Local student is being denied the role for not be assigned male at birth. Now they've decided that Oklahoma is too controversial of a play and includes graphic scenes not fit for minors so they're pulling the whole show. Bunch of asshats at Sherman, TX ISD.
Edit: I will try to answer any comments I can. I do not personally know the student. I can't really speak for trans folks as I'm just an ally who wants better for this kiddo and all trans people.
Yeah, because it's not like theater has a longstanding history of having people play characters that are a different sex from the one they were born as or anything...
There isn't even an attempt to suggest that there is some form of greater good at play here. They just apologetically do it and make no excuses. This is oppression, plain and simple.
Now they're acting like it was never about Max and that it was the adult themes in "Oklahoma" . They dropped the gender rule and the play is postponed until January. No promise of Max keeping his role. I'll be surprised if they aren't buying time so the original lead can take the part back.
That's how this whole damned town government is. It's a crooked city run by crooked construction company owners, contractors, and other people in the housing market. They put house building before anything else in the town to the point of not enforcing ANY building codes against house builders, burning massive pies of brush in the middle of a heavily populated area for land clearing, and so much more. Their response? Landowners have a right to develop their land. I could go on for hours listing the corruption here, but I digress.
Is the student actually transgender? Because the text of the article mentions Mrs. Doubtfire, which imo is pretty fundamentally different situation. I'm legitimately asking this question, would it be ok for a cis male student to play a female lead? I feel like that wouldn't be ok with a lot of people.
Why not? In Shakespearean times all the roles were played by males. It’s called ACTING for a reason. If I play I Christian it doesn’t mean I have to be one; if I play an outgoing sporty dude, it also doesn’t mean I am one.
The student is also transgender, it states as much in the article. Mrs doubtfire wasn’t from the article writer or the kid. It was someone else wondering why people are being so conservatively idiot about it.
Why not? In Shakespearean times all the roles were played by males
You answered your own question. They were played by males because females weren't allowed to perform.
It’s called ACTING for a reason
I'm not saying people would have an issue with it solely because of gender identity. But you don't think people would take issue with a cis male taking the part of a female role?
The thing is Mrs. Doubtfire IS a male lead. In the musical Daniel Hillard (male lead) crossdresses as Mrs. Doubtfire, so not allowing Max to play that role seems transphobic (though it's propably the school trying to protect its ass from lawsuits by groups such as Moms for Third Reich or whatever they're called... It's also quite ironic as the role seems to me gender non conforming to begin with).