Official:Burt and Ernie are not gay

[Trainwreck2100]

http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/11/sesam...rumors-marriage-online-petition/#.TkRL5WEa9ux

Sesame Street has finally responded to age-old rumors that Bert and Ernie are gay -- claiming the infamous room-sharing man-puppet odd couple are JUST FRIENDS ... and have no sexual orientation whatsoever.

A petition emerged online this week, urging the creators of Sesame Street to marry the two puppets -- but the Sesame Workshop just posted a message on its Facebook account, writing, "Bert and Ernie are best friends."

The statement continues, "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves."

"Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics ... they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."

there are not enough emoticons in this world to equal my reaction to that petition

 

[Victarion]

>Google/Yahoo, turn off safe search

>Type Burt/Ernie

>Its not that hard. No need for them to be public about their puppet fetish.

 

[Spider-Who?]

i'm not against gay marriage, but imo, its a political issue and Sesame Street is not the place for such things. Having a gay character is fine, but i think they're wise to steer clear of this particular issue.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

i'm not against gay marriage, but imo, its a political issue and Sesame Street is not the place for such things. Having a gay character is fine, but i think they're wise to steer clear of this particular issue.

I agree.

 

[Prison Mike]

I find it funny that they have to remind people that Ernie and Bert "remain puppets".

 

[SpideyVille]

I think it would have been more newsworthy if they were gay.

 

[Trainwreck2100]

I think it would have been more newsworthy if they were gay.

the fact that them not being gay had to be made news is sad

 

[SpideyVille]

the fact that them not being gay had to be made news is sad

Haha, true. I'd say I wonder if someone coming out and saying Batman and Robin aren't gay would be next, but then I just remembered reading something that described the job of Robin an internship.

 

[The Original Bamfer]

i'm not against gay marriage, but imo, its a political issue and Sesame Street is not the place for such things. Having a gay character is fine, but i think they're wise to steer clear of this particular issue.

Eh, it can't hurt to have a child-appropriate gay couple. By child-appropriate, I mean not in your face, "hey, we're two men/women that love each other!" every time they come onscreen. Similar stuff has been tried before and failed because children aren't stupid, they are suspect to subtlety. So why can't Burt and Ernie be a gay couple? Do they need to constantly confess their undying love for each other? Absolutely not. But they could hold hands... and to the demographic - very young children - that might tell them that same-sex relationships aren't things to be hated; they aren't disgusting. And why should very young children be exposed to this? Because gay people aren't political. They're people; they're people like black people, white people, disabled people, etc... They have children - children that grow up with their peers ridiculing them for having two parents of the same sex. It's time things change. Sesame street is about learning and understanding.

 

[enterthemadness]

Never thought I say this....but great post Bamfer.

 

[Franklin Richards]

In other news, more people who weren't gay.


Laurel and Hardy
Abbott and Costello
Rowan and Martin
Martin and Lewis
Hope and Crosby


This list was brought to you by the letters :

F and U.


And by the Number 2.

 

[bullets]

Eh, it can't hurt to have a child-appropriate gay couple. By child-appropriate, I mean not in your face, "hey, we're two men/women that love each other!" every time they come onscreen. Similar stuff has been tried before and failed because children aren't stupid, they are suspect to subtlety. So why can't Burt and Ernie be a gay couple? Do they need to constantly confess their undying love for each other? Absolutely not. But they could hold hands... and to the demographic - very young children - that might tell them that same-sex relationships aren't things to be hated; they aren't disgusting. And why should very young children be exposed to this? Because gay people aren't political. They're people; they're people like black people, white people, disabled people, etc... They have children - children that grow up with their peers ridiculing them for having two parents of the same sex. It's time things change. Sesame street is about learning and understanding.

I agree. I think the kids are too young to really care much about it but integrating gay characters would go a long way in building towards tolerance down the road. They don't have to make a big deal out of it just have something subtle and treat it as normalcy.

 

[Matt]

I find it funny that they have to remind people that Ernie and Bert "remain puppets".

I find it funny that people tried so hard to apply sexual orientation to puppets that the creators had to make that claim.

 

[Matt]

Eh, it can't hurt to have a child-appropriate gay couple. By child-appropriate, I mean not in your face, "hey, we're two men/women that love each other!" every time they come onscreen. Similar stuff has been tried before and failed because children aren't stupid, they are suspect to subtlety. So why can't Burt and Ernie be a gay couple? Do they need to constantly confess their undying love for each other? Absolutely not. But they could hold hands... and to the demographic - very young children - that might tell them that same-sex relationships aren't things to be hated; they aren't disgusting. And why should very young children be exposed to this? Because gay people aren't political. They're people; they're people like black people, white people, disabled people, etc... They have children - children that grow up with their peers ridiculing them for having two parents of the same sex. It's time things change. Sesame street is about learning and understanding.

Why do characters on Sesame Street have to be gay or straight? They are nothing. Completely and totally asexual, as puppets in a pre-school aged show should be.

 

[Trainwreck2100]

They should start a petition to check big bird into a mental institution for having an imaginary friend noone else can see

 

[Bat-Mite]

These guys sleep in the same bedroom and bicker like an old married couple. Bert often walks in on Ernie when he's naked and in the bath tub, etc. I know they're just puppets, but let's not pretend that the idea that they're gay is oh so outrageous. I considered them to be gay from the moment that I was old enough to know what that word meant.

 

[The Original Bamfer]

Why do characters on Sesame Street have to be gay or straight? They are nothing. Completely and totally asexual, as puppets in a pre-school aged show should be.

It's not really about sexuality. No one wants any sort of sexuality pushed on children. It's about acceptance of different types of people. And, unfortunately, the homosexual community isn't left alone with the privacy of their sexuality; they've become, as said above, another community of people due to how they're treated in society. It doesn't have to be two muppets, it can be two human males, or two human females. They've had human characters and couples of all shapes and races - how is this any different? I guess they shouldn't have couples at all. It's too sexual, right?

 

[SpideyVille]

It's not really about sexuality. No one wants any sort of sexuality pushed on children. It's about acceptance of different types of people. And, unfortunately, the homosexual community isn't left alone with the privacy of their sexuality; they've become, as said above, another community of people due to how they're treated in society. It doesn't have to be two muppets, it can be two human males, or two human females. They've had human characters and couples of all shapes and races - how is this any different? I guess they shouldn't have couples at all. It's too sexual, right?

I agree with you if this is what you mean, which is that homosexuals have now become a new type of "minority". Before a minority was simply someone of a different race, but now the population has been represented so strongly that they are now considered to be a new type of minority. And it's interesting to see how, with something like the new Spider-man, they consider as something that makes someone different and possibly more relatable to some extent as someone of a different race.

 

[Trainwreck2100]

It's not really about sexuality. No one wants any sort of sexuality pushed on children. It's about acceptance of different types of people. And, unfortunately, the homosexual community isn't left alone with the privacy of their sexuality; they've become, as said above, another community of people due to how they're treated in society. It doesn't have to be two muppets, it can be two human males, or two human females. They've had human characters and couples of all shapes and races - how is this any different? I guess they shouldn't have couples at all. It's too sexual, right?

Are there any puppet couple's on that show? The only love is remember is the cookies monsters love for his cookies. They were inseparable

 

[The Original Bamfer]

I agree with you if this is what you mean, which is that homosexuals have now become a new type of "minority". Before a minority was simply someone of a different race, but now the population has been represented so strongly that they are now considered to be a new type of minority. And it's interesting to see how, with something like the new Spider-man, they consider as something that makes someone different and possibly more relatable to some extent as someone of a different race.

Yeah, that's what I mean, I just wasn't sure that "minority" was the word I wanted to use. But I think it's the only word that fits, really.

 

[The Original Bamfer]

Are there any puppet couple's on that show? The only love is remember is the cookies monsters love for his cookies. They were inseparable

Other than the speculated Burt and Ernie, I don't think so. I was talking more about the human couples they've had on the show over the years.

 

[AlteredEgo]

Poor Ernie got friend-zone'd.

 

[The Lizard]

Other than the speculated Burt and Ernie, I don't think so. I was talking more about the human couples they've had on the show over the years.

The human characters Maria and Luis got married on Sesame Street, and Maria was later shown pregnant (which caused some controversy at the time).

So in all fairness, a same-sex human couple could be integrated into the show, but that's another subject.

As for Bert and Ernie, I say a big NO to any attempts to brand them as gay for the following reasons:

1. PBS and Sesame Workshop have already said that B&E are supposed to be friends only and the puppet characters are non-sexual on the show.

2. Ernie represents a naive, childlike character akin to Big Bird and Elmo that children are supposed to identify with, as opposed to the fussy, grumpy Bert, who represents a more "adult" character. This was by design when the characters' personalities were created. Attempting to inject adult romantic emotions onto Ernie is unnecessary and potentially confusing to children.

3. Simply because the characters have been around for 40 years doesn't mean that they've "been living together for 40 years". Each generation of children discovers the show for the first time, so long-standing conditions mean nothing.

4. Let's face facts - trying to shoehorn the topic of gay marriage into a preschool program smacks of ham-handed social engineering at this point in our development. Why don't we make gay marriage a legal, everyday topic for adults nationwide before focusing it on 3-year-olds, eh?

 

[SpideyVille]

I wonder how many parents would stop their kids from watching if B&E were actually being represented as a gay couple.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

i liked how a little while ago they made a gay reference about them on twitter, that was fine. But i see no reason for this to be a big hoopla and get married. I think that's pushing the envelope a tad to far at the moment, and it's not needed.

because, I don't feel like there should be a special episode showing the 2 get married or anything remotely like that... but.. maybe 10 years from now it'd be perfectly ok to just say they've been married for a while now. I could see an episode teach kids that there some boys who love boys, some girls who love girls, just like a mommy might love a daddy. Keep it short and sweet, and perfect.