Petition Urges Marriage for Sesame Street's Ernie and Bert
A petition urging the creators of Sesame Street to marry Ernie and Bert is receiving quite a bit of attention.
The Washington Post reports:
For years, viewers have speculated that Bert and Ernie, the lovable Sesame Street pair who share a bedroom, are gay. The show’s creators have failed to indulge those speculations, even after some said Bert came out on the show’s Twitter page, a video circulated that was said to prove their homosexuality, and parody articles were written about the duo quietly coming out in favor of same-sex marriage.
Jonathan Capehart adds: "Children look for reflections of themselves in the world around them. If a gay kid takes a gander at Bert and Ernie and feels a pang of familiarity, that’s great. Whether the fuzzy fellas get married or not, at least that gay kid will be seeing a positive image that will bolster his budding self-image. And there’s no harm in that."
The campaign, of course, also has the attention of NOM, which asks (without using the right-wing term lifestyle), "Do Muppets have an orientation?" Will NOM try to "protect" marriage from Muppets?
Check out the subtext-laden video referred to above, as well as the famous 'cookies in bed' segment, AFTER THE JUMP...
As a child who was pre-school age during the late 80s; I ALWAYS thought of Bert and Ernie as 2 ADULT men sharing a place together on Sesame Street in NY. It just taught me that there was nothing odd about two grown men sharing a place together who obviously had affection for one another. This was before I knew anything about gay or str8. They also had adult human characters who were married on the show.
I think the whole petition thing is silly, but also somewhat "cute" in away. Bert and Ernie have my blessing if they choose to get married.
So whether Bert and Ernie are gay or straight, or whether they get married or not it sends a great message to kids about diversity in living arrangements and relationships even before the kid knows what gay or str8 is.
Posted by: Brian in Texas | Aug 10, 2011 5:01:30 PM
Ernie is mine. Hands off, Bert!
Posted by: KevinVT | Aug 10, 2011 5:04:17 PM
They've been together too long to be gay.
Posted by: anon | Aug 10, 2011 5:22:09 PM
It would be a lot more constructive for kids to see either an adult gay person on the show or better yet a gay or lesbian family with children on Sesame Street.
Posted by: jaragon | Aug 10, 2011 5:44:29 PM
This just adds fuel to the fire of homophobic paranoids. There are more important issues than trying to announce Bert and Ernie as a married gay couple. What's next? Tinkerbell is a lipstick lesbian?
Subtext is far more interesting and this kind of thing only makes the gay community, which I happen to be a part of, bad.
Posted by: Sarina | Aug 10, 2011 6:24:23 PM
At first I thought Muppets had no romantic preference, then Kermit and Ms. Piggy came to mind...so based on if heterosexuality is represented in the Muppet world, why not homosexuality? Genitals don't always have to plays a part to express affection, particularly on a children's show.
Posted by: PilateError | Aug 10, 2011 6:46:04 PM
Talk to the hand!
Posted by: Cybearsage | Aug 10, 2011 7:15:17 PM
This might sound like cute harmless fun but you know the religious right will say it's another example of the gay agenda to corrupt the morals of innocent children.
Posted by: jaragon | Aug 10, 2011 9:18:04 PM
@ Gregorie Never question an opportunity to teach, just teach! Thanks for speaking up.
Posted by: RWC | Aug 10, 2011 9:34:01 PM
"I think the whole petition thing is silly, but also somewhat "cute" in away. Bert and Ernie have my blessing if they choose to get married.
So whether Bert and Ernie are gay or straight, or whether they get married or not it sends a great message to kids about diversity in living arrangements and relationships even before the kid knows what gay or str8 is."
And, having been born in 1960, I'm more than old enough to be your father. Regardless, I completely agree with you!
I was 10, 11, or 12 the first time I saw Sesame Street (Bert & Ernie included), and in retrospect I completely agree with your analysis.
:)
Posted by: RedCedar | Aug 10, 2011 11:21:47 PM
I always thought Bert and Ernie were brothers.
Posted by: Garst | Aug 11, 2011 1:36:21 AM
Sesame Street's target audience is 3 and 4 year olds. Who signed this petition?
Posted by: halligator | Aug 11, 2011 11:35:52 AM
THEY ARE P.U.P.P.E.T.S. Get a life people!
Posted by: Somerandomguy | Sep 30, 2012 11:39:45 PM