Bert and Ernie Gay Rumor: Settled

[Kiki]

I would not want to see E&B (or any other Sesame Muppet save for those rare ones who are unmistakably adult and coupled like Humphrey and Ingrid) display more grown-up levels of displays of affection regardless of gender. It's out of place and not appropriate for its intended audience. We can see Luis and Maria or Gordon and Susan kiss each other but it will always be that "friendly" kiss that parents do in front of the children - not the "adult"-style kissing one would see in more grown up fare (including from their adult Muppet counterparts like Kermit and Piggy!) How people express their love for each other - including the married adults - is all gauged with how appropriate it is for the audience they serve.

Here's what I say...

There's a difference between a playful joke or rumor thrown together by drunken college students (there's enough funny rumors and jokes about Scooby-Doo alone for 30 Family Guy cut-a-ways alone), and the mindless rumblings from an angry group using the same cut to conclusions thinking to spread their hateful rhetoric. I don't get offended when someone jokingly says "oh, those Ernie and Bert dudes are so gay." but I get furious when some group claims that "Ernie and Bert are gay, and that's trying to brainwash our children into being tolerant!" It's that group that turned a goofy little joke into something far sinister.

As what I think? No. Bert is far too anal retentive to be able to stick with a woman (think Jon Arbuckle), and Ernie's stuck in a state of perpetual childhood... Arrested Development... Peter Pan complex... whatever you want to call it.

Now... and I wonder about. Especially that scene at the end of LTS.

Amen. To... everything you guys said. Really, just... well done. I wish I could contribute more, but you guys pretty much took the words out of my mouth, heh.

All right,may I have my say please?
When Sesame Street first started in 1969,nobody thought that Bert & Ernie living together was strange. They were friends & that was it. Then some idiots must've started the rumor a decade or so later,"Oh...since Bert & Ernie live together,they must be gay!" It's a
children's program for Pete's sake! To my knowledge,I don't think kids see anything wrong with Bert & Ernie living together!

That's very true. Nobody made a big deal out of Laurel and Hardy, who shared a bed. And even now -from what I know- not many people jump to the conclusion that they're gay.

 

[Drtooth]

That's very true. Nobody made a big deal out of Laurel and Hardy, who shared a bed. And even now -from what I know- not many people jump to the conclusion that they're gay.

It's so easy to make assumptions when characters are in pairs and male. Launchpad and Darkwing (even though there's Morgana), Batman and Robin (the tights are no help, neither is the 1960's show), Spongebob and Patrick (Which is, again, fun to think about, but when the Family League for Controlling People with Fear Limited dug it up... that was horrible)...

Ren and Stimpy were the only ones that actually turned out to be. It is strongly hinted at in "Son of Stimpy" and a couple others... but when they made the Adult Cartoon party episodes... well, they just ran with it.

But I wonder, even if any pair is in animation (or puppetry in our case) does a relationship between 2 fictional characters matter? Seems teenage girls are the only ones that care that much about fictional relationships (especially implied ones... even implied ones with a character that appeared only for 10 minutes in one episode)... and they wind up flooding the internet with fan fiction, fan art, and AMV's online.

 

[mr3urious]

It's so easy to make assumptions when characters are in pairs and male.

Tv Tropes calls it "Ho Yay" (Homo-eroticism, yay!).
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HoYay

 

[Vic Romano]

Less enlightened folk seem to think we hang upside down from the chandeliers while naked and eating toast, but not any more than "straight" folk.

WHAT? You don't? Well, I suppose that explains why my Christmas party didn't go over so well.

The only thing that bothers me about the rumor is that it's such a cheap and easy joke. I just did a bunch of Bert & Ernie fanart (keep your eyes out for it, kids!), and I stayed away from any gay jokes because they're so cliché.

 

[RedPiggy]

How many SST "If You Were Gay" vids out there? It didn't take long for everyone to make AMVs of Ernie and Bert to that (hilarious) tune. While I think I favorited or at least responded to one or two Muppet ones, I like it better when people don't use the obvious.

 

[frogboy4]

WHAT? You don't? Well, I suppose that explains why my Christmas party didn't go over so well.

The only thing that bothers me about the rumor is that it's such a cheap and easy joke. I just did a bunch of Bert & Ernie fanart (keep your eyes out for it, kids!), and I stayed away from any gay jokes because they're so cliché.

He he. I admit to being a wild child in my youth, but that was more about youthful rebellion.

Thank frog the culture is changing to allow gay folk to build lives just like everybody else instead of getting trapped in this stage of an eternally 21 mindset with limited opportunities to grow and thrive with a legally committed life partner. Heck, I wanna be boring. /soapbox

 

[Convincing John]

That's very true. Nobody made a big deal out of Laurel and Hardy, who shared a bed. And even now -from what I know- not many people jump to the conclusion that they're gay.

Same thing with The Three Stooges. In a lot of those shorts, they shared a bed simply because they were poor. It was also for comedic effect with the snoring sound effects between the three of 'em.

I do know a lesbian couple who act like Ernie and Bert. I helped them move to their new apartment one time and here's what happened.

When I knocked on the door that morning, it opened a crack and a pair of eyes peeked out. "Um...hi...um...just...um...remember it looks like this cause we're moving." I said "Ok". I figured there'd be a lot of boxes around. She opened the door and ohhhh, brother.

My first thought was that she must have been looking for a "very important note" for a very long time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLgJtxCzDmM

I am not kidding. This woman packed and cleaned just like that! Especially the clothes part. All she needed was a stripey shirt and the slide whistle sound effect. Clothes (both clean and dirty) and books were tossed in the same boxes, the kitchen was half-packed boxes of dishes with cereal boxes in between them and somewhere in the mess they have a cat. (I saw a kitty bowl on the floor). I went into the bedroom and you couldn't see the floor! Clothes were flopped all over the place!

"My pants!"

Meanwhile, the other woman grumbled about where things should go as she tried to avoid flying clothes, books and miscellaneous objects. She frowned as a lone shoe bounced across the linoleum and hit her toe. That Ernie and Bert clip kept running through my head and it was all I could do to keep from running outside and laughing!

But back to Ernie and Bert, here's one thing I don't think has been mentioned yet. Bert and Ernie also have a possible parent/child relationship with a simple comedic twist of the kid being smarter than the adult.

When I was little, I thought vaguely that Bert was Ernie's uncle and took care of him. Yeah, Bert does join in Ernie's games and songs, but while Ernie is the kid, bert's the adult. Ernie makes the messes and plays with toys while Bert pays the bills and fills out the income tax (which he probably loves to do anyway because it's boring and there's a big W on a W-2).

In those classic comedy pairs, there's the comic and the straight man. Laurel and Hardy. Burns and Allen. Ricky and Lucy. Abbott and Costello.

Ernie and Bert's parents...that's one thing I hadn't thought about before, but with a lot of major SS characters, we don't see the parents (except Grover's mom and a few others).

We could ask a lot of questions about SS while we're at it:

Did Big Bird get adopted by Susan and Gordon after his parents flew the coop? (We see Granny Bird, but no Mommy or Daddy Bird)...

Grover proudly declares his love for his mommy, but as it was stated in an old Tough Pigs article, "where the heck is Grover's Dad?"

Who's the landlord at 123 Sesame Street and how do Ernie and Bert pay the rent? (My guess, Bert works as an accountant and if Ernie works, he gets gigs playing saxophone and drums at Birdland).

One thing that hasn't really been said but is an undeniable fact...Ernie and Bert are Jim and Frank. It's that simple. Think about it. Read up on Jim and Frank and look at their personalities.

Just imagine, somewhere in the 1970s or 80s, Frank reading a newspaper during his break in the Sesame Workshop lounge. As he's reading the weather forecast, a finger repeatedly pokes him in the shoulder. Frank hears Jim saying "poke poke poke poke poke!" Jim chuckles and leaves the lounge to grab a coffee before the next scene is ready to film.

Pretty easy to imagine that, isn't it?

To me, Ernie and Bert will always be Jim and Frank.

Convincing John

 

[Drtooth]

Less enlightened folk seem to think we hang upside down from the chandeliers while naked and eating toast

Wow... I never heard of the "Tarzan in a fancy house at breakfast time" stereotype before!

How many SST "If You Were Gay" vids out there? It didn't take long for everyone to make AMVs of Ernie and Bert to that (hilarious) tune. While I think I favorited or at least responded to one or two Muppet ones, I like it better when people don't use the obvious.

Something about that seems like taking footage of a Sherlock Homes movie and having him sing "X Marks the Spot." Considering one's a parody of the other. Personally, I don't really care all that much for AMV's... the one that actually cracked me up was Mr. 2 from One Piece singing "Sweet Transvestite" from Rocky Horror... and of course (don't know if its still up) Dudley Do-Right with Weird Al's Canadian Idiot.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Less enlightened folk seem to think we hang upside down from the chandeliers while naked and eating toast

Am I not supposed to do that? Well, it usually involves 4 fried chickens and a Coke as well as the dry whit toast, but...

 

[frogboy4]

Am I not supposed to do that? Well, it usually involves 4 fried chickens and a Coke as well as the dry whit toast, but...

In that case it all depends how the chicken is prepared. Fried is okay, but absolutely no garnish!