Hi, Nelson!
It's great to get a fun question now and then, and there are few
things funner than Warner Brothers cartoons.
I am not an expert on avian gender issues, but I do know my cartoons.
I have always viewed Tweety as a male. He may have long eyelashes and
a rather high-pitched voice, but the same is true of Tom Selleck, who
is definitely a fella. ;-)
But you don't have to take my word for it. Here are some online
references for backup:
"So, is Tweety male or female?? Judging from the looks of the charming
bird, some might feel that it is female. However, Granny always
addresses her pets (consisting of Sylvester, Hector and Tweety) boys.
You can argue that 'boys' might just be a generalised term like 'guys'
or 'dudes' but the answer we all wanna know is clearly seen in a
cartoon when Tweety Bird gets attracted to a female bird which was
actually Sylvester's painted finger. This cartoon can be found in the
limited-edition 'VCD-in-a-can' which was on sale in Singapore in 2000.
CONCLUSION: Tweety is male."
Tweety's Corner: Gender Problems?
http://home.pacific.net.sg/~pbsam65/samuel_tweety.htm
"Warner Bros. Frequently Asked Questions concludes that Tweety is
definitely a boy, noting that he's said to be modeled after a baby
picture of his creator, Robert Clampett. Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research
agrees that Tweety is a boy...
[In] the film Bugs Bunny Superstar, Bob Clampett, Tweety's creator,
refers to Tweety as 'HE'. There, right from the source."
The Big Cartoon Forum: quastion [sic] about tweety
http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/General_Cartoon_Discussions_C1/Warner_Bros._F2/quastion_about_tweety_P29109/
From the Warner Brothers FAQ mentioned above:
"Q1.8. Is Tweety a boy or a girl?
A1.8. Tweety is definitely a boy. He was said to be modeled after a
baby picture [of] his creator Robert Clampett."
WB Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.nonstick.com/wdocs/wfaq.html#q18
"IS TWEETY A BOY OR A GIRL?
A Boy. Tweety is a male canary."
Cartoon Research: Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.cartoonresearch.com/questions.html
"Dear Uncle Ezra,
I have been wondering for a long time what the gender of Tweety Bird
is from Warner Brothers Looney Toons Cartoons. Thank you!
Not Sylvester
Dear Fan of Tweety Bird,
He's a he! The Little Golden Book TWEETY'S GLOBAL PATROL by Gene
Lewis, uses male gender; for instance, when Tweety answers the phone:
'Global Patrol, Tweety here,' he trilled once more."
Uncle Ezra"
Dear Uncle Ezra
http://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=803188800
"I, for one, am of the opinion that Tweety is male. This is based on
"Bad Ol' Putty Tat" (Freleng, 1949), in which Sylvester manages to
temporarily lure Tweety with a fake female canary (actually, one of
his fingers with a hat and painted-on eyes). This, along with Tweety's
sailor-boy hat he wears in this cartoon, is an indication that, at the
very least for the purposes of this particular cartoon, he was male.
Of course, WB never made a fetish of consistency, and I'm sure one
could come up with contrary evidence.
Eric O. Costello...
(Author of "The Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion," a guide to obscure
and interesting items of Classic WB animation.)
From the alt.animation.warner-bros newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&c2coff=1&safe=off&threadm=01bbefc0%24ee9f57c0%24b159e4ce%40ppp-rimax.tampella.com&rnum=18&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D%2522tweety%2Ba%2Bboy%2522%2BOR%2B%2522Tweety%2Bmale%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26newwindow%3D1%26c2coff%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26selm%3D01bbefc0%2524ee9f57c0%2524b159e4ce%2540ppp-rimax.tampella.com%26rnum%3D18
"In the latest employee newsletter, WB confirms that Tweety is a male.
(This was a topic that was brought up by some schoolkids originally).
They point to some of Clampett's original drawings and concepts and
the fact that Clampett said Tweety was based on an old photo of
himself as a baby...
And, hey, wasn't there a cartoon where Tweety actually fell in love
with a female bird which was actually Sylvester's claw dressed up? (Or
will we now see 'Is Tweety a lesbian?' posts?)"
From the alt.animation.warner-bros newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&c2coff=1&safe=off&threadm=4q6lnp%246s8%40newsbf02.news.aol.com&rnum=7&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Dtweety%2Bmale%2Bgroup:alt.animation.warner-bros%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26newwindow%3D1%26group%3Dalt.animation.warner-bros%26c2coff%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26selm%3D4q6lnp%25246s8%2540newsbf02.news.aol.com%26rnum%3D7
Apart from the info mentioned above, there is always the
ornithological argument. Male canaries sing; female canaries do not.
Assuming Tweety to be a canary, the fact that he sings is a good
indication that he's male.
And finally, here is an official Warner Brothers description of Tweety:
"Voiced by Mel Blanc, the innocent Tweety is said to have been
inspired by Warner Bros. animator Bob Clampett's fond remembrances of
baby birds he saw in nature films as a child, baby pictures of
himself, and his own young son. Audiences grew to love Tweety because
he remains unruffled in the face of danger (usually Sylvester's jaws)
and continuously outsmarts his drooling predators...but also because,
well... he's sooooo cute!"
Looney Tunes / Warner Brothers: Tweety
http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/stars_of_the_show/tweety/tweety_story.html
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: tweety male
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=tweety+male
Google Groups Search, alt.animation.warner-bros: tweety male
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=tweety+male&meta=group%3Dalt.animation.warner-bros
I hope you made a sizeable bet with your roommate on this matter. If so, you win!
Best,
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