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The ToughPigs Beacon is a series of articles by neurodivergent writers on the relationship between The Muppets, Muppet fandom, and neurodiversity. Find all entries in the series here.
Last year, as part of our ToughPigs Beacon series, an anonymous contributor wrote about discovering they’re Autistic but being too scared to talk about it publicly in “Applying for Jobs at the Magic Store.” SURPRISE (or not at all), it was me the whole time!
But wait, there’s more! Turns out I’m also genderqueer. Which, yes, is under the larger umbrella of nonbinary. Which, yes, is under the larger umbrella of transgender.
Through our Beacon series and Pride series, I think we’ve well established that both neurodiversity and queerness can be very Muppety. But what do they have to do with each other?
My therapist: You know, there’s a term for people who feel like their Autism and their gender identity inform each other and are inextricable from each other.
Me: Oh, cool. Yeah, that makes sense. I’m glad that exists for them.
Me two months later: …Oh, g—damnit.
Turns out the term is “autigender” or “neuroqueer.” I prefer to use the latter for myself, both because I dislike the mouthfeel of saying “autigender” and because I love the word “queer” in all its forms—as a noun, as an adjective, and especially as a verb. So what exactly do I mean by “Neurofairy Muppetgender”?
Neurofairy = This system is bad and I want to bite someone about it.
Like many Autistic folks, I’m adept at spotting patterns. But as soon as I start pointing out the patterns—let alone imply that the patterns indicate inherent flaws in the system that created them and therefore inevitable trouble down the road—suddenly I’m the problem.
Something clicked into place when I read the article “Changelings: Unraveling the Myth and Its Connection to Autism.” And when I learned how that myth has been used as justification of the abuse and filicide of children just like me? I hissed out loud. I decided to reclaim the changeling myth and the feral sensitivity that was never my fault because there was never anything wrong with me. And when it comes to analyzing harmful systems that make no sense…
Muppetgender = Wow, okay, some of y’all are taking the made-up rules (gender) of this made-up game (life) way too seriously.
This is where queer as a verb comes into play. What else does a Muppet do but thwart expectations with playful chaos? With that said, I have to acknowledge my white privilege and thank my queer ancestors who rioted and died for my right to be (relatively) safe enough to be flippant about this. As the exquisite Alok Vaid-Menon reminds us, “We’re all gonna die, and you’re worried about how I’m dressed?”
I’ve always loved the playfulness and freedom of shapeshifters—the Animorphs series, Mystique from X-Men, the wizards’ duel between Merlin and Madam Mim in The Sword in the Stone. But our favorite Muppet shapeshifter, Skenfrith from Fraggle Rock’s “Believe It or Not,” hits different in a painful way. Most shapeshifters can take whatever form they want, but Skenfrith is cursed to become whatever others believe him to be:
“You only see what you seem to believe to be me
Making believe that the dream in your head could be me
But it’s only you that you see.”
At least Skenfrith is aware of how his powers hinge on the projection of others. And on that note…
On Monsters
There’s a reason why Grover always finds a monster in the mirror or at the end of this book, because that’s the whole point—we can all be monsters sometimes. Everyone gets grouchy, hungry, anxious, or clueless. And when we realize how much we have in common with the thing that used to scare us, suddenly it’s not as scary anymore.
The inner fears that keep trying to pull me back into the closet like to whisper, “They’re going to call you a monster, you know. They’ll say, ‘The queers are trying to indoctrinate your children!’ They’ll call you the worst kind of monster there is. Deviant. Pervert. Groomer. Predator.”
Most of the time, I can roll my eyes and reply, “Yes, I’m so dangerous—I want to corrupt your children with ‘a heartwarming lesson about sharing or waiting your turn or the number three.’ Of course I’m a monster! So is everyone. So are you, my dude. Have you forgotten how to Wubba?”
The whole point is that I get to decide what kind of monster I am. Every day, every moment, we all choose what kind of monster we see in the mirror. I’m choosing Fairy Muppet.
Dramatis Personae
In my early research, I heaved a sigh of relief when I found that Muppet Wiki already had a list of Muppet fairies, because of course it does. Bless the collaborative internet and all the nerds who contribute to it for helping me compile this incomplete list of my favorite genders:
Mezzo is the reason this article exists. When I first saw Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock episode 206, “Mezzo: Live in Concert,” my notes stop short and read only:
Fairy Fraggle.
I mean I’m not saying that’s my gender, but
And her wings are like a rosy maple moth come ON
I wish Mezzo and her band were on Muppet Wiki’s list, but I guess we don’t technically know what species they are. But if they can be kinda like fairies and kinda like Fraggles, then so can I. I may not take the spotlight very often, but when I do, I’m going to be Extra about it.
Don’t let the femme aesthetic fool you, Abby Cadabby and I are both Just a Lil Guy. She’s the epitome of earnestly trying your best, over and over, because you’re working at something really important to you. At the same time, Abby is… a lot. Some people will always find her annoying, but they can go find less. For the sake of harm reduction, she learns how to refine her powers, but Abby Cadabby will never shrink her effusively sparkly soul to become more palatable. When I log into my friend’s HBO account, I see this and inevitably think, “Ah yes, the two genders.”
Piggybell/Piggytink = Look, there are limited roles for women here, and I called dibs on the best one.
Mokey’s fairy costume = Just when you thought I couldn’t get any more whimsical…
Wanda the Word Fairy = Beth’s Etymology Corner on Fraggle Talk: Classic.
The Fairy Godperson = Yes, I have ten different part-time jobs, but I’m a struggling artist, okay??
Labyrinth fairy = High femme but will bite when f’ed with and go nonverbal (mf I know where to get bespoke prosthetic fangs now).
Various Fairy Grouchmothers = At home alone, I’m actually a disgusting little misanthropic goblin. Now, scram!!
The OOM: Watching Fraggle Rock episode 409 “Wembley’s Flight” in 2021, my notes read:
Somewhere there is someone whose gender is Spiderfly / Fairy Godmother / Odd Old Man.
Watching in 2026:
Last but never least, who should appear on the list of Muppet Fairies no less than five times (if you include his Baby version) but the OG NB himself, Gonzo. Gonzo does not care how incomprehensible he is to you; that is rather the point of performance art, and gender is definitely performance art.
Beyond the Chrysalis
In the spring of 2025, I attended a festival where I brushed off my old slideshow presentation on the history of the Muppets, but I added new sections: “What is Muppet Energy?” and “Hard Mode: What is Muppet Gender?” I was cautiously testing the waters, opening this conversation to a small group of people that felt relatively safe. That day, I learned that it wasn’t just my close friends who could understand this part of me. I could utter the absolutely bonkers phrase “My gender is Fairy Muppet” and have total strangers say, “I get it. I see you.”
Later that same event, I decided to lean fully into the Millennial Fairy Muppet look. When I saw myself in the mirror, I said, “Oh!… I look like how I would have dressed at fifteen if I’d known it was possible to be this.”
This was also during my imposter syndrome phase, which I’m told is extremely common—I was worried that binary trans folks would think I was being facetious. Then I stumbled upon a video (now unfortunately gone forever because Instagram deleted it after it went viral) by none other than trans goddess Persephone Valentine:
Dueted OP: “If trans women are Dolls and trans men are Kens, what are nonbi—”
Sephie: “Muppets! They’re Muppets. Think about it. Do you know even one nonbinary friend who couldn’t be summed up by Big Bird? Or Animal? Or Beaker? Or Oscar the Grouch? There is one exception. Miss Piggy is a Doll. [Tongue click, hair toss] Okay? She is a Doll. [Tongue click]”
[approximate transcription from memory]
My fears vanished, and I sent the video to a dozen friends. I had already been anointed by blacklight rainbow face paint, and suddenly I was consecrated as doctrine by the goddess of rebirth.
Now, having recently returned from the same festival, wherein I turned up the Fairy Muppet volume from a whisper to a howl, I lay the humble offering of this article at the shrine of the Lost Reel. I feel certain that it was special to a lot of other Muppet eggs and hatchlings out there.
Fairy = The ideas I represent will save lives and crumble empires.
Muppet = I am but a conduit for nonsense, and this vessel is frail (holy moly, the overlap between neurodiversity, queerness, and having multiple chronic illnesses!).
My gender is “Comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.” = Dyeing my hair bright colors signals safety to some and danger to others, and I feel like a Fairy Godmother either way.
My gender is “You can’t make me.” = Your rules are stupid and bad, so I’m taking my dolls and going home.
My gender is “Watch me.” = I’m going to hyperfocus on your stupid game and learn how to play it better than you, which makes it actually fun again.
Don’t worry, nothing essential has changed. I still use she/her pronouns, so no one has to worry about messing that up, but those who want to use they/them/their for me are welcome to do so. And for the few who both Get It and Dare, fae/femme/feyr. I’m still Beth. I’m still exactly the same as I’ve always been, I just have more precise language for why. And that’s going to help me write and Be the Monster I Wish to See at the End of This Book.
In conclusion,
Click here to debate what counts as a fairy on the ToughPigs Discord!
by Beth Cook
