Cross-dressing characters

If there is a shortage of female Muppets, or for the purpose of a particular gag, an established male character would sometimes be outfitted with a wig or dress. Several Muppets have dressed in drag, some on more than one occasion. Kermit in particular, in his earliest years, often donned a wig to lip synch to female vocalists such as Keely Smith or Rosemary Clooney. In an early appearance on The Today Show, the host complimented Jane Henson, performing the character opposite Jim Henson's Sam, on the "feminine" quality she brought to the character (though Jane tried to stress that the puppet was named Kermit, and normally male). In still other occasions, a puppet, rather than a character, is refurbished or recycled as a differently gendered character, a practice done with both male and female Muppets.

Muppets in Drag

 * Wilkins: Several Wilkins Coffee commercials


 * Wontkins: Several Wilkins Coffee commercials


 * Boppity: Episode 119 and Episode 215 of The Muppet Show


 * Gloat: Episode 120 and Episode 515 of The Muppet Show


 * Baskerville the Hound: The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence


 * Cookie Monster: A "Near and Far" segment on Sesame Street.


 * Kermit the Frog: I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face, Old Black Magic and Episode 202 of The Muppet Show


 * Fozzie Bear: Epsiode 216 of ''The Muppet Show


 * Beautiful Day Monster: Episode 109 of The Muppet Show and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass


 * Gonzo: Episode 109 of The Muppet Show


 * Telly: Two Headed Monster segment as thier mother; Telly also dresses up in his duck costume from Peter and the Wolf in order to play "mother" for a baby duckling he cares for in Episode 4051.


 * Miss Kitty: Episode 108 of The Muppet Show


 * Snake Frackle: Episode 515 of The Muppet Show


 * Pink Boppity: Episode 515 of The Muppet Show


 * Pepe: V-Chip Commercial
 * Bruce Monster: Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco


 * Maurice Monster: Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco, a 1990 Sesame Street calendar


 * Kermit the Forg: Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco


 * Icky Gunk: Under My Skin episode of Sam and Friends


 * Harry the Hipster: Powder-Burn episode of Sam and Friends


 * Bert: A Muppet Family Christmas as "Mother" from T'was The Night Before Christmas


 * Sprocket: ??????? dressed as a poodle

Gender Changes

 * Featherstone: turned into The Queen in Episode 121 and Episode 202 of The Muppet Show


 * Taminella Grinderfall: became Tommy for a series of Kerns Bakery commercials.


 * Mudwell the Mudbunny: male in his one appearance on Fraggle Rock, recycled as a Dickensian London housewife (wed to the Murray the Minstrel puppet) in The Muppet Christmas Carol


 * Hillary the Owl: debuted on The Animal Show as female, performed by Karen Prell, later recycled on the same series as Timmy the Owl, portrayed by Bill Barretta.


 * Pearl: Debuted as a girl with Deena and became a male monster in a monster barbershop quartet song about the number 4.