Last week, Sesame Street made headlines by introducing a same-sex couple to the Street. A part of me felt surprised that this was such big news – hasn’t Sesame Street been showing this type of inclusion for years?
Despite having origins in diversity dating all the way back to its first season, this week’s episode marked the first time the show had depicted characters with names that are explicitly stated to be members of the queer community.
Thanks to the Muppet Wiki, we have a detailed list of all the LGBTQI+ references in the series. And… there’s not a lot. There are even fewer if we limit it to actual “characters”, meaning not just off-handed references or abstract concepts.
Sesame Street‘s very first nod toward the acknowledgement of the existence of queer culture comes from the 1981 song “We All Sing with the Same Voice“, which features the lyric “I’ve got one daddy, I’ve got two”. That’s reasonably progressive for the early-80s, but easy to miss and pretty ambiguous. Anyone raising an eyebrow at that lyric could easily write it off as a child having a father and a step-father, or even a wacky Three Men and a Baby situation.
The next reference wouldn’t come for another 37 years(!!!). Between 2018 and 2020, Sesame Street tested the waters with more subtle winks toward LGBT families. Abby Cadabby and Rudy observe a photo of a family with two dads. A segment called “F is for Family” features a kid with two moms among a much larger montage of families. In “Elmo’s Word: Father’s Day”, Smartie displays a photo of a kid with two dads. You wouldn’t be blamed at all for not remembering these segments. Barely anyone even noticed when they aired.
Despite not featuring much on the show, Sesame has been vocal about representation on social media. It helps that the characters look great against a rainbow background (or as a rainbow themselves).
That brings us to the recent “Family Day” episode, in which Nina introduces us to her brother Dave (played by Chris Costa) and his partner Frank (played by Alex Weisman). For the first time, Sesame Street brought us two members of the LGBT community who have the potential to actually be characters. Not just a fleeting image flying across the screen, not a token to appease the liberals during Pride Month, but real people like the ones we encounter in everyday life.
Of course, the impact is lessened a bit by bringing in two characters we’ve never seen before. Not that I expect Sesame Workshop to ever allow Bert and Ernie to come out as a gay couple – as validating as that would be, it wouldn’t be true to the show or the educational needs of the preschoolers watching. But what if it was Alan instead? A well-known character on the series who also happens to be a member of the LGBT community in real life. Or, just as good, a new cast member who might have as much screen time and influence as the other humans on the show, like Nina or Chris? Someone who will stick around, and not just appear when the episode theme calls for a family reunion.
Sesame Street isn’t alone in their under-representation – the Muppets have never had a confirmed LGBT character (sorry, Bunsen and Beaker), and Kermit the Frog only gave his first clear support for Pride one year ago. The 2015 The Muppets sitcom did make a few references to the culture here and there, but always as a punchline and never as an actual attempt at representation.
The real test will be if and when we see Dave and Frank again. Will they be a consistent presence on the show? Will they continue to represent their community in a positive and realistic way? Or will they be added to the far-too-short list of casual references to the existence of the LGBT community? Personally, I’m optimistic. But it’s beyond time for Sesame Street to join the 21st century and allow proper representation on the screen.
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by Ben Nichols
