Free Republic

Well this is news to millions of fans of the beloved PBS franchise. Then again, maybe not. The topic of Bert and Ernie’s homosexuality has been a subtle joke over the years. Saltzman recalled a comical story from the San Francisco Chronicle awhile back that mentioned how one progressive child picked up on the not-so-subtle clues. He stated, “a preschooler in the city turned to mom and asked, ‘Are Bert and Ernie lovers?’ “That coming from a preschooler was fun, and that got passed around,” he mentioned

The organisation behind Sesame Street has denied co-habiting duo, Bert and Ernie, are gay, following comments by one of the show's writers. Mark Saltzman said his writing about the room-mating couple was based on his relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman. Sesame Workshop then issued a statement saying the pair "do not have a sexual orientation". Bert and Ernie may look human, but the pair "remain puppets", it said. "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves." It broadly repeats past statements the non-profit organisation has made about...

For years, advocates of the gay rights movement have said that their goal is to make the world a more tolerant place for homosexuals. They have just as adamantly claimed that they had no intention of educating young children in the complexities of human sexuality. Not so in Hollywood. Take, for example, the new animated film Boxtrolls, created by studio Laika. The film is a riff on the old Mrs. Doubtfire morality that suggests that all families are created equal, no matter what their composition. “Families come in all shapes and sizes,” the narrator of the preview says. “Even rectangles.”...