Index: django/http/__init__.py
===================================================================
--- django/http/__init__.py	(revision 6845)
+++ django/http/__init__.py	(working copy)
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
             self._container = content
             self._is_string = False
         else:
-            self._container = [content]
+            self._container = [str(content)]
             self._is_string = True
         self.cookies = SimpleCookie()
         if status:
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@
         return smart_str(''.join(self._container), self._charset)
 
     def _set_content(self, value):
-        self._container = [value]
+        self._container = [str(value)]
         self._is_string = True
 
     content = property(_get_content, _set_content)