They're only puppets

For a long time, Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie have appeared to be a bickering gay couple. So once New York allowed gay marriage calls to have Bert and Ernie get married got louder. The show responded with a statement that has gotten lots of news.

Bert and Ernie are best friends. 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 (as most Sesame Street Muppets™ do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.

Julian Sanchez (in his personal blog and otherwise not identified) isn't buying. Lots of other Muppets have an orientation. Oscar has a girlfriend. The Count has had a series of Countesses. Muppet squirrel girls sing about boyfriends. There are various songs about relationships.

So Sesame Street has a double standard. Some Muppets do have an orientation -- if they're straight. That is a choice by the creators and is not neutral. It implies being gay should not be mentioned in front of kids.

Some respond by saying preschoolers should not be learning about sex. Oh, but they are, they're very much learning about straight sex every time a Muppet sings about family or sings about inheriting traits from a parent.

Consider the show's take on race. It simply has a human cast that is multi-racial and the characters don't have to talk about race. That says a whole lot right there. It would say a whole lot if the human cast was 100% white in a country that will soon not have a white majority. An absence of race relations says something about race relations. The same is true for gay characters, human or Muppet.

A commenter tells of his preschool daughter who wonders why nobody looks like Aunt Erin and Aunt Sara.

Bert and Ernie gay? After 25 years it might be confusing to have them come out. But there is always room for new characters.