Many in the LGBTQ community are celebrating today.
Why? Because one of the writers for Sesame Street has outed Bert and Ernie according to an article in the UK Sun.
Though Bert and Ernie have been a fixture on Sesame Street since 1969 and gay writer, Mark Saltzman joined the organization in 1984, he has modeled them after his relationship with his partner, Arnold Glassman.
Saltzman actually co-opted the beloved characters to fit his own personal relationship though it was 15 years after they were introduced. He told Queerty that he was Ernie and Glassman was Bert.
According to the Sun, Saltzman added, “I remember one time a preschooler [in San Francisco] turned to her mum and asked, ‘are Bert and Ernie lovers?’ and that, coming from a preschooler, was fun. That got passed around, and everyone had their chuckle…”
The sexualization of pre-school children is just so hilarious. Can’t we just enjoy these wonderful characters and let children be children?
To its credit, Sesame Street came out themselves in a statement saying Bert and Ernie are “best friends” and were “created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.” It added, “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.”
