Tags: tv characters, sesame street, LGBT, videos, muppets, ernie and bert
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK)
Joanne Ever since the debut of "Sesame Street" in 1969, one mystery has befuddled and bemused TV audiences around the world. (Yes, today's list is brought to you by the letter B.) That question is: If everyone on Sesame Street is so friendly, why won't they let Oscar live with them in one of the apartments instead of outside in a trash can. Oh, and also: Are Bert and Ernie gay? (click "more")
Many have long suspected that these two beloved Sesame Street characters are, in fact, Muppet lovers undercover, and there have been lots of suggestions made about the subject of the years. Urban legend even holds that the characters were initially meant to give children a model for an everyday gay couple. But the Children's Television Workshop refuses to confirm or deny the implication (stating that they are puppets, and thus don't have a sexual orientation), and thus we've all been left to wonder.
Until now. The signs are there, you just have to look closely and really analyze to see them. Behold: 8 definitive reasons why Bert and Ernie are gay.
Others are noticing the signs, and they're taking action: A petition on the website Change.org is asking PBS and the Children's Television Network to get Bert and Ernie out of the closet - and hold a gay wedding for them! (Sesame Street sure looks like it's somewhere in New York, no? So it's all nice and legal.)
Those behind the movement believe that if Bert and Ernie marry, children might learn to be more tolerant and accepting of their gay peers, who in turn will feel better about themselves. What do you think? Is the time for Sesame Street's first gay wedding NEAR... or FAR?
Many have long suspected that these two beloved Sesame Street characters are, in fact, Muppet lovers undercover, and there have been lots of suggestions made about the subject of the years. Urban legend even holds that the characters were initially meant to give children a model for an everyday gay couple. But the Children's Television Workshop refuses to confirm or deny the implication (stating that they are puppets, and thus don't have a sexual orientation), and thus we've all been left to wonder.
Until now. The signs are there, you just have to look closely and really analyze to see them. Behold: 8 definitive reasons why Bert and Ernie are gay.
Others are noticing the signs, and they're taking action: A petition on the website Change.org is asking PBS and the Children's Television Network to get Bert and Ernie out of the closet - and hold a gay wedding for them! (Sesame Street sure looks like it's somewhere in New York, no? So it's all nice and legal.)
Those behind the movement believe that if Bert and Ernie marry, children might learn to be more tolerant and accepting of their gay peers, who in turn will feel better about themselves. What do you think? Is the time for Sesame Street's first gay wedding NEAR... or FAR?
- 1
Bert's Tweet (and Other "Official" Evidence Throughout the Ages)
In June of 2010, Bert took to the 'Sesame Street' Twitter account and sent out a Tweet that got everyone's attention.
What seemed like an unremarkable comment quickly became something much, much more - offering potential proof that Bert, at least, was gay. What did he say?
Casual comment, right? Not for some people, who speculated that the word 'mo' was a slang term for "homosexual." And the timing of the Tweet was also questioned: Some gay bloggers noted that several U.S. cities were hosting Gay Pride celebrations.
Little hints like this have been dropped throughout the characters' lives, and have always been little healthy nudges towards the never-ending rumors about the puppets' sexualities.
I mean, just look at these book covers.Who did they think they were fooling?... 
Sesame Street Magazine cover, October 1977
Fairyland? Really?
Sesame Street Magazine cover, October 1980
Okay, now they're not even trying anymore
"Love" a 1980 Sesame Street album about Love
This was, for a while, not so much a rumor, but something so blatant, that the Christian Right actually went after them.
"Bert and Ernie are two grown men sharing a house and a bedroom. They share clothes, eat and cook together and have blatantly effeminate characteristics. In one show Bert teaches Ernie how to sew. In another they tend plants together. If this isn't meant to represent a homosexual union, I can't imagine what it's supposed to represent." -- Reverend Joseph Chambers, 1994
If you're pissing off the Christian right with your characters, you know they can't be part of a "traditional" lifestyle. And really, there's nothing wrong with that. Why would anyone be against making strides towards making f*ture generations more tolerant? - 2
Their Bathing Habits
While I've never seen Bert and Ernie actually in the bathtub together, I do remember one instance where Ernie played a piano as Bert was in the tub, singing (this was on an old Muppet Sing-Along record).
Ernie obviously has no problem with several people joining him in his "tubby", either.
Also, how many straight American males do you know that would casually bathe with and around their male friends?
Obviously his Rubber Duckie takes priority, but in at least one skit, Ernie's joined in the tub by Oscar the Grouch, The Count and Kermit the Frog, among others. Bert is suspiciously absent until the end of the skit, when he knocks on the door and seems surprised. Wouldn't you? Your roomie (wink wink) has just turned your bathroom into a Muppet bath house! - 3
Their Couple-y Wall Photos
Ernie and Bert were virtually the only Muppets to appear in the Sesame Street pilot episode, which was screen tested to a number of families in July 1969.
According to Sesame Street's official PR, "Bert and Ernie are best friends... they were created to teach preschoolers that people can be friends with those who are very different from themselves".
But isn't that exactly what an out-of-the-closet Bert and Ernie would do?
Also, if these two aren't supposed to be able to have romantic feelings "because they're puppets", then how/why do Kermit/Miss Piggy exist?
They never outright said that they are not gay. And this is for a reason. Their wall photos are another solid example of their possible homosexuality.
Sure, you share an apartment with a same-sex friend - but do you have framed photos of the two of you together adorning the walls? Maybe, if you took like a really cool hiking trip to Colorado or went moose hunting in Canada or whatever. But what about an actual portrait-style photo?
Only couples (and hipsters) do this.
Bert and Ernie have one. In fact, they may have two: In various 'Sesame Street' episodes, a (beautifully and tastefully) framed photo of Bert and Ernie is clearly shown in the living room (over the table lamp) and in the bedroom (remember, the one they share?) over the lamp and nightstand. So they can be the last thing they see when they go to bed. - 4
All That Singing
Bert and Ernie sing together. A lot. Not like air guitar, karaoke, American-Idol-reject kind of singing, either.
No, their songs are full-out productions - dare I say...show tunes? These two could easily cross over to 'Glee' and join the Warblers (you listening, Ryan Murphy?). While this isn't a lock, it certainly suggests that this pair might (again, might, stop over-thinking this) be a gay couple.
"La, La, La. La. LOVE!" - 5
Their Perfect Housekeeping Habits
Anyone want to argue that Bert and Ernie aren't excellent housekeepers? Didn't think so.
Their basement apartment is always impeccable and, to be honest, very tastefully decorated (though we'd totally replace that woefully outdated wallpaper in the kitchen).
No video games lying around, no pizza boxes strewn haphazardly on the table or floor. No pet hair, despite multiple visits from really hairy Muppets (we're talking to you, Cookie Monster). Maybe they have a housekeeper, maybe they don't.
Maybe they're just neat freaks or maybe, as award winning novelist Kurt Andersen has said:
"Bert and Ernie conduct themselves in the same loving, discreet way that millions of gay men, women and hand puppets do. They do their jobs well and live a splendidly settled life together in an impeccably decorated cabinet."
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8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 1/18/2012 6:48 AM
You could call
Laverne & Shirley ,lesbians
Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble,Queers
the list goes on ,,,,you can read anything into everything.
In the end though Right Wing Church Groups and certain Gay Groups should get there Minds out of the Gutter...
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 11/29/2011 3:09 AM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/17/2011 9:30 PM
If you want a muppet show with a guy couple the make your own. Write a script, make the puppets, and backgrounds get some good cameras, and go for it, but don't try to change someone else's work.
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/16/2011 12:05 PM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/15/2011 9:24 AM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/14/2011 7:33 PM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/14/2011 11:54 AM
The quote from Bert says "Only mine is a little more "mo" and a little less "hawk"." In reference to his hair, if you're saying that mo is a reference to homosexual, you're saying that he's saying his hair is homosexual.
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/14/2011 1:32 AM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 10:27 PM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 10:00 PM
That has to be the poorest argument that I have heard in a long time.
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 9:58 PM
Everyone has their own opinion of how children should be raised, but why push it onto something that may or may not be true of characters? I'm not against teaching children that same-sex or different-sex relationships are equal, but I am against the LGBT agenda.
Also, Kermit and Ms. Piggy is an awful example, which makes me think that the author knows nothing of Jim Henson. He made the Muppets and everything relating to the Muppets, but, now here's the important part; Sesame Street was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett not Henson, he just made the puppets for them. Sesame Street does not fall under the same rules as the Jim Henson universe just because he made their puppets, none of the puppets in the Sesame Street universe have sexuality, why should Bert and Ernie?
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 1/18/2012 6:51 AM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 9:38 PM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/14/2011 5:30 AM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 9:15 PM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 9:02 PM
8 Reasons Why Bert & Ernie Are Gay (and Why That's OK) at 8/13/2011 8:37 PM