Bert and Ernie: Friends or Lovers?

While watching Sesame Street with Lincoln the other day something dawned on me…something that never occurred to me as a kid…are Bert and Ernie gay or simply good friends? They sleep in the same bedroom, although in separate little twin beds. They are always together, although you never see Bert in the bathtub playing with Ernie’s rubber ducky. They are always arguing – Bert is the uptight turtleneck-wearing one and Ernie is happy-go-lucky – but then they always seem to make up before bed. Hmmm…I began to wonder. Then I saw an episode that just about clinched the quandary. Bert was out of town at a pigeon convention and Ernie was very sad and lonely. He was singing a song about how he could not go to bed without Bert by his side. I think I even remember him saying, “Come back to me, Bert”.

Now Sesame Street is very diverse. As you know, they always make sure to have every ethnic group represented - an asian kid, an african american kid, a hispanic kid. The adults are diverse too - Bob is white, Luis and Maria are hispanic, and Gordon and Susan are black. Linda is deaf and has a guide dog named Barkley. Bob has a deaf niece too. Tara is a little girl in a wheelchair with brittle bone disease. Even the muppets are diverse - there is a green muppet, a purple muppet, a blue muppet, etc. It makes perfect sense to have gay muppets too, right?

So, what do you think? Are Ernie and Bert headed to California to get married? I just thought I would send this question out into the universe tonight. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has pondered this subject…or am I? Guess I need more adult stimulation!!

After my blog...I researched this topic online and found out that many people have pondered this question before. The Children's Television Workshop had to issue this 1993 press release: "Bert and Ernie, who've been on Sesame Street for 25 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."