very many afro/carribean people. Hardly any.

I loved talking to the tarts on the cross. I loved the cross. Staying there was fun. There was a good sense of community. One woman had a King Parrot and would use the railway station with him on her shoulder. It was magical as you don't see anything like that here.

Thus Australia I feel is fantastic and if I could afford it, I would live there.

[Jaymitch1]

Originally Posted by Keeki

Now about sexuality. When I was growing up one of my father's best friends was a woman named Leigh. She was a lesbian. No one had a problem with it. A good friend of mine happens to be a lesbian. One of my mother's best friends is a gay man. My sister's best friend is a teenage boy who is gay. Not one of these people have been bashed or chased by villagers with burning torches and pitchforks. I don't follow Aussie soaps but there was a recent winner of an Australian reality show who was gay and no one had a problem with it. How can this be considering you believe us to be a nation of homophobes? You say you have vast experience travelling in Australia? That implies several visits. Why do keep coming if you hold us in such contempt? I love my country and I'm proud to be Australian. How dare you post such horrible things us.

i personally think Australia is the same as england in there views. BUT you can sort of understand why people may wonder if australia has minority issues, when there soaps dont include any minorities, where as british soaps do. there must be reasons behind this. and i am certainly not the only person to pick up on this fact. as alot of people see soaps as what should be a reflection of real life

[lobeydosser]

Originally Posted by Keeki

Them's fightin' words. I am an Australian and for you to virtually accuse us of being a nation of racists and homophobes is grossly unfair and is itself actually a form of racism.

What happened to the Australian aboriginies is horrific.
I started school in the mid 1980s and was taught from primary school about the evils that were perpetrated against them. However, today's Australians are not responsible for the crimes of their ancestors and modern day Australians do not run about shooting, murdering and poisoning Aborigines. Which country came into Australia and claimed it as its own? Why I believe it was Britain so many of those perpetrating the atrocities were British. We also do not 'shunt' Aborigines and biracial Aborigines off to the outback. That is ridiculous. You seem to be under the impression that the Aborigines are one big tribe. They are not. They are separated by different languages and customs. The tribes that live in the outback do so because they have an ancestral and spiritual connection to the land that their ancestors once inhabited. However there are a lot of Aborigines living in cities and regional towns. My next door neighbour of ten years is Aboriginal and his daughters are biracial. If Australians were really how you seem to perceive us wouldn't me and the rest of the villagers have hounded them into the outback with burning torches by now? By the way, what happened to the Maoris in New Zealand has nothing to do with Australia. We are two separate nations. Check your atlas. I am not denying that Aboriginal communities have many social issues to contend with. Alcoholism, welfare dependence and chroming are a major problem affecting Aborigines in my local area. These problems stem from the cultural displacement and fracturing of families and community that occured in Australia's history which has a had a tragic ripple effect through generations of Aboriginal families. There are There are government agencies in my local area that assist Aborigines wth education, health care and social problems like alcoholism so our government does more than just token 'goodwill' gestures.

As for the term wog I have not heard anyone under the age of 60 use it and that was in the 1980s. Most Australian recognise it for the old fashioned racist terminology that it is. As for a lack of integration, that is not true. Australia ia country that prides itself on multiculturalism. It is not uncommon for children (especially in the capital cities where most immigrants settle) to have friends of many different cultural backgrounds. I am sure you have encountered racists in Australia but is wrong to label it as some sort of Australian trait. Racism and rednecks can be found in practically every country in the world. My former neighbour was English and he was a non stop whiner and was always phoning the council on his neighbours and the past couple of English tourists I've come across have done nothing but complain. Am I to deduce that all English are a moan-a-minute? Of course not. A few irritating people are not representative of the whole of a nation.

Since when have we been advertising for British immigrants? I think that went out in the sixties. Also we should not accept everyone who wants to sneak into Australia. We have checks for a reason. People who try to sneak in could have a contagious disease or be murderers, rapists or terrorists. Conditions in detention centres should definitely be better but you can't expect us to accept everyone no questions asked. Does England?

Now about sexuality. When I was growing up one of my father's best friends was a woman named Leigh. She was a lesbian. No one had a problem with it. A good friend of mine happens to be a lesbian. One of my mother's best friends is a gay man. My sister's best friend is a teenage boy who is gay. Not one of these people have been bashed or chased by villagers with burning torches and pitchforks. I don't follow Aussie soaps but there was a recent winner of an Australian reality show who was gay and no one had a problem with it. How can this be considering you believe us to be a nation of homophobes? You say you have vast experience travelling in Australia? That implies several visits. Why do keep coming if you hold us in such contempt? I love my country and I'm proud to be Australian. How dare you post such horrible things us.

Well Said!

[lobeydosser]

Originally Posted by Jaymitch1

i personally think Australia is the same as england in there views. BUT you can sort of understand why people may wonder if australia has minority issues, when there soaps dont include any minorities, where as british soaps do. there must be reasons behind this. and i am certainly not the only person to pick up on this fact. as alot of people see soaps as what should be a reflection of real life

If soaps are a reflection of real life, god help us! There have been so many serial killers, deaths by un-natural causes etc over recent years as they vie with each other for 'realism' that it's quite a relief to watch something like Neighbours which is a tea-time show. I know t hey do have kidnappings etc but they're all over in no time.

Soaps are for entertainment - if people take them too seriously that's their problem. If I wanted to be confronted with 'issues' I would watch a good documentary rather than a soap.

[Cent]

Australia is not racist or homophobic - no more than America or the UK is really.

It has a certain lack of diversity, when compared to some other Western nations and very conservative television regulations, but that's all.

Australia is a very welcoming and fun country.

[Vodka_Drinka]

I used to talk to an Australian girl online who told me that it was absurd that Neighbours didnt have any Greek characters, as Melbourne has a massive Greek community. One of the biggest in world.

[dd68]

Originally Posted by rick182

Oz consits of more Greek and Itlian, Also Asien, them Afro Carribiens

I've only heard of the greeks from that lot