Sesame Street welcomes a new neighbor
The children's program introduces its newest character in 13 years.
The newest member of the "Sesame Street" cast is not only the first addition to the show in 13 years - but also female.
The PBS show introduced Abby Cadabby this week, a pink preschool fairy who teaches viewers the importance of accepting others' differences.
As one of the few leading female characters since the show's 1969 debut, Abby's development brought up several issues for creators.
"If Cookie Monster had been created as a female, they would look at her as having an eating disorder," said Executive Producer Carol-Lynne Parente. "So it's really hard to write for women without falling into labels and stereotypes."
While "Sesame Street" has been losing viewers over the years to newcomers such as Nickelodeon's "Dora the Explorer," PBS is confident Abby will attract a large fan base, as development testing showed children liked the new Muppet as much as Elmo.
"Preschoolers are often exposed, encountering new situations, and she's modeling these kinds of behaviors and skills about how to enter social groups," said Rosemarie Truglio, Sesame Workshop's vice president of research.
