Like a constant, maniacal wink that whispers, “Write something. I dare you.”
As a young playwright, I want to confront my opponent and litter this white canvas with black tic marks that will hopefully translate into a play. I look for inspiration from new plays written by fellow women playwrights like Dana Lynn Formby and Kristiana Rae Colón. Much like Formby and Colón’s work, my personal experiences of womanhood color my thoughts and flood into my plays.
7 comments:
This was a powerful article, especially when it touched upon the “not all men” point. It is definitely true that women need to be more represented both on the stage and in the background (e.g., playwriting). The article does take a slightly extreme point of view, though, with one of the plays it chose to highlight (Good Friday). American Beauty Shop really sparked my interest because it talks about a highly controversial issue in a setting that evokes emotion (between audience and on-stage characters). I think this is a fantastic idea for a play, especially with the current presidential-elect lineup that has evoked so many misogynistic vibes. However, we are in a delicate place. With such an uncertain four years ahead that will include many hits on healthcare and access to birth control, it will be harder than ever to produce plays like American Beauty Shop despite the fact that it will be more necessary than ever to produce plays like American Beauty Shop.
On the other side, Good Friday is a very strong, emotional piece from the sounds of this article. In other words, it may be very hard for those “not all men” types to sit through it. What we need to do is change those “not all men” males into “this is a problem” males. Once we get them to acknowledge that yes, not all men do this, but it is still a problem, we will have succeeded at spreading our message. The step after that would be to affect real change and minimize the rape culture so prevalent in America. Again, this is a very delicate line, especially with Donald Trump’s imminent presidency. When questions like “should we allow Syrian refugees even though 0.0000019 of them may attack us” are so prevalent in society, it’s hard to argue the differences between that one bad Syrian apple, that one racist police officer, that one corrupt politician, and that one rapist, male or female.
I completely understand and agree with what this article is saying. How can a woman create content that points to the poor behavior of many men and expect men to hire them/choose the content for the season? This article really points to how passive bystanders of discrimination are contributing to the problem. They men who say "not all men are like that" are likely not actively discriminating against women or causing violence; however, by not standing against the aggressions against women and consciously making decisions to help women progress in the workplace, you are participating in the discrimination that led us to this election season. Not all people will share my opinions, and I fear that taking such a forward-thinking view will alienate the male-perspective from this argument. There is a line to be drawn though, and everyone should be aware that remaining silent in the face of discrimination of any form (passive or aggressive) is discrimination itself.
(This is the second article in a row I've read regarding the place of women in modern theater. I'm truly on a roll.) In this article, the (female) author of this article uses HowlRound as a platform to voice her fear and anger at the current position of women in society and theater. Rachael Bykowski raisesa few very real questions, regarding the place of female-written/female-centric plays in modern America. This is something that I've wondered in light of the recent election, but also the recent Mike Pence/ Hamilton controversy. If theater is supposed to be a safe space, as Trump tweeted, where is the place for pieces of theater that challenge and critically dissect gender roles and rape culture? Where will uncomfortable narratives of female struggle and intersectional opression be if theater is sanctioned to be a safe space for straight white males?
I'm afraid of what the future holds for this discussion, but hopeful.
I am so tired of caring what men think about shit like this. I am so tired of having to prove to my male friends that this shit HAPPENS all the time. Last year, I again found myself explaining to my male friends that YES, I have gotten passed by for positions and jobs and etc truly because I am a woman. I am tired of the endless stream of comments about lifting things or drilling things or anything, and NO, I AM NOT DECLARING COSTUME DESIGN, AND I NEVER WILL. It's not as bad here as it has been other places, but damn it, it's still around. I realized while explaining all this that I am not taking it anymore.
I refuse to worry about nice guy's feelings of 'not all men,' anymore, because like the author of this article said, YEAH, duh, of course it's not all men. Any woman who believes that literally all men are out to abuse and rape her probably has some trauma or anxiety going on. But the thing is, it doesn't matter if it's all men or not: it's ENOUGH men. I never feel truly safe in any space when I am alone and the people are overwhelmingly male, not even in an assault way, in a "who's on my side," way. Even at this 'progressive' school, if I am in a group in a project that's mostly men, I know I'm going to lose the argument over: what we're doing, how we do it, etc. And I'm tired of it, I'm tired of giving up, and I'm tired of being afraid of being a 'bitch.' I'll be a bitch because it will get me ahead in this world, and no man can stop me!
Yes all men!!! In that, yes, it is the responsibility of ALL men, as they are in a privileged position, to help fight for the rights of women, because very rarely do women have a chance to speak up or be listened to on their own. If men recognize the state of inequality in theater, and explain to the men around them how messed up it is, then maybe we’ll see some change. Of course I’m not saying that women don’t have the power to be in control of their own power struggles, however, it is definitely much more difficult for a woman to be listened to than for a man to be listened to, especially in the field of theater. So, until men begin to raise up the voices of women by hiring them, producing their feminist plays, casting them, and recognizing bold-faced and quietly destructive sexism when they notice it, because female voices just simply aren’t taken seriously. It’s like how men don’t feel responsible for rape culture, or think it’s unfair that their “Hey there!” to a women across the street is considered harassment (“Can’t I just say hi to people?! I’M not a rapist!”) As a man, you carry the burden and the expectation that many men before you have set. It’s not fair, but it’s the truth. And if you don’t start speaking up against your friends’ sexist language, then which women do you think they’ll even consider listening to?
I knew what I was getting into when I looked through the comments on this article. That doesn’t make it any less upsetting, because while the article itself is supposed to be educating men on the experience of women in the industry, from what I can tell not a single man has read, much less commented on, this article. I do appreciate that a man runs this blog, and I am grateful that he seeks out and posts these kinds of articles. But I have heard men talking about how they stay away from these types of articles because “it will just be a bunch of feminists ranting.” How helpful are these really if they are only read by those who know the content already because they have lived it? I am frustrated that even the men at this progressive school are unwilling to educate themselves about the challenges their colleagues face. Why can they avoid dealing with institutional sexism by just clicking a different article and brushing it out of their minds? I wish there was a way to require them to think about these issues or read these perspectives but there isn’t. So the best that I can do is call out sexism every. Single. Time. I see it. Call it out bluntly and honestly and not pull any punches. I promise to do this not just for myself but for every girl to come through this program after me and every woman who will have to work with these man after they leave this school. Because I cannot make anyone read an article but I can make them acknowledge and answer for their own actions, and, hopefully, learn from them.
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