Despite being gay, Jodie fathered a child through a one-night stand, and many of his storylines throughout the series centered on his involvement with women.

Religious organizations disapproved of his sexual orientation, while gay rights groups worried that his portrayal would be stereotypical.

He meets Carol David (Rebecca Balding), the assistant to the lawyer defending his Aunt Jessica on murder charges.

She kidnaps Wendy and Jodie hires private investigator Maggie Chandler (Barbara Rhoades) to find them.

[1] Religious organizations were appalled by Soap before it aired based on reports of its contents, including its gay character and also its treatment of such subjects as adultery and impotence.

Newton Dieter of the Gay Media Task Force (GMTF), who had been consulting with the networks on LGBT characterizations for several years, reviewed the scripts for the first two episodes.

He wrote to Tom Kersey, the head of ABC's Los Angeles Standards and Practices office, suggesting that the sex-change aspect of the character be dropped in favor of making Jodie a committed gay liberationist.

Although not directly threatening action, Dieter advised Kersey that Welby/Police Woman-style demonstrations were possible should the character remain as portrayed in the first two episodes.

[8] In July 1977, representatives of GMTF, the National Gay Task Force and a hitherto unknown organization called the International Union of Gay Athletes[9][note 1] met with the network and came away reassured that the character would develop beyond stereotypes, that his brother Danny would become more understanding of Jodie's sexuality and that the sex change storyline would be dropped.

Although after his breakup with Dennis, Jodie became involved romantically with several women and his same-sex relationship activity was limited to a single date in one episode, the character maintained that he was gay throughout the complete run of the series.