Thaindian News

October 27, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): The L.A. Times gathered together enough evidence to address the age old question doing the rounds that is; ‘Is Bert of Sesame Street gay?’ the longtime bachelor and devoted friend of Ernie has thus come under the scanner that too for his sexual orientation.

Kurt Anderson had stated that the Muppets organized themselves in the same loving and discreet way millions of same sex preferring men and women do. This holds good for hand puppets as well. The puppets apparently share a cushy life style living together in bliss within an impeccable ornate cabinet, doing their jobs exceedingly well.

The orientation of Bert has remained suspect since then and he along with Ernie has often been the butt of grown up gay jokes. The film ‘Ernest & Bertram’ made in 2002 brought them out of the closet both figuratively as well as literally. The makers of ‘Sesame Street’ had reacted promptly by sending a cease and desist letter to the film’s makers.

The insinuations have again started circulating this June with the tweets of Bert doing the rounds. While the tweets may not mean much to the straight people around the use of the word ‘mo’ has sparked off a controversy which means homosexual in certain gay circles. However, there is a possibility of the tweets not having been given the ‘go ahead’ by the ‘Sesame Street’ authorities in control. The Times also highlight the fact that the tweets are much less straightforward and more gay oriented.

‘Sesame Street’ airs on PBS which is funded by the public. The authorities say that the so called ‘gayness’ is not a deliberate attempt to project Bert in such a light. Their representatives emphasize that they have always tried out to reach across to the actors, athletes and celebrities who have appeared on the show from time to time. The show has appealed to both the children as well as the adults so far and any intention to draw in the families with gay parents isn’t intentional whatever the Times says.