Notes on female Muppets

The issue of women's representation with the Muppets, both as characters and as behind the scenes creatives, has been subject to discussion and debate since the 1970s. Recurring female Muppets have often been few in number, and the most prominent frequently performed by men. Sesame Street in particular, in early seasons, received negative feedback over portrayals of female characters (human, Muppet, and animated). While diversity and expanded casting occurred with the human characters, doing the same with Muppets proved to be a long-term challenge. Balancing input by female writers and directors has also been uneven. The following quotes and article excerpts show how those involved and the media have perceived and responded to the issue over the years.
==Quotes==
===On hiring Fran Brill===
From Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones:
===On female puppeteers on The Muppet Show===
From a 2013 interview with Kathy Mullen by Tough Pigs:
When asked in a 2017 interview if there was ever any thought of having a woman perform Miss Piggy, Frank Oz stated:
===On female puppeteers on Sesame Street===
thumb|300px
Joan Ganz Cooney expressed awareness of the need for female puppeteers and characters, in an Archive of American Television interview recorded in 1998.
 
Brian Muehl on [The Getting Felt Up Podcast] (February 2017):
Sonia Manzano on Old School: Volume 3 commentary for Episode 1316 (June 2012):
===On the creation of Skeeter===
When asked in 2008, about Skeeter, Muppet writer Jim Lewis said: "I wasn't there for the creation of the "Muppet Babies" animated series, but I suspect she was added to the show so there'd be another (dare I say, more balanced than Baby Piggy) female character on a show aimed at kids."
Michael K. Frith commented on Skeeter's origins: 
===On the creation of Zoe===
thumb|300px|right|Fran Brill talks about gender and the creation of Zoe at the Museum of Television and Radio.
From Street Gang by Michael Davis (pg 323-324):
From The New York Times (August 1993):
===On the creation of Abby Cadabby===
From The New York Time (August 2006):
From NPR (August 2006):
===On the lack of female characters in The Muppets===
During the Q&A at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, an audience member commented, "I'm thrilled to see that Miss Piggy is the first female host of a late night talk show, [applause], and I was just wondering, are we going to get more women in The Muppets? [oohs from the audience]". Bill Prady began to answer, but was interrupted by Kermit, Gonzo, and Pepe for the sake of a few jokes. Miss Piggy asked "aren't I enough for you?" 
On Episode 35 of The Barretta Brothers, Bill Barretta and Colleen Smith discussed the issue: 
Barretta Brothers episode 35 35:55 mark
==List of female Muppet performers==
*Cynthia Adler
*Pam Arciero
*Lee Armstrong
*Heather Asch
*Jennifer Barnhart
*Betsy Baytos
*Susan Beattie
*Cheryl Blaylock
*Camille Bonora
*Wim Booth
*Fran Brill
*Lynn Robertson Bruce
*Lisa Buckley
*Julianne Buescher
*Sarah Burgess
*Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
*Melissa Creighton
*Stephanie D'Abruzzo
*Sue Dacre
*Dorien Davies
*Alice Dinnean
*Kristina Donnelly
*Ali J. Eisner
*Peggy Etra	
*Olga Felgemacher
*Myra Fried
*Aymee Garcia
*Lesa Gillespie
*Louise Gold
*Abby Hadfield
*Ingrid Hansen
*Rhonda Hansome
*Liz Hara
*Terri Hardin
*Cheryl Henson
*Jane Henson
*Haley Jenkins
*Vicki Kenderes-Eibner
*Kathleen Kim
*Donna Kimball
*Rollie Krewson
*Lara MacLean
*Amanda Maddock
*Alison McGowan
*Anney McKilligan Ozar
*Tracie Mick
*Alison Mork	
*Kathryn Mullen
*Rebecca Nagan
*Sarah Oh
*Carmen Osbahr
*Eren Ozker
*Angie Passmore
*Annie Peterle
*Megan Piphus
*Karen Prell
*Gillie Robic
*Nicolette Santino
*Stoph Scheer
*Sandra Shamas
*Judy Sladky
*Helena Smee
*Katherine Smee
*Colleen Smith
*Nikki Tilroe
*Alice Tweedie
*Karen Valleau
*Cheryl Wagner
*Lisa Waltz
*Julie Westwood
*Victoria Willing
==List of female Muppets==
* Recurring female Muppets
* Recurring female Sesame Street Muppets
* Sesame Workshop's Muppet girls from around the world
==List of female writers for The Muppets==
*Jennifer Barrow (Muppets Tonight, 1996)
*Debra Frank (The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, 2005)
*Betsy Loredo (Muppet Magazine, 1983)
*Kathryn Mullen (Little Muppet Monsters, 1985)
*Barbara Samuels (The Jim Henson Hour, 1989)
*Patricia Silversher (songs for Muppet Classic Theatre, 1994)
*Jocelyn Stevenson (Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along, 1988)
*Cynthia Weil (songs for Muppet Treasure Island, 1996)
;ABC's The Muppets:
*Margee Magee (The Muppets, 2015)
*Angeli Millan (The Muppets, 2015)
*Kristin Newman (The Muppets, 2015)
*Jordan Reddout (The Muppets, 2015)
*Nell Scovell (The Muppets, 2015)
*Emily Wilson (The Muppets, 2015)
;The Muppets Mayhem:
*Julie Bean (The Muppets Mayhem, 2023)
*Hannah Friedman (The Muppets Mayhem, 2023)
*Donielle Muransky (The Muppets Mayhem, 2023)
*Gabriela Rodriguez (The Muppets Mayhem, 2023)
*Crystal Shaw (The Muppets Mayhem, 2023)
;Muppet Babies:
*Lois Becker (Muppet Babies, 1988)
*Star Kaplan (Muppet Babies, 1986)
*Robyn Brown (Muppet Babies, 2018)
*Cindy Begel (Muppet Babies, 2018)
*Chelsea Beyl (Muppet Babies, 2018)
*Ghia Godfree (Muppet Babies, 2019)
*Niki Lytton (Muppet Babies, 2018)
*Sindy McKay (Muppet Babies, 1986)
*Maia Mattise (Muppet Babies, 1986)
*Claudia Silver (Muppet Babies, 2019)
*Laura Sreebny (Muppet Babies, 2018)
*Melanie Wilson LaBracio (Muppet Babies, 2019)
==See also==
*The Bechdel test
*Sesame Street gender stereotyping reports
==Sources==
==External links==
* An Open Letter to the Muppets, From a Little Girl and Her Dad
* The Muppet Mindset: We Need More Female Muppets
* The New York Times - On the Set with Zoe: This Monster is a Girl
* The New York Times - On the Set with Abby: A Girly-girl Joins the Sesame Boys
* Tough Pigs discussion: There aren't a lot of girl Muppets
* Tough Pigs discussion: Lack of Female Muppets
* Muppet Wiki on Facebook: Female performers on The Muppet Show graphic
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Behind the Scenes
Category:Feminism