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Gender bias in theatre.

Mon, 29 June 2009, 09:43 am
grantwatson30 posts in thread
There is a great article here about gender bias in American theatre, where the majority of plays staged are by male authors. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about the findings presented in the article. Do you think there's a problem of gender bias here in Australia? What can we do? What should we do?

Thoughtful...

Mon, 29 June 2009, 11:07 am

You know, I was about to try and post something to counter, but the more I think about it, the more I can't, except for one thing...

Most Romance, Relationship and such genres are female focused. Having male leads in these types of roles often doesn't feel right. Of course (as with anything) there are exceptions to this rule. Female Action Hero's have only (really) been made popular in the past 2 decades or so but still they are dominated by male figures.

One genre where I think either/or works is horror.

It is almost an echo back to the Victorian days where male and female roles were clearly defined and any diversion was not only frowned upon, it was often policed.

So there is a perception thing going on here and it's more often than not about what sells best. It's easier to sell something "familiar" then something that may challenge perception.

I think I'm rambling...

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins
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