Gender-Nonconforming Muppet Gonzo is a Beautiful Princess

Every now and then, you need a story that will just make your little gay heart sing—and this is that story.

In the animated kid’s show Muppet Babies, the popular muppet Gonzo, long assumed to be male, told their muppet friends that that’s just not “me.”

When Miss Piggy throws a lavish, royal ball, all the guests are expected to dress as either princesses or knights, dependent on their gender. Gonzo says that they want to wear a dress to the ball, too, but Miss Piggy shakes her head, telling them that the girls will go as princesses, and the boys as knights. Seeing his friend’s discomfort, Kermit tries to tell Gonzo that being a knight is cool, too, but Gonzo dejectedly walks away.

Rizzo comes to Gonzo’s rescue, taking the form of Gonzo’s own “fairy ratfather” and magically transforming their clothes into a beautiful gown complete with a pair of glass slippers. Gonzo attends Miss Piggy’s ball as this mysterious princess, and the next day, all the Muppet friends excitedly talk about the party’s unexpected, amazing guest.

When Gonzo steps forward and tells their friends that they were, in fact, the mysterious princess Gonzorella, their friends immediately shower Gonzo with acceptance and apologize for trying to force them into a single way of being. “You all expected me to look a certain way,” Gonzo tells them. “I don’t want you to be upset with me, but I don’t want to do things because that’s the way they’ve always been done either. I want to be me.”

The queer community rejoiced online after the episode aired. Seeing the increase of intentional and authentic representation in children’s shows means more to LGBTQ people than cis-het people will ever know. Even the smallest details, like Miss Piggy using they/them pronouns to describe the fantastic, mystery princess, can do so much for queer youth who get to see themselves reflected in media for the very first time.

Muppet Babies now joins a host of other children’s shows looking to expand LGBTQ representation. Shows like Blues Clues, She-Ra, and Steven Universe have been known to include queer topics and relationships in their shows. Even Teletubbies released some adorable merchandise for Pride this year in partnership with GLAAD.

If you’re looking for a warm, fuzzy feeling, watch the touching clips from Muppet Babies below!

YORO ???????? Gonzo is the new queer icon pic.twitter.com/JVEchcA41E

— mayito ???? (@mayitoodice) July 26, 2021