#14 - Winnie the Gay Pooh (He's happy, all right..)

How many of us have been enthralled by Winnie the Pooh’s adorable appearance, with the fitted red tee and protruding tummy? What about his gentle, optimistic and cheerful character that captivated the hearts of so many children? Most importantly, his beautiful name ‘Winnie’ that simply endears him to us! But why is he called Winnie?

Winnie the Pooh is given a male voice-over all along in the cartoon shows. He is constantly portrayed as a male bear that people refer to as a ‘he’. Winnie is intended to be a male persona, yet he bears the female name ‘Winnie’.

‘Winnie’ is a shorter version of the female name ‘Winifred’, an Anglicized form of ‘Gwenfrewi’. The latter is derived from the Welsh elements gwen, which means "white, fair and blessed", and frewi referring to "reconciliation and peace". This was originally the name of a 7th-century Welsh saint and martyr, who happened to be a woman. Therefore, ‘Winnie’ is indeed a female name unbefitting of a male bear like Pooh.

Could Pooh bear be caught amidst gender indiscrimination and an identity-crisis? Will his gender confusion have adverse effects on children who adore 'Winnie' the Pooh? Is it right that such a popular cartoon character that is targeted at children of tender ages should appear to cultivate a gender-hybrid image?

Perhaps, the ever cheerful Winnie is gay, in definitely more ways than one.