Bert and Ernie: 1 Big Controversy for 2 Best Friends

Bert and Ernie are Sesame Street characters. Bert and Ernie are best friends. Bert and Ernie turned 40 this week, and so Bert and Ernie are celebrating by being the next Sesame Street Google Doodle.

Google doodles get a significant amount of publicity. Google strives to commemorate various milestones by adding embellishments to their site for a day or so. Recent Google Doodles include a bar code commemorating the invention of the barcode, a paranormal Google doodle celebrating "War of the Worlds", and crop circles Google Doodle to advertise how easy it is to find crop circles using Google Earth.

This week has been another exciting week on Google. Wednesday, Sesame Street celebrated their 40^th anniversary, and to celebrate Big Bird was featured on the Google Doodle. Thursday, Cookie monster gobbled up Google and drummed up interest about rumors that he could, in fact, turn in to the Veggie Monster. Today, Bert and Ernie are featured on the Google doodle.

Bert and Ernie are best friends. Like so many things, people look too much in to what really is innocence. The question "are Bert and Ernie gay?" is one of the many things that people strive to learn about the dynamic Sesame Street Muppet duo.

Wikia.com has a wonderful discussion over the sexual orientation of Bert and Ernie. Rumors include arguments about Bert and Ernie's sleeping arrangements, and what Bert and Ernie do together. They argue that because Bert and Ernie cook together, tend plants together, and because Bert taught Ernie how to sew, they are gay.

Official statements from Sesame Street include:

Bert and Ernie, who've been on Sesame Street for...years, do not portray a gay couple, and there are no plans for them to do so in the future. They are puppets, not humans. Like all the Muppets created for Sesame Street, they were designed to help educate preschoolers. Bert and Ernie are characters who help demonstrate to children that despite their differences, they can be good friends

'They are not gay, they are not straight, they are puppets,' says Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell. 'They don't exist below the waist

To say that Bert and Ernie are gay is really narrow-minded. Just because men like to plant, cook, and sew doesn't mean that they are gay. I would be proud if I had a son that could tend a garden, cook, and sew -because he could take care of himself. Furthermore, to insinuate that because two men are close, they must be gay could discourage certain boys from developing healthy relationships with other boys or men.

You also have to remember that Sesame Street was created 40 years ago. Homosexuality wasn't as widely discussed as it has become in recent years. There were no gay marriage laws, and no controversial rhetoric.

I love Bert and Ernie. I have to agree with Gary Knell - Bert and Ernie are puppets. They are not men. They are not gay. They do not exist from the waist down, as he points out. Furthermore, even if they were real people and even if they were gay - I would still love them just the same. Bert and Ernie are a wonderful addition to Sesame Street and like many other of the beloved characters; hopefully they will remain on Sesame Street for years.

Sources:

Wikia.com http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Are_Ernie_and_Bert_gay%3F