Iconic children’s television show Sesame Street has just aired a “milestone” episode featuring a two-dad couple and their daughter. This is the first time a family with LGBTQ parents has been included in the main segment of the show. Watch it here!
[pullquote]There’s all kinds of different families. But what makes us a family is that we love each other.[/pullquote]Dave (Chris Costa), his husband Frank (Alex Weisman), and their daughter Mia (Olivia Perez) first appear in the episode “Family Day,” which you can watch below. Dave is the brother of existing cast member Nina (Suki Lopez), a woman of Cuban descent who owns and runs the bike shop. In the episode, Hooper’s Store proprietor Alan, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and the rest of the street are getting ready for a Family Day celebration. There are minor obstacles to getting the party ready, and a big surprise for Big Bird—but the fact that a two-dad family is in the mix is a complete non issue. They’re introduced just like the other families and no one blinks. Abby’s stepbrother Rudy observes, “Wow, all these families are so different!” and Frank comments, “Yeah, there’s all kinds of different families. But what makes us a family is that we love each other.” It’s a little on the nose, but that’s not such a bad thing. If there’s one message to convey here, it’s that.
At the same time, I hope that we see Dave, Frank, and Mia again in other episodes that don’t necessarily focus on family diversity. Not that those aren’t important—but to only have LGBTQ families in episodes “about” families is like only including Black characters in episodes “about” racial diversity. Important, yes, but only one part of our full lives.
Still, this is a tremendous step forward for the show and for queer representation in children’s media. I have been writing since at least 2006 about the need for Sesame Street to include LGBTQ characters. I observed the need for public television generally to do so, praised Sesame Workshop for marking Pride in its social media but encouraged them to add actual LGBTQ characters, and noted the few instances of queer inclusion they did have over the past few years (including the guest appearance of Billy Porter and his famous black dress), and even weighed in on Bert and Ernie. I am thrilled to finally see a queer-headed family on the show.
The episode was directed by long-time cast member Alan Muraoka, who has played the proprietor of Hooper’s Store for more than two decades. Muraoka lives with his husband Herb Perry and their cat. He announced the episode on Facebook, saying, “I am so honored and humbled to have co-directed this important and milestone episode. Love is love, and we are so happy to add this special family to our Sesame family. Happy Pride to all!!!!” I hope that means we’ll see more of the family in other episodes, too.
Not that the show should rest on its laurels. Yes, I’d love to see a two-mom family as well. Even more urgent, however, is the need for representation of transgender and/or nonbinary children, so that real trans and nonbinary children have more role models and their peers also learn what it means to be trans or nonbinary. (Dreamworks Animation’s kids’ show Madagascar: A Little Wild introduced a nonbinary character last month.) As I’ve said before, Sesame Street has always led the pack in tackling issues of acceptance and diversity around race, language, physical ability, and other topics. They were a little slow off the mark in terms of LGBTQ inclusion, but have the opportunity to gain lost ground and use their decades of experience to create exceptional storylines.
As one of the first generation of children to watch the show (I remember Will Lee, who played the original Mr. Hooper), and as a mother who watched the show with my son, I’d like to believe that future days on the street will be not only sunny, but filled with rainbows. Is it too much to hope for a Pride parade down the Street someday?
Watch the main Full Street Story segment below, and catch the full episode on HBO Max.
