On Sesame Street and Gay Marriage
My take, contra Julian Sanchez, is that Bert and Ernie should not get married A) because the show’s creators say they’re not gay, and B) because Sesame Street doesn’t really deal with sexuality because its intended audience is three year olds. Yes, the Count does have some flings with random muppets in which he inevitably obsesses over numbers and ignores his date, but for the most part, the muppets themselves are basically nonsexual beings. Apparently Oscar the Grouch has a girlfriend, but she must be a minor enough character that most people don’t know about her. Making two of the most prominent, well-known muppets a married gay couple would be a huge transformation of the show.
I’m fine with keeping it basically a non-sexual show given the demographic. So aside from the creative intent of the show’s creators, I just don’t see the point of throwing in marriage and sexuality into the show in such a significant way. Julian argues that because there are heterosexual relationships in Sesame Street it’s somehow de facto teaching kids about sexuality. Well yeah, the people in the show definitely have relationships.
So I’d say the safest bet, if Sesame Street decides to add gay characters to the show, would be to add a new gay couple to the cast of real people (not muppets) as Alyssa Rosenberg suggests. That would be a much less controversial, less confusing-to-toddlers, and perfectly fine way to introduce gay rights to Sesame Street.
I suppose I’d disagree with having Bert and Ernie get married too for a different reason: there really aren’t enough depictions of the sort of long-term, intensely devoted platonic friendships they seem to have. Children should know that there’s nothing wrong with having a best friend that one values above all others throughout their lives. Some of them will probably even have one. Of course, some of them will have such a friend that they marry, but that’s well covered territory in dramas.
As for their relationship, I do want to point out the interesting idea that heterosexual couples can be depicted for children as being family members or Moms and Dads without sex being introduced to the storyline, but a homosexual couple introduces sexuality.Report
Why would a same-sex couple with kids necessarily introduce sexuality?Report
By that token, why aren’t Bert and Ernie considered a same-sex couple now?Report
Jay, that is an interesting point. Maybe they are a same sex couple. Conversely, would it be possible on a regular dramatic program to feature two characters of the same sex living together in a platonic friendship?Report
The Golden Girls?Report
Two and a half men?Report
Oooh! The Odd Couple!Report
They’re all comedies. And isn’t part of the joke on all of them that straights get stuck living together? To be fair, I haven’t watched two and a half men.Report
Mike, that was my question. I’ve taken a number of people to be saying that you can’t introduce a gay couple to a children’s show because that introduces sexuality to a children’s program, but I’m not sure why that doesn’t apply to any number of hetero couples on children’s shows.Report
Yes, on re-reading it’s quite clear what you mean. And I agree (or have the same question, at least.)Report
I agree. This is a good point.Report
Good point.Report
I agree with both you and Rufus, E.D. Bert and Ernie are fine as is. I don’t see any huge urgency to introduce a gay couple into Sesame Street but if they do choose to do so it surely should be a human couple; not a pair of muppets.Report
What does Evil Jaybird think?
The first thing that I would do in my campaign to end funding for Public Television would be to start agitating for Bert/Ernie to get married (or just come out).
Whenever people say “we need to stop funding NPR and Public Television”, the response is usually of the form “THEY WANT TO KILL SESAME STREET!!!”
By having Bert and Ernie’s marriage on the table, it *MIGHT* create a tipping point where I could get much of the country to shrug at the thought of Sesame Street getting its funding pulled rather than starting a discussion about The Children.
By getting a huge chunk of the people most inclined to watch Sesame Street with their offspring to see the show as something that no longer shows “The Values” that they want their own The Children to learn at age whatever it is and then to turn the channel, the biggest argument against NPR and Public Television disintigrates… and we could finally take that off of the table.
That’s what Evil Jaybird would do, anyway.Report
Does Evil Jaybird have a goatee?Report
Clean shaven.Report
As a regular watcher of the show, I must point out that Nathan Lane makes regular appearances. And I think Ernie is like supposed to be five-years old or something. This debate seems silly to me. As to anything serious I might have to say on the topic, see Rufus above.Report
E.D.:
Come on now, don’t you want to strike a blow against the heteronormative culture by turning B&E into a gay couple? This seems to be the fad of the day turning longstanding character in comics and popular culture into minorities or gay characters.Report
Since when did E.D., politicians or anyone in the gay rights movement start listening to the imbecilic bored university professors who are the only people on the planet who actually use the term heteronormative seriously?Report
North:
E.D. had a thread about normalizing the wealthy in TV and film so I figured he was into such academic babel.Report
‘Normalizing’ isn’t exactly psycho babble.Report
I don’t think it was a babble issue. I think it was talking about:
Erik writes about class = socialist
Nutty university professors = socialist
Therefore:
Erik writes what nutty university professors write.
At least that’s how I read it.Report
I’m not sure you understood the point of the post you linked to, Mr. Kain. The point is that there’s an unfair double standard for homosexual couples- simply portraying them in a romantic or social context is considered dirty, inherently sexual, and unfit for the delicate eyes of children. Meanwhile, heterosexual relationships can be portrayed without insinuating sexuality. I don’t think this is a double standard that can stand up to rail al scrutiny, but it’s one you fall prey to when claiming that making Bert and Ernie gay would introduce sexual themes to the show.
I’m not really in favor of making Bert and Ernie get married- they already have a depicted relationship, and it’s not particularly romantic- but that doesn’t change the problematic nature of many responses to the idea, yours included.Report
That would be a much less controversial, less confusing-to-toddlers, and perfectly fine way to introduce gay rights to Sesame Street.
If such were to happen, I’m sure social conservatives would make it into a big controversy. If it were to happen in the very near future, it would probably become a social/political talking point for the aspiring presidential candidates.Report
I’m baffled by the number of people who read that post as arguing that Bert & Ernie should get married despite my explicitly saying the opposite.Report
My apologies if I misread you.Report
No worries. But as far as I can tell, we have the same position: It would be confusing and silly to have to make a big thing of retconning two major characters as gay, but it would be good to have a more inclusive array of different types of families represented.Report
“it would be good to have a more inclusive array of different types of families represented.”
Why? What other cultural elements should they take it upon themselves to include?
I come from a place where most families own guns. I have a few myself. I am even kind of political about it. But if someone were to say, “Bert and Ernie ought to have a gun cabinet, just so kids can see how to handle them safely and give people a sense that owning guns is normal…”
That would strike me as absurd. The show is not about “normalizing” one thing or the other. I suppose a devoted NRA guy could argue that the LACK of any gun cabinets is “pacifo-normative” and demand equal treatment. But come on.Report
I may be wrong, and either Erik or Julian can correct me if I am, but I think there is a distinction to be made between “I think it would be nice” and “they should have to.” I didn’t see either demand a gay couple, I saw both saying having different kinds of families would be ok.Report
Erm, the idea of teaching gun safety to kids is not insane, and has probably already been done at some point on Sesame Street. Although at that age gun safety is ‘Don’t touch guns’. (Sometimes, I think a lot of people talking about Sesame Street don’t actually remember it.)Report
I agree with you in spirit, but I’m not sure the cast of Sesame Street could get any more diverse. The show just manages to exude diversity without feeling like it’s got quotas.Report
Julian,
I’m just fascinated by how you know so much about Sesame Street.Report
My cousin’s son commented on how none of the characters really represent Uncle Falon who was a cross-dressing serial killer with a lisp.Report
He needs to watch more regularly. The whole story arc where Guy Smiley started to go by Gal Smiley and talk to Gordon about the Bad Voices in his head totally dealt with this.Report
My cousin’s son stands corrected. I’m impressed. Have they covered the families who live in trailers and between all of them don’t have a full set of teeth?Report
You think they should continue to live together in sin?Report
It ain’t Bert and Ernie the authorities need to monitor, it’s the bird. Please note, it is incredibly difficult for sock puppets to do the nasty.Report
This may be my favorite comment by you ever, Bob. I’m still giggling.Report
I think we have a thread winner.Report
Here here! The only vehicle Big Bird could fit into is a full sized van, probably rickety, rusty, and old. He’s definitely a sexual predator.Report
Isn’t the real question behind this debate how gay marriage and homosexual couples (particularly parents) be introduced in a proper way to Sesame Street? It just seems to me that the focus shouldn’t be on whether Bert and Ernie are gay but how best to show that two parents can both have the same gender while also avoiding sexuality that would conflict with the general pattern of the show.Report
This. Bert and Ernie shouldn’t be outed as gay because their sexuality is just irrelevant – and should be irrelevant – to a child who likes those characters. These are characters to whom very young children are supposed to directly relate. To my knowledge, no Sesame Street muppet who fits that bill has ever been involved in a romantic relationship of any sort (though I will happily be corrected if I’m wrong). Parents – both muppets and humans – in the show obviously have, and appropriately so. I would think that they would also represent the appropriate vehicle for introducing gay marriage to the show.Report
Exactly.Report
Right. The show tends to use adults when talking about serious topics, or at least have them the subject of the topic.
Muppets are a stand in for children, yes, even the ‘adult’ muppets like Bert and Ernie. (People forget, they live alone with no authority figures, they are ‘adults’. They’re not a ‘couple’, but they are adult roommates. And it’s to show how children should act when living with roommates.)
But ‘adult’ muppets are the equivalent of ‘playing house’. It’s a ‘Here is what you can be when you grow up’ fantasy, as opposed to ‘Here are some adultish issues’, which tend to be shown by having real humans.
Well, unless it’s the kids themselves who have the issues, at which point they get muppets. The HIV-positive muppet, Tami, over in Africa, was not to teach children about ‘people who have HIV’, it’s because of the sad fact is that all too many of Sesame Street’s viewers _themselves_ have HIV, so those kids got a standin.
However, Sesame Street’s viewers are not gay. Well, not yet…and there’s plenty of talk about people who are ‘different’ that applies to gay (or pre-gay, or whatever you want to call it) children equally well.
However, they do know gay adults and teenagers. And thus there should be (human) adult gay characters on the show.Report
Let’s face it even back in the day, neither Bert or Ernie would have had much chance of joining the military with that living arrangement.
And, for good or bad society has evolved
so maybe the show does need some changes.
If it’s such a hostile notion that Bert or Ernie, or both might be gay… maybe it’s time for one of them to get their own place or at least move to a two bedroom apartment even in this economy — gotta think about the kids.
Really, we already know what the issues would have been if the same living situation was with a M/F pairing that were only ‘friends’ or friends with benefits (which Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis show us just can’t work even in this age.)
So, really, what would have been the response had they used the argument that if it was a male/female pairing sharing the same room, albeit still different beds (Rob and Laura, Desi and Lucy), but maintaining that they were only friends.
Would they have pulled out the plot from “Three’s Company” or “Bosom Buddies” to work around it?
Would the boy with the magic skin flute play a tune to take them to another land where it was all okay?
Would we discover that Ernestine is the daughter of a Demi Moore like character in “Striptease”, and sure Bert might be a pedophile but it beats being gangraped in juvenile hall facility since orphanages are taboo, adoption is a grab bag of dysfunctional brats (and gets more shit than adopting a pup from the pound) and foster care households change more often than O-G’s trolls change their underwear.
If it’s such a hot issue that they might be gay … shouldn’t there now be people advocating they finally get rooms or even apartments of their own?
Seriously dude, if one your friends maintained that he was totally str8, sharing a room with another dude while not going to school or being a deadbeat slacker gamer and internet porn addict (Shout out to Trekkie Monster!) – which even then (porn addict gamer) he should at least muster up some up some pride to sleep on the couch and occasionally be caught by his roommate doin’ his thang, keep it real, yo…
if he was sharing a one room flat with an older dude, wouldn’t most of you expect at least one of them was pervin’ on the situation – a relationship with a sugar daddy is a beautiful thing especially when he buys you things for all that junk in your trunks or for your manly lady bumps, but seriously dude, no homo just doesn’t work here… for real. yo.
Seriously, Bert, Ernie, Not Gay? Yeah, as straight as Clay Aiken, Ricky Martin and that senator from Indiana.
I can’t recall the last time I’ve gone to a R movie and there wasn’t some knee high sesame street watching brat somewhere in the room.
Sesame Street has addressed some more serious issues, even violence too… such as the events of 9/11.
But whatever, gays are scary. It’s seems they’ve made more of a fuss by outright denying they were gay than simply saying people can read whatever they want into what they are – but they’re just puppets on a kids show.
And frankly, I’m more interested in ‘Bear in The Big Blue House’ showing his leather pride – that show has far more quotes and quips entertaining for the crowd that only see homo relationships as sex.
Kinda creepy that all the parents and protestors of the possibility of bert and ernie having a platonic, albeit homoerotic fling, are only just picturing goatse.Report
Bert and Ernie are basically kids. Which makes your entire attempt at cleverness rather a lot less than clever.Report
Dude, Bert and Ernie have been gay since like 1986. Remember the urban legend about how Ernie was going to die of AIDS, and his last words would be “are there rubber duckies in Heaven?”Report
While there might be a hardcore group of social nazis guarding the nation’s soul from the evils of strange sex, I believe the majority of people on the Right have moved along and whatever these shows do doesn’t really shock or bother them — most people just don’t care about the sex lives of other people. And as for the issue of gay rights, it says more about statism than intolerance that some have to fight for special interest rights when we should have limited government that protects the rights of everyone equally — in other words there should be no special rights for heterosexuals which can’t be enjoyed by homosexuals — the State shouldn’t even be involved in sexual conduct or the act of marriage unless someone is being coerced against their will.Report