A Lot Of People Are Confused About Whether Bingo Is A Boy Or A Girl, Apparently

Many viewers have Googled it, so no shame, you won’t be the first: Is Bingo a boy or a girl? Countless parents who have only seen Bluey in passing have also wondered if the eponymous pup is a boy or girl — spoiler, she’s a she, but her blue hue seems to throw people off for some reason. Bingo’s gender identity seems to also be a source of confusion for some, so that’s clear that up right now, shall we?

Even avid Bluey viewers have probably wondered how old both Bluey and Bingo are. As Romper reported, Bluey turned 7 year olds in Season 3, while little sibling Bingo starts the series at 4, but turns 5 in Season 2. But that still leaves us wondering about Bingo’s pronouns.

Is Bingo a boy or a girl?

Short answer: Bingo is a girl. If you need me to prove that’s true, you can watch pretty much any episode of Bluey to listen for Chili, Bandit, or Bluey to refer to Bingo as “she” or call the sisters collectively “girls.”

Bluey creator Joe Brumm based the show on life with his daughters and their relationship with each other, The Independent reports, so it makes sense that both Bluey and Bingo would be girls, too. Bluey was also the name of Brumm’s own blue heeler growing up (the dog was a girl, according to his interview), and because heelers can also be red, he applied that color to Bluey’s little sister.

Bluey is also a girl, which has likely confused casual viewers because she is blue in color, and that’s typically associated with boys. It’s also the color of Bandit, her dad, while mom Chili is the same orange as Bingo. In reality, it’s just because heelers — also known as Australian cattle dogs — can be either blue gray or reddish orange in color.

Why does it matter?

One of the best things about Bluey is that the Heeler sisters don’t engage in a ton of gendered play. You see the pups playing all kinds of games with friends of all genders, and the show itself is neither a typical action-packed superhero “boy show” or a pink, best friends-driven “girl show.” It just kind of depicts kids being kids.

In children’s entertainment, shows are usually pretty clearly geared towards either girls or boys, both in their content and marketing strategies. But Brumm has said in many interviews that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Peppa Pig, which similarly defies being categorized as either a girl or boy show. So it’s both not that important whether the characters are girls or boys, because it won’t (and shouldn’t) dissuade your children from watching. And it’s also pretty key to the storyline, because the relationship between two young sisters likely differs from how two brothers or a brother and sister might interact.

Long story short: Bingo and Bluey are both girls who are kind, curious, and eager to learn. We can’t wait to watch what they do in Season 4.