Venerable children’s television show Sesame Street took a step towards LGBTQ inclusion last Friday in its social media feeds—but does this mean the show will actually include clearly LGBTQ characters?
The show posted this great photo of rainbow-hued Muppets to its Twitter and Facebook feeds. It’s a delightful image, with a lovely sentiment: “Sesame Street is proud to support families of all shapes, sizes, and colors.”
Sesame Street is proud to support families of all shapes, sizes, and colors. â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/H3uzD5XwUu
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) June 23, 2017
I was two when the show first aired, and have long been a proud member of its first generation of viewers. I loved reconnecting with it when my own son was younger. As I’ve written before on more than one occasion, however, the show has never depicted a clearly LGBTQ person, despite being a leader in inclusion and diversity in many other ways—and that’s a missed opportunity, both for the sake of its viewers (who include children of LGBTQ parents, LGBTQ children, and their parents, friends, and neighbors) and for itself, to stay timely and relevant.
I offer much praise to the show for its inclusive post, even as I note they stayed away from actually saying “LGBTQ families.” Once they can do so, and can include our families in their actual programming, then I’ll know it’s really time to celebrate.
