We have a new controversy separating the country. No, it’s not repressed memory accusations against a Supreme Court nominee or what show should have won an Emmy for best comedy. The nation is now engrossed in an argument over whether Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie are gay.
The firestorm was lit by former Sesame Street writer Marc Saltzman who told a gay-readership magazine that the two Muppets were in a same-sex relationship–based on his own relationship with his long-time partner. Saltzman was immediately hailed as a “hero” for placing gay characters in a show targeted at children ages 2 to 5.
The flames of controversy were later fanned when famed puppeteer Frank Oz–who created Bert with Jim Henson’s Ernie–took to Twitter to unequivocally deny that the characters were gay. Oz didn’t say that the two Muppets were straight either. But for the next several hours he was forced to try and defend his statement from hundreds of attacks calling him a “bigot” and a “hater” for not assigning sexuality to pieces of cloth.
Things were so out of hand yesterday that the Sesame Workshop–the current holders of the rights to the show’s characters and production–had to issue a statement on Twitter that Bert and Ernie are not gay, but rather teach that you can be friends with or love anyone. That too was followed by scathing attacks demanding that gay puppets be introduced to the show in the name of “inclusion and fairness”.
Of course, the real question here is not if two puppets that are portrayed as living together are homosexuals. The real question is why a show geared toward pre-schoolers has to include any content about sexuality at all? Here is what Bert and Ernie are designed to teach kids: that sharing is important, that you can be friends with someone who is completely different than you, that you should learn to forgive those that may upset you, and that living with a clean freak is a nightmare.
Show me one episode of Sesame Street where any of the Muppets told kids that being gay is bad–and that you should only be straight. Actually, show me any Sesame Street episode where any type of sexual relationship is ever discussed. Yes, the human actors on the show talk about being married and they have brought their own babies on the show–but the actual mechanics of how that baby got made were never discussed.
So please, stop the calls for gay pre-school children’s television characters. Hold off on the “I’m Bert, He’s Ernie” gay pride t-shirts. And let’s stop turning every aspect of life into an opportunity to play identity politics.
