After all that writing about gender in yesterday's blog, I just received a copy of Ramona's first play she will be part of, Babes in the Wood (the nice version)
Jack the brother has multiple lines equaling 56 words. Jane has 2 lines equaling 8 words. Tom climbs trees, Jane does not. Tom leads the way through the forest, Jane follows Tom. Jane is frightened, Tom speaks "bravely" taking his sisters hand. Tom decides when they stop for the night. Jane is more tired than Tom. The Fairy Queen takes Tom by the hand, but carries Jane. The reformed robber teaches Tom about "animals and birds." Jane is taught nothing.
There are two other women in the story. They are the wives of the repentant robber and Sir James the knight. Even though Sir James' wife does more in the story (longs for children, goes and finds them in the garden, very "feminine things to do) she is still just Sir James "pretty wife." No identity outside of that.
There are also ungendered fairies and birds, except one...one of the "a merry fairy fellows" contemplates tickling the children.
If it weren't from the Fairy Queen, I would definitely go and have a talk with the teacher about the utter lack of capable women in our play. I probably will shoot her an email anyway. But really, the fairy queen is magic. She is not a human woman. Only magic females are strong. (Perhaps this could have an interesting and potentially positive affect in encouraging girls to practice magic?). At least I might suggest that they make Jane a little sister. I wouldn't feel so bad about her being soooo passive and needy were she a tot.
Am I the only one bothered by the incredible passivity girls are taught? Lately I have been changing male characters in books with female ones, because book after book after book has male protagonists. I have been reading Shel Silverstien to Ramona switching the gender in every single poem. Yes there are books with strong female protagonists, but they are not the norm. Little girls read all about interesting boys but little boys read little about interesting girls.
As for Fairy Tales, traditionally every generation across different cultures have changed and adapted these stories for centuries. It is time this generation, in this culture updated the Fairy Tale traditions to ones more valuable to our society.
3 comments:
along with writing my state representatives about my issues with human services organizations (http://revolutionaryma.blogspot.com/2010/08/documentation-obsession.html) I also wrote the theater teacher about the sexist Fairy Tale...will keep all updated.
Wow. Here's a weird one for you... no, you're not crazy and not alone. Living in the fragmented, money-centric gender-normative blah blah way is what is crazy.
I think these things so often... and I live in N. Cal too... actually, as of a month ago in Sebastopol. Before that? Petaluma. Place made me crazy.
All about the unschooling, would love to talk with you, and perhaps form alliance. I too feel the need for support in this "marginalized" radical parenting I'm doing.
Pax.
jmoray1ATgmailDOTcom is the way to find me...
i felt the same way when we went to the scottish childrens theatre the other day! the female roles in the play seemed all subservient and the male were all powerful and dominant. i was very uncomfortable with the way they dealt with gender. i feel so bad for girls whose parent's don't realise how damaging this is...
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