People playing genders they’re not assigned at birth? In theater?!?
😮
Shakespeare never would have done this!
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.
they are denying young adults a quality education
I think you’re on to something there.
Trying to remember. Was it Taming of the Shrew where he mind fucks the audience with a male actor playing a male servant pretending to be a guy’s wife in drag?
I wonder who the first woman to play Juliet was, and if Shakespeare ever met her.
We banned ShakesSpear and hung him/her in effigy
—Texas, probably
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.
Gotta say, their obsession with children’s genitalia really weirds me out.
Always comes down to that why care if the person is trans it’s like those laws that forbid trans people from hrt all bullshit
Shakespeare would be mortified!
Fucking outrageous thankfully there’s no traditional Christmas theatre shows that involve drag coming up
Rock Hudson has entered the room
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.
Some of the very first people that the Brownshirts went after was transpeople, even completely destroying an institute that was studying gender in the 30’s.
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/
Nice! If you didn’t already, you should make a post about it
Thank you, I’ll check and see if anyone has. I am diligently learning Lemmy.
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/
They need to investigate him. There are images circulating of him harassing parents who spoke ill of him about the situation. Another board member was shown to be protesting the local pride problem that was held, yelling at children and taunting them.
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.
Wow, I guess the movie really deviated from the source material.
TIL that there’s a version of the Oklahoma! movie without exposed genitalia.
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.
Name literally one actor or theatre person who is gay!?
Pshh. Can’t be done.
Right? If you’re gonna try to get all the queer kids out of theater you’re gonna have a really hard time.
Has the school administration examined their penis yet?
You dont remember the classic line
“Ooooooooklamohma where my jizz coms seeping down my pants!”
I just wanted you to know, I actually giggled at this. Thank you for the laugh after a shitty weekend.
They could have wrote that in. My junior high plays were always just slightly different from the originals. 🤷🏻♂️
Texas, apparently…
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.
Removed by mod
Talking in code doesn’t work when we all have the cipher buddy.
“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.
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.
Wise words.
Removed by mod
So we should allow children to read books that are accepting of relationships at all, right? It’s either wrong to do or it isn’t. It shouldn’t matter what gender the people are in the relationships. Either you’re OK with some types of indoctrination or none.
(I’m of the opinion it isn’t indoctrination to let people choose to read what they choose to read. It isn’t indoctrination to admit people exist.)
Then they can just, you know, “not expose their child to that lifestyle” and stop forcing other people to do what their theocracy says?
No! Because if you don’t stop they might want to!
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.
If I remember correctly back in the 18th century when only men were in plays they would also play women.
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 straight people from portraying gay or trans people.
or keep straight people from portraying gay or trans people.
Except no. If they were consistent, then yeah sure. But there’s nothing consistent about this ideology.
They wouldn’t care about that. But more importantly, art containing gay or trans people is “degenerate,” and would never be made in the first place (or if made, its creators would be killed).
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.
Because Max identifies as a transgender male, he could no longer be cast as the male lead.
I feel like the easy solution is to identify as a cis male…
It is concerning (but unsurprising) how obsessed conservatives are with childrens genitals.
You must cover your genitals at all times! But your coverings must clearly indicate which genitals you have! No one may see your genitals, but everyone needs to be clearly informed of your genitals at all times.
Also the gential signaling coves change over time, but wearing the wrong coverings in the wrong time period is unnatural and makes God mad!
deleted by creator
You can’t choose to identify as the cis version of your opposite sex.
That’s literally why we have the term cis, to differentiate from those who keep their assigned gender from those who do not.
Maybe I don’t know what a transgendered male is, but I thought it was someone who was born female then transitioned to male.
That would mean that identifying as a cis male does not make sense because cis is for people who keep their assigned gender at birth.
… holy crap they were being sarcastic…
I appreciate y’all on Lemmy. I almost went along with the Reddit programming of ruining jokes with /s but decided to test it.
It’s needed sometimes, but definitely not here.
It’s called a joke, bud.
The cis kid who was cast to replace the trans kid should refuse on principle. the rest of the staff should, too.
Also conservatives can go fuck themselves.
The cis kid who was cast to replace the trans kid should refuse on principle.
The whole cast and backstage staff should pretend to go along with it until opening night, and then on opening night as the curtains open, they make a short statement about the injustice then walk off stage and go home.
Alternatively, the cast should covertly learn the role of an opposite gender cast member. Then on opening night, the cast members assume their opposite role and perform the whole play ignoring the costume inconsistencies.
I’m guessing the drama teacher will not allow any of that in order to keep their job.
Who says the kids have to tell the drama teacher?
I’m sure the drama teacher could spin that notoriety into some kind of career as a speaker or a teaching job in a more liberal area
As a former theater kid (and queer person) this is close to the right answer. The cis replacement should show up on day 1 and do the most over the top, flaming, fabulous Curly the world has ever seen.
deleted by creator
You’re right, it is a speck, so why the fuck is the school board singling out a child to punish over something completely insignificant? Do you think that child is going to grow up with a strong respect for authority, knowing that they will ruin their prospects over trivial bullshit?
deleted by creator
A strong respect for bigoted authority???
No, not at all.
Enroll the Children in Boot Licking 101
Just because it doesn’t have an effect on you personally doesn’t mean it’s a speck. Other human beings exist and have feelings. Maybe stop being a narcissist.
Removed by mod
What are you even trying to communicate here?
I feel awful for the involved kids, but look forward to what should be a slam dunk lawsuit.
I highly doubt any lawsuit of this nature would be anything close to a slam dunk, especially in Texas. I’m not finding any federal court cases that provide legal precedent on the topic, and Trump revoked the Obama administration guidance that trans people are protected under Title IX.
Looks like this could be the lawsuit to set the precedent.
With what supreme court? The Christofascist one that Trump and McConnell installed?
It would start in a state court and progress to the state level Supreme Court, I imagine. After that it goes to the federal SC. This would be preferable if they are seeking punitive damages.
Or I guess they could appeal it to the federal level. This is the route if you wanted to make a precedent for the entire US.
The licensing organization should pull their approval.
damn, i feel really bad for the kid
This is absolutely against theatre traditions.
I was an angsty theatre kid. I would conspire to ruin every and any play for the remainder of my time at that school.
I hate conservative so much. This is a non issue. If they are the best for the part let them play the part.
You’d think they would ban Oklahoma! in Texas entirely for daring to be about a state other than Texas.
Oklahoma is a vassal state to Texas, so it’s fine.
As a reluctant Texan, this is the comment I came here to make.
They do know that acting is pretending to be someone other than yourself, right?
If Jared Leto (🤮) can win an Oscar for portraying a trans woman despite not being trans, then there is absolutely no reason that a trans boy can’t play the male lead of a school play. It’s acting.
This is Texas we’re talking about. You’re attempting to apply logic where there is none.
Texas is the only state which doesn’t have consistent power. Like, something no other state has a problem with.
deleted by creator
Are you talking about Dallas buyers club or something else? I’m neither hip nor with it.
Yep, that’s the one.
They should play one of the female lead characters, but as male.
