Today’s editorial cartoon stems from the unsuccessful movement to get Sesame Street to out confirmed bachelors, Bert and Ernie, as being gay. While I am for gay marriage, I am with Sesame Street for saying “no”. Thoughts?
Today’s editorial cartoon stems from the unsuccessful movement to get Sesame Street to out confirmed bachelors, Bert and Ernie, as being gay. While I am for gay marriage, I am with Sesame Street for saying “no”. Thoughts?
Comments
105 responses to “Editorial cartoon – Bert and Ernie Gay?”
Holy shit thats funny, your best yet! You just gained a new ink follower with that one!
Woo hoo. Finally my gross humor has paid off. Thanks Marcus.
I’m with you on this one. Have you ever seen their bedroom? SEPARATE BEDS! “B” on one headboard, “E” on the other. I’ve yet to see the “BE” headboard. They aren’t gay.
Even if they are gay, there is no need to “out” them. Sesame Street can continue to imply the situation. Sort of like what generally goes on in real life, right?
Didn’t Ricky and Lucy and Fred and Wilma have separate beds too though??
I think a lot of the characters shown in children’s programming can be overanalyzed and shown to be “closer than friends”. Most of these characters are shown living together in order to have more access to them and storytelling possibilities outside of the daytime routine.
It’s just like most of these characters always have money but never are seen working. Necessity to keep a story moving explains most of what’s going on.
The parent corporations don’t need to rely on the current shift in social acceptance of certain beliefs and practices in order to finally come up with the answers.
haha. That is so insightful. You are right. How does cookie monster find the money for all those cookies? Everyone on Sesame Street should be living in garbage cans with Oscar.
Can’t a couple pals live together without being accused of sexing each other? Did Uncle Jesse schtoop Danny Tanner? Did the odd couple get down & dirty? Did Laverne put the moves on Shirley? The answer is no.
Besides, we all know that Bird & Snuffy are the gay ones. SHEESH!
At first I thought you were talking about Uncle Jesse from Dukes of Hazard. That should be one of those, you know you are over X age if you think of DOH versus Full House when you think of the name Uncle Jesse.
That’s a disturbing thought… Uncle Jesse from Dukes of Hazard having his way with Danny Tanner from Full House.
GAH!
(shivers..)
I initially thought of Dukes’ Uncle Jessie too. It still fits though. He didn’t duke any of the boys either. Now what he did with Daisy, I would pay good money to find out. 😀
You know…they never did say how they were related. Maybe he was an uncle the same that some of my parent’s friends were Uncle/Aunt when I was a kid.
I thought D.O.H. too. I always thought there was something suspicious about him. Never trust men with white beards
Santa?
Touche my friend. I think DADT is probably a good policy for fictional characters, since they aren’t completely developed anyway. If nobody scripted any sex for them, then I think it’s safe to say they’re not getting any. That would have been the last thing on my mind when I was four anyway. Add that to the fact that they don’t have or need genitalia…. I don’t think Bert & Ernie are actually hand puppets. They are more like marionettes. But it is still a good gag.
Well look who has crawled out of the woodwork. Good to see you around.
I think most of the characters are puppets with exception of big ones like big bird.
Here is a video of Elmo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBwF1lLMH8&feature=related
Am I for puppet copulation equality? yes! But lets leave that to avenue q, shall we!
Bert and Ernie’s target audience are pre-schoolers and early elementary. Thats not an age to be promoting or defining sexual identity. Anyone who thinks a child needs to be learning about sexuality and desire at that age, is a tad sick in the head!
Sorry B, I dont mince me words! o.O (comic itself is HIL-arious!)
haha. Having never heard the music for Avenue Q before I went there, I thought it was a great show.
I am with you on the age level. As someone else said, you can believe that they are without being blatant about it.
You don’t mince words…that’s why I like you coming back.
It’s like when I used to avidly read Archie Comics. I didn’t think Archie was trying to score with Betty and Veronica and go all the way to Thrillville. I was of an age where getting constant kisses seemed to be enough. I wouldn’t even wanna ponder the diseases they probably spread around Riverdale between Reggie going out with Betty, Veronica, and Midge. And ol’ Arch doing the same thing all the while including any new chick in town to his redheaded harem.
True. Archie and Reggie passed women back and forth so much that it is a good thing comics come in a wrapped plastic coating.
I remember this stuff going on back in the late 90’s with the cartoon characters Spongebob Squarepants and his pal Patrick Starfish.
Americans love overanalyzing this kind stuff, instead of taking it at face value.
Face value is that Bert and Ernie are two male friends sharing an apartment. Here’s a question for those people who see homosexuality in all facets of life:
The show “American Pickers” features two apparently single guys. We never hear about their personal lives or anything about their family. Does that make them gay?
Don’t forget the whole Teletubbies mess because one of them carried what seemed to be a purse and had an upside down triangle on his head.
Re: American Pickers. I think the short one, they made reference to a girlfriend on one show. But even that one, I have heard people talk about the show and then question about the skinny one.
My question is, how did Bert afford that giant diamond ring?
He sold off all his pigeons to the French Restaurant on sesame Street.
Bad Bert!!
Let them be gay, let them be straight, but exactly what purpose does revealing their sexual preference serves in a show for pre-schoolers?
Next thing they’ll be asking for a gay kid to be represented in the screen while they sing “one of these things, is not like the others…”
They won’t have them come out, and my vote is they shouldn’t.
I am with you completely on your first sentence. There comes an age where it is appropriate in general. Honestly I am not sure what that is, but it might be after you learn your ABC’s and how to count to 100.
Isn’t the point of Ernie and Bert that two completely opposite or different personalities can still be best friends? Whoever’s trying to make it more than that is missing the point entirely and messing up the real message.
Great cartoon, Bearman!
I always just thought of them as the Odd Couple in Muppet form. Slobby freethinking one and the uptight persnickety one.
I just heard about this yesterday. I find it one of those odd funny news stories but the kids program does not and should not dive into those issues. Maybe they could cover it on South Park.
I think they already have tried to out several people on South Park.
Ernie does not have a thing for Burt. He clearly states that Rubber ducky is the one.
Blahahahahaahahahahah Maddog 🙂
Great..now I have that song in my head.
Seriously it’s bad enough that parents have to rely on puppets to educate their kids ….hmm but then again that’s who’s leading the country!
BUT if by any chance they are gay, how would it work? They haven’t even got pants!!!!
Are we talking about YOUR country or MY country. Seriously sometimes I think you are just acting like you live in Australia.
OUTRAGEOUSLY FUNNY!
Thanks MY
hahh MJ!!
Nice! I’m glad they didn’t come out. Parents stick their children in front of the TV to avoid raising them, this would just be one more thing they would have to explain. ^^
So true. My parents didn’t even have cable and made me go outside and play. So I missed a lot of TV learning.
Wait!
Wait!
Where are Burt and Ernie’s legs?!
This can’t be right!
It just can’t!
🙂
I think I saw them floating at the sawmill.
That almost sounds worse than when you implied they weren’t real!
🙂
That’s what happens when you are jobless and don’t pay your money to the loan shark.
HAHAHAHAROFLOLMAO!
Seriously, though. If I had a nickel for every time I said that…
Knowing you, it would be at least 15 cents.
They’re gay?! Actually I couldn’t care less. As a kid I didn’t think they were but as an adult I think most of those puppets are but it doesn’t matter because I don’t watch the show! The show is for kids and kids don’t care and shouldn’t care! Adults should keep out of it and allow it to effectively teach numbers, colors, and letters while entertaining CHILDREN. It’s not about who is boinking who in puppetland!
Now if adults wanted to get upset about Snuffy the elephant who is a junky, or Count the pimp I could begin to understand.
I think I saw somewhere that someone did a cartoon on Cookie Monster getting diabetes.
Ya… They changed him into Healthy Snack Monster to battle childhood obesity or something. I wish Oscar could keep a lid on the PC garbage. Let the kids be kids!
I used to get pissed that cookie at all my damn cookies. Serves him right.
nice I hope that they don’t decide to let them marry on TV. I mean seriously that is just going too far. I am fine with same sex marriage and have friends who have done it. But it’s too much for Sesame Street to go there.
Thankfully cooler heads have prevailed. I mean if they won’t let Katy Perry show her cleavage…
I know thank goodness for that. I am sorry I missed the Katy Perry episode but I just can’t bring myself to watch that show. My mother used to have to make me watch it. I was more a Bugs Bunny kinda of person.
Oh, for—THEY AREN’T GAY! And this kind of idiotic ranting by parents with no lives is what ruins a lot of great shows for children.
“The Tick” was cancelled when parents incessantly complained about the ‘relationship’ between Tick and Arthur (even when the creators gave Arthur a girlfriend!), and “Spongebob Squarepants” was also nearly axed (that one I understand…Spongebob and Patrick are a little…well, what happens under the sea STAYS under the sea!).
Really? That is why the Tick was cancelled. The live action version or the cartoon? I liked both of them.
The cartoon. I have no idea what cancelled the live action one, other than a general lack of audience interest.
I was but they kept moving the day and time around.
We used to have a children’s show here in Oz that had been running since I was a kid called Here’s Humphrey. Humphrey was a Big Bird sized bear. It was cancelled some time ago because of complaints that Humphrey didn’t wear pants.He was a bear for crying out loud.
Couldn’t they find him some pants in his size?
I had no idea Alanis Morissette was doing Muppet work now!
🙂
Finally someone reads my title!!
I always find my way to the liner notes…
🙂
There was a time when gay meant happy, and when you hear people in old movies singing about being gay it’s hard not to think in terms of how we use the word today. Bert and Ernie were created for kids in a more innocent era, and to imply something else about their relationship is much ado about nothing. Now, if Sesame Street introduced two new characters who were openly gay, that would be a totally different situation. One thing, though, does being gay imply that you will allow a stranger to fist you all day? I’m thinking not, unless you’re into that sort of thing.
Gay or straight, if you are into random fisting on a regular basis, then you have an addiction.
i couldn’t imagine dealing with all the resulting anal fiss(t)ures.
I should have you write my material.
Not sure about being gay, but Ernie always looked mad scary (and anger, psychotic, sketchy) when he frowned 😉
I thought that was Bert..haha
Sesame Street was brought to you today by the concept of lifestyle choices. 🙂
or Lifestyle Condoms
haha, nice one!
whats next?!? questioning the oddd couple?? perfect strangers?? my two dads??
but for reals, this is such a non issue. musta been a slow news day when someone decided they needed sesame street to explain themselves.
It was Change.org. The same group that was successful in getting Bush kicked out of office in 2004. Ooops.
I hadn’t heard of this one!
That is what I am here for.
Bwahahahahahahaha. Well, this is indeed a new twist. Bwahahahahahaha.
Have a terrific day. 🙂
oooohh…Don’t say “twist” haha
I think I’ve been waiting for this moment since I was a kid..
The moment for Bert anD Ernie to come out or the moment for me to make fun of it?
People wanting to try to push their homosexuality agenda through a children’s TV show is in my opinion disgraceful. Why do these people need so desperately to force the acceptance of the idea that their behaviour is normal on everyone??? If the homos want to practice sodomizing other men then that is their business but why expect everyone else to accept it? Not looking forward to the day when they want to move it from acceptable to compulsory…
Ok we don’t need to use the term “homos” here. And I am not so sure gay men and women were necessarily behind this push. Again Change.org was behind it and they are trying to do anything to maintain some legitimacy.
Apologies, please feel free to edit/delete my comment if you feel it’s inappropriate. Here homo is just short for homosexual can’t see that as offensive.
NP…all depends on how it is said. Not a term I use online because you can’t hear the voice as to whether it is being said as an insult.
Oh I forgot to say Hilarious cartoon Bearman
Thank you.
I always kind of figured they had something going on together. Bathtubs, rubber duckies, striped shirts….not that that stuff is GAY or anything, but the hand up the ass takes the cake
Hey what is wrong with stripped shirts? They are slimming.
Very slimming
Bert and Ernie are just friends! And that’s the shocking truth.
Amen
1. that was HI-LARIOUS.
2. WTF? are you kidding me? I’ve heard nothing of this. Bert and Ernie were always my favs… maybe cus i could relate to their eyebrows as a child.
um, absolutely NOT COOL of sesame street. gosh dangit.
Maybe you need to introduce the boys to eyebrow plucking. Wait…NM.
I don’t mind if Bert and Ernie are gay, I’d just prefer Sesame Street to leave them in the closet.
That closet is getting awfully full.
Perfect cartoon for this subject. Completely absurd that either one of them has to be gay. Their characters and stories and what they bring to Sesame Street has nothing to do with being straight or gay. It flat out does not matter. Who is next, “The Odd Couple.” This is all crazy and brings nothing to Bert and Ernie segments good or bad.
Maybe you need to add these two to your ongoing villain series..haha
This is a kids show they are puppets. Leave them alone. I always thought
They were brothers.
Thankfully they are.
Flawlessly tasteless!
One of my favorite comic strips of the 1980s was “Rudy” by William Overgard. It featured a former-vaudeville star talking ape, who lived with a nagging parrot housemaker. Readers asked if the chimp and the bird were married.
From a physical intimacy standpoint, it seems anatomically difficult.
Well the bird did have a pecker.
Bwa-HAHAHA! Well done!
Thanks HH!
I read about this and my first thought was with the guy who wanted to pursue this idea and how he needed to rearrange his priorities.
There are more important ways to help children out like helping the 1 million children that are sold every year into the sex slave industry.
Sorry to be so serious but seriously, trying to make our puppets gay is a non-issue.
Something worth blogging about though.
On a less serious note it would never work. Bert gets way too aggravated at Ernie because of cookie crumbs in the bed.
And the rubber ducky. You know people who don’t want to tackle real issues feel the need to be heard anyway.
Hey just wanted to say this cartoon was the inspiration for my Cedric & Millie #1 – Not Gay episode
ooh…I am an inspiration!!! Nice