Should Bert and Ernie Marry on Sesame Street?

[sadhatter]

Gay marriage was legalized in Canada, it hasn't been legalized in the US. (even I don't understand this game of semantics you are playing)

Until it's legalized in the US I think you run the risk of causing a huge issue. If they want to broach the subject in the US they should probably introduce a gay couple.

Leave Bert alone.

I guess we should reclaim all copies of Disney's ( and other versions) of robin hood then too? Don't want kids getting the idea that questioning the rules, and breaking them if they are arbitrary is a good thing.

 

[sadhatter]

Harkness

Neat, don't watch much new dr who ( love the old stuff but i still havn't watched nearly all of it. ), but it always kills me that it seems a bi character always has a bit of shady to them ( the being a former con man reference.) .

The best bi character i have seen was from a totally tripe move called city rats. A series of vignettes , and his was the only interesting one.

 

[marksman]

I guess we should reclaim all copies of Disney's ( and other versions) of robin hood then too?

I would approve of that, if only for aesthetic reasons. And the Kevin Costner version too!

 

[marksman]

Neat, don't watch much new dr who ( love the old stuff but i still havn't watched nearly all of it. ), but it always kills me that it seems a bi character always has a bit of shady to them ( the being a former con man reference.) .

Pretty much all the characters in that show and its Torchwood spin-ff have a bit of shady to them. Harkness is the squeakiest of the lot!

 

[Furcifer]

As much as i don't think B and E are gay, i do think that it is an appropriate subject to deal with.

Some people don't know they arn't straight till later in life, but a decent portion of people do. Being gay or bi isn't just about sex, it is about how you react and feel toward people. I would have given a testicle to have some kind of show as a kid that explained what i was feeling, and that it wasn't evil, or wrong. ( Being bi was worse than being gay, i found a good portion of kids that knew from an early age, was more interested in sexual experimentation than just being friendly, and the classic puppy love kind of childhood crush. )

People get too hung up on the ins and outs ( pun intended) of gay sex, being all there is to being gay. But its not all there is, gay little kids can be just as wholesome, as straight ones and have all the cute little intricacies that come with being a kid, and showing affection.

Yes, but Bert and Ernie are already good examples of how two men can get along and live together as friends. Making them officially gay would only be about sex. (I seem to recall Bert and Ernie kissing each other from time to time, no tongue of course).

If they used new puppets it wouldn't be about sex, it would be about being gay and being in love. They could be Canadian and already married if they wanted to, or maybe just a same sex couple.

There's nothing wrong with showing kids a good healthy same sex relationship. But I don't think people will be comfortable if they make it about sex. I just don't see how you can avoid that using Bert and Ernie?

 

[RandFan]

No. I'm not absolutely against it but it strikes me as silly.

 

[Furcifer]

Sesame Street is filmed in New York (and the set is based off of New York city brownstones), where it is legal.

OK, so just an example, if today's letter was the letter "A" and Bert and Ernie went to Amsterdam and smoked pot at a coffee shop that would be fine?
Or maybe a pot smoking Dutch puppet?

Bert and Ernie going gay will create a political *********, and I don't think it's going to be OK because Bert and Ernie are in New York or Vermont.

I think it would be alright to test the waters here in Canada, but there may be a problem with canadian Bert and Ernie being gay and US Bert and Ernie being "just good friends"

The best solution I think would be to introduce a new gay married couple on Canadian Sesame Street and see how it goes.

 

[Furcifer]

Are Bert and Ernie even adults?

I always thought Bert was, but Ernie wasn't.

 

[marksman]

I don't think it's going to be OK because Bert and Ernie are in New York or Vermont.

The don't make its legality an issue.

 

[ponderingturtle]

They're just going to marry, it's not like they're going to show them having sex.

How do hand puppets have sex anyways?

Well we know they like a hand up their rear...

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[RandFan]

I've not read the thread so I apologize. Have any child psychologists talked about it?

I think in the not so distant future it would be a good idea to introduce gay characters to the show. Perhaps now would be the appropriate time but I'm not sure that making Bert and Ernie gay would be the best way to accomplish that.

 

[tyr_13]

I don't know if it's been said yet, but really don't think they should marry on Sesame Street.

They should make a trip of it. Go to the Falls and have a nice, understated affair.

 

[Furcifer]

I guess we should reclaim all copies of Disney's ( and other versions) of robin hood then too? Don't want kids getting the idea that questioning the rules, and breaking them if they are arbitrary is a good thing.

Not if you want to maintain your rating. Because you're using a movie and a TV I can't really say if the ratings are the same, but if Robin Hood carries a PG rating and Sesame Street is approved for All audiences that might have something to do with it.

But I see your point.

 

[Furcifer]

so you would be ok when they air it only in the states where homosexual marriage is recognized? and btw, i which states is it Illegal and wich states do not recognize same sex marriage?

Yes, that's why I said I think it would be OK in Canada. Using Bert and Ernie might be confusing (I know kids in Detroit used to watch Canadian Sesame Street) , so why not just use new puppets?

 

[RandFan]

I don't know if it's been said yet, but really don't think they should marry on Sesame Street.

They should make a trip of it. Go to the Falls and have a nice, understated affair.

 

[The Shrike]

. . . Bert and Ernie are already good examples of how two men can get along and live together as friends. Making them officially gay would only be about sex.

Indeed. Whether or not Bert and Ernie were ever conceived as gay characters, they've helped generations (basically, those of us in our 40s and younger) be comfortable with the idea of two unrelated guys living together. I'm willing to bet that if gay marriage ballots were restricted to voters 18–45 they'd pass in every* state.

I wouldn't want to give Sesame Street too much credit for that change in attitude, but I'd give them some and extend it to my favorite pair of funny roommates on TV.

*OK, I'm sure there are one or two states that would disappoint me in the end. (I'm looking at you, Texas and Utah.)

 

[The Shrike]

Canadian Sesame Street)

!? The muppets live in Ottawa and are even more polite than the NY ones?

 

[sadhatter]

Not if you want to maintain your rating. Because you're using a movie and a TV I can't really say if the ratings are the same, but if Robin Hood carries a PG rating and Sesame Street is approved for All audiences that might have something to do with it.

But I see your point.

Yeah, robin hood has a G rating, the moral of questioning rules, and breaking them if they are arbitrary is a staple in kids fiction. This is no different. Heck one could make the case that robin hood is worse, because someone is actually being deprived of goods legally obtained. While if there were gay characters in SS , no one is being hurt.

 

[Furcifer]

Yeah, robin hood has a G rating, the moral of questioning rules, and breaking them if they are arbitrary is a staple in kids fiction. This is no different. Heck one could make the case that robin hood is worse, because someone is actually being deprived of goods legally obtained. While if there were gay characters in SS , no one is being hurt.

No it's a good point. Since you brought it up I've been thinking about the Coyote trying to murder the Road Runner. (not surprisingly that has been discussed and people wonder if it would still pass the screeners)

Still, good point or not, I don't think people are going to accept it, especially in the US. They've got some funny social concepts; some of the raunchiest porn on the planet, extreme violence on a routine basis, but don't show a nipple!

Don't look for and expect to find logical consistency in US (not that it's exclusive to the US)

 

[Nursedan]

I'm not talking about B+E. I've stated several times I don't think they should get married.

I'm addressing Nursedan's contention that gay marriage in and of itself should be excluded from the show because "It teaches kids that breaking the law is okay"

I have never said that. You are confusing me with someone else. I think you might have reading comrehension problems - you suspected me of not having children even though in the post you responded to I clearly said I have a daughter, and now this.

Please explain yourself.

Edit - After reading the thread I see you confused me with someone else. Next time if we debate, please read all of the post that you intend to reply to.