Women on stage
Introduction
The term actress was initially used and is still being used to refer to women in theatre, courtesy of the French. Since the origin of the theatre back in Greece and Rome, women have been put as inferior to their male counterparts until recently when each has an equal say in the industry (Ratcheva, 603). During the classical antiquity era, women were not allowed to act as it was considered dangerous. However, as time passed, they gained ground despite the cultural practices and the trends. Likewise, the roles of women in the theatre, as well as their importance, have increased. The aim of this paper is to understand the sexuality, morality as well as the foreign-ness position of women on stage.
Morality
Morality can be described as a form of standards and principles obtained from a code of behavior or conduct from a religion, culture, philosophy or similar standards that a particular person tends to believe should be universal. It tends to distinguish the proper from the improper including moral being and meta-ethics (Mock, 414). In the period of cultural history (classical era), drama and morality were blended in church services with the aim of edifying and entertaining the congregation. Therefore in plays such as the dramatization of the rising of Jesus Christ at the tomb, the use of three women came in handy by the church. Several morality plays have been acted to put an emphasis on morality which includes Mankind, The Castle of Perseverance, among others where the importance and role of women have been well displayed. This ensured that women held the standards of living just as they did while on stage. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Sexuality
Sexuality involves several aspects of humanity such as biological processes, emotional, social feelings as well as behaviors. The theatre community having been viewed as a safe ground for men and women to express themselves, gender roles have constantly been changed to suit the actors as well as the demand of the audience. Activities such as dancing have been categorized as one of the feminine activities that have gained a different perspective in the present times where both men and women can equally dance. Sexuality also gave rise to homosexuals in the industry as well as the stereotypes (Liu, 412). Sexual stereotypes, as well as gender, are widespread in society and therefore the theatre has to conform to their demands. Initially, when women were lowly placed in the society, their male counterparts carried on with their roles until the period when women had gained access on stage to perform their own roles.
Foreignness
Foreignness is the quality of appearing as a stranger or alien. From the initial mindset of the classical antiquity era where only men took part in the acting, the introduction of women in the industry made them appear as strangers on stage. With them came a mixed reaction from the audience, for example, part of the crowd was against this introduction due to the view of women as a danger, a means of escaping their domestic duties among other reasons. On the other hand, part of the crowd welcomed their arrival on stage as female duties on the play were well handled by ladies as compared to how they were initially performed by males. Women on stage faced other challenges such as the unwillingness of the trainer to train them and the difficulty in training. However, the benefits attributed with the foreignness have outdone the limitations in the currents era (Liu, 412). Women’s organizations have similarly insisted that theatres, as well as other organizations, should fund women involvement in the industry to improve their representation (Flensborg, 657). The barriers faced by women as well as discrimination and harassment due to foreignness are too superior to be overcome, which is only possible with direct intervention.
Conclusion
Women on stage in the theatre industry have faced a huge struggle to achieve what they have at the moment, however, despite the achievement, there is more work to be done in order to ensure their success in the industry(Flensborg, 657). Funding services being tied to a policy of gender equality and representation that redresses the balance should come in handy to save the situation. The theatre’s flexibility should be a point of consideration in order to be successful in sustaining women on stage.
References
Flensborg Jensen, Maya Christiane. “Gender Stereotypes and The Reshaping Of Stigma In Rehabilitative Eldercare”. Gender, Work & Organization, vol 24, no. 6, 2017, pp. 656-657. Wiley, doi:10.1111/gwao.12191.
Liu, Kai. “Explaining The Gender Wage Gap: Estimates From A Dynamic Model Of Job Changes And Hours Changes”. Quantitative Economics, vol 7, no. 2, 2016, pp. 411-412. The Econometric Society, doi:10.3982/qe295.
Mock, Roberta. “Women, Collective Creation, and Devised Performance: The Rise Of Women Theatre Artists In The Twentieth And Twenty-First Centuries”. Contemporary Theatre Review, vol 28, no. 3, 2018, pp. 413-414. doi:10.1080/10486801.2018.1486574.
Ratcheva, Vesselina Stefanova. “Conclusions, Insight and Recommendations From The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2016”. STEM Gender Equality Congress Proceedings, vol 1, no. 1, 2017, pp. 603-604. Science Impact, Ltd., doi:10.21820/25150774.2017.1.27.