GLAAD Media Reports

Muppet Love
by Al Kielwasser, GLAAD/SFBA

According to the show’s well-known theme song, “Everything’s
A—OK” on Sesame Street. Not so, according to homophobic par-
ents who are raising a fuss about series regulars Bert_and Ernie.
Fearful that these two puppets are gay, parents across the coun-
try are calling for Bert and Ernie to be evicted from the home
they have shared for years on public television's most famous
street. Typical of the paranoid plaintiffs is an Arizona grand-
mother who recently wrote to the editors of TV Guide, “It was
reported to me that Bert and Ernie are gay. My grandchildren
will not be watching Sesame Street anymore, and I hope you
will relay that message to executive producer Michael Loman.”

Responding to such complaints, Children’s Television Work-
shop (CTW), which produces Sesame Street, issued a press re-
lease boasting that “Bert and Ernie do not portray a gay couple
and there are no plans for them to do so in the future. They are
puppets, not humans.” The Cheers ‘N’ Jeers column in the De-
cember 25 issue of TV Guide argued, “It’s a shame CTW had to
(issue that statement). Maybe it’s time for Sesame Street to tack-
le the subject. Kids and a few parents need to learn that a per-
son’s sexual orientation really shouldn’t matter.”

In fact, Sesame Street could serve as a fantastic vehicle for ear-
ly intervention, combating the ‘ignorance that breeds homo-
phobia. About half of all children in the United States between
the ages of two and five watch an average of three episodes of
Sesame Street per week. English language versions of the pro-
gram are broadcast in more than 40 countries and there are a
number of foreign language versions (including Plaza Sesame in
Mexico, Bonjour Sesame in France and Sesamstraat in the Neth-
erlands). A gay or lesbian character, whether puppet or human,
would fit nicely within the multicultural neighborhood that
forms the backdrop for the program’s various educational snip-
pets.

Sesame Street aspires to instill an appreciation for diversity. Un-
fortunately, this admirable goal is crippled by the producers’ in-
tention to keep a “heterosexuals only” sign hanging over Sesame
Street. Advise the show’s producers to lift that ban. Contact:
David V.B. Britt, President, Children’s Television Workshop, 1
Lincoln Plaza, New York 10023: (212) 595-3456; FAX (212)
875-61 10.

And while you’re at it, you might drop a note to the editors of
TV Guide for once again supporting lesbian and gay issues in
the magazine’s Cheers ‘N’ Jeers column. Write: Letters De-
partment, TV Guide, Radnor, PA 19088.

Mickey Outpaces “Sesame”

While the producers of “Sesame Street’ find themselves in a
quandry over showing reality to its viewers, the Walt Disney
Company has taken space in the February/March issue of Out
magazine, a national queer publication, to advertise a boxed
CD collection of Annette Funicello songs. No doubt the Dis-
ney Cpany will be in for the same right-wing onslaught of hate
as others. You can do your part to thank Disney by writing:
Michael D. Eisner, CEO, The Walt Disney Company, 500 S.
Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521.

11

March 1994

Hold the Pepperoni,
Add the Homophobia

Tom Monaghan, CEO of Domino’s Pizza, has announced that
James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, is the recipient
of the not-always—annual Domino’s Pizza Humanitarian Award.
(Focus is one of the most homophobic and -hate mongering
groups in America and occupies a $27,000,000. complex in C01-
orado Springs, Colorado. It regularly supports everything from
censoring gay/lesbian art to hate legislation.)

A call to Domino’s Public Relations Department elicited the
remark that “we want to sell pizza to everyone,” and that Mr.
Monaghan “personally chooses” the recipient of the Humanitar-
ian Award. GLAAD is currently encouraging individuals to call
their local Domino’s Pizza outlets to voice their dismay. Your
comments may also be directed to: Domino's Pizza, P.O. Box
997, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106; (313) 930-4500; CEO T Mon-
aghan FAX (313) 663-7922; Marketing FAX (313) 668-1946;
Public Relations FAX (313) 668-4614.

New Series for Youth

Chelsea House Publishers has issued their new catalog which
includes two new series for and about lesbian, gay and bisexual
youths. “Issues of Gay and Lesbian Life” includes 25 books
on topics from AIDS, African-American l/g culture and com-
ing out: The second series, “The Lives of Notable Gay Men
and Lesbians,” includes 30 biographical books. Contact: Chel-
sea House, 300 Park Avenue South, New York 10010; (800)
848—BOOK. V

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