Sesame Street question

[burundi]

DanielWithrow and I have a little wager going, and we've decided to let our fellow Dopers decide the matter. On Sesame Street, is Big Bird male or female? I think male, but I can't think of any instances where this is overtly stated. DanielWithrow thinks female, but again can't recall any specific references. Help us settle this pressing matter, please!

[Why A Duck]

Go here (http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/bigbird/0,5835,,00.html) and click on Big Bird. You get:

The Friendliest Fowl on Sesame Street

You could probably guess by his name that Big Bird is big. How big? He's 8 feet, 2 inches tall! Wow! He should play basketball! Big Bird is a very curious creature who makes friends easily. He is six years old and shares his nest with Radar, his teddy bear.

I've always thought of him as a guy.

[Why A Duck]

Go here (http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/bigbird/0,5835,,00.html) and click on Big Bird. You get:

The Friendliest Fowl on Sesame Street

You could probably guess by his name that Big Bird is big. How big? He's 8 feet, 2 inches tall! Wow! He should play basketball! Big Bird is a very curious creature who makes friends easily. He is six years old and shares his nest with Radar, his teddy bear.

I've always thought of him as a guy.

[Why A Duck]

There. Double the evidence.

[astorian]

Since Big Bird (like Oscar the Grouch) was created and played by a man, Carroll Spinney, I always assumed he was a male bird.

[crazy4chaucer]

Big Bird's a boy! I know he is--don't the cast members refer to him as "him"? Maybe I'm having auditory hallucinations, but I'm positive he's a he.

[zev_steinhardt]

Originally posted by astorian
Since Big Bird (like Oscar the Grouch) was created and played by a man, Carroll Spinney, I always assumed he was a male bird.

But surely you didn't consider Peter Pan to be a female when Mary Martin was playing the part... Likewise, I'm sure you don't consider Miss Piggy to be a male simply because Frank Oz provides her voice...

Zev Steinhardt

[Koxinga]

And where does "Roger" (http://www.theonion.com/onion3218/gaymuppet.html) fit into all this?

[Telemark]

And Linda Hunt's character in "The Year of Living Dangerously".

[OpalCat]

I think that the source of the problem is that the man who is inside the suit (most of the time--sometimes it's another guy) has a name that is easily confused for a woman's name.

[mobo85]

Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly
And where does "Roger" (http://www.theonion.com/onion3218/gaymuppet.html) fit into all this?

Even though his lifestyle is too controversial for the letter D, it appears that Roger is a man. :D