“Two Mommies” and Drag Queen Episodes: How Sesame Street and PBS Have Gone Off the Rails

There was a time when PBS and Sesame Street were considered the most wholesome and educational content for children. However, over the years PBS has moved so far to the left that many conservative parents do not want their children watching anymore. Parents and lawmakers have called for defunding because they don’t want their tax dollars supporting left-wing political and social causes.

One of the original intents of Sesame Street was to present red, green, blue, and yellow monsters so that children could not relate to them on ethnic lines. Very quickly black and later Asian and Latino muppets were added, which was antithetical to the original “color blind” intent of the show. Eventually gay and trans characters were added.

The content consistently promotes identity politics over individual merit, diversity and inclusion as primary values rather than traditional American principles, and liberal social positions on sexuality, gender, and race. The activist framework teaches children to “speak up” and challenge traditional norms.

This directly conflicts with conservative values emphasizing traditional family structures, biological sex distinctions, parental rights and authority, a color-blind merit-based approach, religious freedom and conscience protection, and American founding principles.

Sesame Street posted Pride Month messages celebrating “LGBTQIA+ people,” with the “T” representing transgender. The show has featured same-sex parent families in episodes since 2017, including characters with “two daddies” or “two mommies.” Episode 5132 in 2021 introduced Dave and Frank, a married gay couple raising their daughter Mia.

The “ABC’s of Racial Literacy” initiative launched in 2021 introduced Black Muppets Wesley and Elijah Walker to teach children about “racial justice” and “systemic inequality.”

The problem with teaching young children these concepts is that the instruction presupposes differences in outcomes across ethnic groups are the result of injustice and inequality. Racial literacy is defined by Sesame Workshop as “the knowledge, skills, and awareness needed to talk thoughtfully about race and racism,” along with strategies to “counter or cope with racism” and an understanding of “the role racism plays in society.” This definition assumes racism plays a role in society and leaves no room for debate.

Of course, if debate were allowed, it would involve five-year-olds who have no other basis of knowledge on the subject, which is precisely why many critics argue that liberal agendas in PBS and Sesame Street programming amount to indoctrination rather than education.

Episode 3140, which aired in 1993, featured a racist phone call intended to portray “institutional racism.” One of the show’s human characters, Gina, received an anonymous, disturbing racist call after some evil person was triggered by seeing her and her Black friend playing in the park. The episode led to discussions with Telly, Baby Bear, and Savion about prejudice, unfairness, and how to respond to hateful messages.

While this may have happened to someone, somewhere, at some point, outrage over a Black and a white person being friends is not a normal occurrence that most people experience. The episode represents another example of how liberals take an exception, turn it into the rule, and then use it to justify training, classes, and lessons on how to guard against something that is statistically rare.

In 2021, Sesame Street introduced Ji-Young as the first Asian American Muppet, explicitly as part of a “racial justice initiative” to combat anti-Asian hate, a concept that later became codified during the Biden administration. The premise itself is something of a misnomer, as very few people actually hate Asians. Under official definitions, however, targeting someone because of their race qualifies as a hate crime. Asians are often targeted by muggers and criminals because they are perceived as easy targets.

Other PBS children’s programming has followed similar patterns. Arthur’s episode “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” in 2019 featured gay marriage between a teacher and his partner Patrick. Work It Out Wombats! in 2023 featured lesbian couple Duffy and Leiko raising daughter Louisa. The Clifford the Big Red Dog reboot in 2019 included LGBTQ characters. Odd Squad featured a same-sex wedding episode. Postcards from Buster aired “Sugartime!” in 2005, showing children with lesbian mothers. PBS digital content included a “Let’s Learn” segment featuring drag queen Lil’ Miss Hot Mess reading “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish.”

PBS news and documentary programming has addressed transgender issues directly. A 2015 FRONTLINE documentary, “Growing Up Trans,” explored transgender children receiving puberty blockers and hormones, featuring children as young as four to six who were transitioning. Covering these issues on a news program is fine, but the reporting was not critical, not balanced, and did not interview a single doctor or psychologist who opposes affirming a delusion.

The show’s description stated that it was “exploring the experiences of transgender children and their families as they navigate new medical options for gender transition at younger ages, covering the emotional struggles, choices, and the pioneering nature of these kids and parents.” The portrayal was openly pro–sex change for young children, even referring to the adults involved as “pioneers.”

PBS programming on abortion includes multiple FRONTLINE documentaries supporting abortion access, such as “The Abortion Divide,” which presented abortion as a healthcare choice. PBS NewsHour coverage includes regular segments supporting abortion “rights,” a framing that presupposes that women have the right to kill babies, and criticizing restrictions on abortion. Shows such as Kentucky Tonight have featured Planned Parenthood representatives advocating for abortion as “health-saving and life-affirming.”

Little to no content explicitly promotes traditional two-parent biological families as ideal, religious faith or Judeo-Christian values, American founding principles or patriotism, traditional gender roles, or marriage between a man and a woman.

Conservatives argue that taxpayer-funded programming should not promote contested moral positions that run contrary to the religious beliefs of many taxpayers. Specific concerns include the use of public funds to normalize same-sex relationships, teaching children about trans without parental consent, promoting notions of racism, violating the show’s color-blind intent, and airing Pride celebrations that conflict with traditional values and religious teachings.

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