People playing genders they’re not assigned at birth? In theater?!?
😮
My first thought was “wait until they hear about Shakespeare”. Literally every role filled by men, sometimes with the script explicitly calling for a man to play a female in full attire.
I’d also hate to see what policies they’ll enact for their chorale program when performing historical hymns, where soprano parts specifically called for a male eunuch (castrato) to sing since females were not allowed to attend church services including choirs.
In my younger years I would have been absolutely vilified by these people. I’m probably vilified now, but I would’ve been then too. In all seriousness though, I cannot believe how far backwards we’ve gone in all this. I recognize that these thoughts and feelings have existed since before I was a kid but at least back then people seemed to have the decency to mind their own.
But to attack theatre of all things with this gender bullshit is attacking theatre itself. Crossdressing in theatre has existed for as long as theatre has existed. Cross-singing has existed for as long as singing has existed. If they’re not teaching that stuff in their performing arts programs, they are denying young adults a quality education of the performing arts.
There is a slight difference when we’re talking about trans people.
I’d wager they would allow a man to play a woman’s role and vice versa. I think this is purely the anti-trans agenda taking hold.
This happened in Sherman TX, a city most famous for the Lynching of George Hughes and subsequent riot in 1930, commonly known as the Sherman Riot.
I was tempted to say, “New century, new target of bigotry,” but who am I kidding? They never gave up the old target of bigotry, either.
It’s not like the people involved in that lynching felt bad about it or regretted it. And then they passed that hate to their children who passed it on to their own children. Those people were the grandparents and great-grandparents of these kids. Some of them are still alive and still preaching their hate to the kid. Some of them were alive long enough to do it before they died.
I’m happy to say that after a whole bunch of people showed up at the school board meeting to speak on Max’s behalf the school board fully reinstated the original play and it’s actors including Max and issued a formal apology. Special thanks to Grayson Pride for leading the effort. https://www.kxii.com/2023/11/14/sherman-isd-board-trustees-votes-reinstate-original-cast-version-oklahoma/
Just want to point out that this statement makes it very clear that the original decision was reactionary discrimination against a minority in the first place.
Following the closed meeting, a board member, Wendy Vellotti, put forward the motion to reinstate the original version and cast of the production as it was before the gender rule was created.
Edit: The school board is now launching an investigation into the actions of the superintendent.
https://www.kxii.com/2023/11/14/sherman-isd-board-trustees-discuss-superintendent-position/
I haven’t seen Oklahoma! but is there a part where the lead whips out their dong and waves it in front of the audience?
If not, who cares what’s in their pants?
Also, prosthetic dongs are a thing, if you prefer to keep the original vision of Oklahoma! intact.
Also, did they verify the new lead is cis? I know a lot of people who have been in theater, there is a surprisingly large percent who aren’t cis.
Shortly after Hightower’s casting, however, the student was replaced when the school’s principal, Scott Johnston, called Hightower’s father about a new gender policy for student performers.
“Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower recounted the conversation.
This sounds like the kind of thing a school would do under the Nazis. I wonder why that is.
What the fuck?
“Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower recounted the conversation.
When I was in school, they literally didn’t have enough students who were good enough to act, so there was so much gender bending. What garbage
During shakespeares time, they did not allow female actors, so all women on stage were played by men.
Shakespeare had men acting in skirts and dresses. Juliet of Romeo and Juliet, a 14 year old girl was played by a man. The kissing between the Capulet heiress and the Montague boy were two men smooching on stage.
Repugnicans are a plague on both your houses (of Parliament)!
@Potatos_are_not_friends @floofloof Um, Shakespeare.
“Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower recounted the conversation.
These people are so fucking clueless. Men playing women in theatre is literally as old as theatre because women literally weren’t allowed to.
Also how that spits in the face of theatrical performances dating at least back to Shakespeare’s time, if not further.
I never studied that stuff, but I did date a drama major back in the day.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3206851
It goes back to the ancient Greeks, at least.
They just don’t care, as long as they are hurting someone, they are happy.
I bet if you asked him if he was a Bob’s Burgers fan, he’d say yes and not be bothered at all that two of the lead female characters are played by men.
“Our culture” (mostly western European) does not care if men play women (or vice-versa) in a play. If anything, like other have mentioned, in condones it. Stop acting like what you believe is the arbiter of culture. What you believe is nothing and meaningless, and a minority in our society.
Even if you were correct (which you absolutely are not), it wouldn’t matter because we don’t have to continue doing and believing the same things that were once believed. We can imagine and create a better world that let’s people be what they want and be happy. We don’t need you to agree to it, but it’d be better if you at least weren’t hostile to people trying to live their lives and not bothering you.
Ah yes, not hateful or afraid of LGBTQ people you just don’t want them to exist in public where you can see and talk about “exposure” like you’re talking about a disease. Can’t say I am fond of people talking about their own kids like chattel property where their parents decide every single interaction they have and shape their entire experience as though if they can just keep them “pure” of influence they will grow up to be good little carbon copies of their parents who will do exactly what they are told when they are adults. Seems like a good way to put a kid in therapy and for you to end up in a senior home to me.
You want to teach your kid that the gays will burn, fine, the kids still got to learn how to be at least tolerant and share the space in society and learning to get along is kindergarten stuff. Training up little terrors who will flip the fuck out if they ever see two men holding hands while buying IKEA furniture is doing society at large a disservice. Also these are fucking high schoolers, do you really think you need to wrap them in cotton wool and give them safety sissors? I am pretty sure they would light you on fire for trying.
LGBT isn’t a choice and covering their eyes won’t change their sexual orientation.
But, besides that point, how the fuck is it okay to insulate your kid from other cultures? That’s not healthy at all. Eating ramen wasn’t part of my family’s culture growing up, either, but I don’t go around trying to prevent children from learning about Japanese food.
You mean they do hate it but want to claim respectability points by gesturing to “muh kultor!”
Queer folks are in every culture because they literally just happen everywhere. It ain’t up to some badnik lowdowns to decide it ain’t in their culture because it sure is when they’re kicking little johny on the street for not wanting to be called jessy anymore.
Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth. Is just the next step, the Nazi’s have been coming for us but they weren’t you so you didn’t stand up.
Over the last two years it was about fictional characters being played by people not of the characters race, and voice actors started losing work because they weren’t the same race as the characters being voiced.
Before that it was wrong coloured fictional live action princesses.
Before that it was wrong coloured actors using disguises and make-up.
Before that it was black-face.
And everyone thought, I’m not racist maybe that should be wrong! And now you’re racist, sexist, bigoted, for daring to have the admiration and respect to want to imitate ‘those people’. This is part of the culture war, they want to make sure you stay within your lines, on your rung, and in your place.
FIRST THEY CAME
By Martin Niemöller
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
Yeah, I really don’t think enough people realize this shit leads to “women can’t wear pants,” (would fit the statutes they pass to ban drag) which inevitably rolls back nearly all progress we’ve made in the past century regarding women in the workplace.
Or gay and trans people not being allowed to portray men and women, or keep straight people from portraying gay or trans people.
Not quite sure if I’m reading you right, but I’d say there’s a relevant difference between those examples, like recommending white people don’t act in blackface, which are about respecting the cultural sensitivities of a traditionally oppressed group, and those, like prohibiting trans kids from acting roles of their own gender, which are about enhancing the oppression of a traditionally oppressed group.
