to be outraged by Nativity casting as 'Innkeeper's wife'!!!

[PIPERHELLO]

Daughter (6) has been cast as 'someone's wife' in the Nativity play at school. 'Innkeeper's wife' to be precise.

Err...hello!?

This is fucking not OK! In 2019, to be identified as 'someone's wife'.

Normally I am pretty relaxed about all things school, and I certainly feel sorry for he teachers' workloads, but come on people!? This is 2019 - no woman should be identified by her relationship to a man!? SURELY!

Itching to call them out on this. Itching!

I get it, OP. This would make me cringe quietly inside. On its own it looks really trivial but it’s the accumulation of lots of instances like this which leads to expectations of women being in the shadow of men.

I’d make peace with it though if the shepherds and magi were played by a good mix of boys and girls.

To people saying they should all be played by boys because it’s a traditional story - it’s not a story about children, so we’re already asking the audience to suspend their disbelief and see these children as adults. That’s what theatre does.

I am outraged about all these posters assuming that the "wife" should be kept in the Inn - and not give her the part as the ruler of Bethlehem, whilst her husband can busy himself with the pisspots and dishes of his guests.

and god forbid a woman would chose to be a SAHM and a wife on MN - shame on them

Why should a woman be defined by her relationship with a man yet he just to just be 'the man'. It's 2019 ffs.

Except it isn't. It's 0. Or maybe 1AD as I'm not sure there was a year 0. 🤔

I know someone who was cast as a pig and her mum complained.
She was recast as a cow. Her mum thought that was better

My son has just been cast as Santa's sleigh...a sleigh. Last year he was a sheep. DH and I just laughed. There's always next year, I would love DS to be cast an actual human part!

Lol. Op you do understand don't you that the play is replicating the time period, it's not been modernised. 🤣🤣🤣

Tbh. I've barely ever seen one that wasn't modernised to accommodate the casts of thousands.

Christmas trees, Brussels sprouts, aliens, you name it.

Honestly, I can't see the problem... I am all for equality and try to teach my girls this. This is a non problem.

I would have loved to be the innkeepers wife, I was sand... I kid you not! 😂

We are building our children’s mental furniture- why not try and build it better than ours?

You do that by explaining how things were different 2000 years ago and how things are now. Not by rewriting history.

Why are people trying to insist they were "innkeepers". Are people assuming her occupation? Maybe the woman wasn't an innkeeper. She could have been a shopkeeper, or teacher, or mechanic. Mary and Joseph came to the Inn. So the innkeeper is the relevant character they needed. They didn't need a shopkeeper or mechanic at that particular time so the wife's role, in this specific incident was secondary to the innkeeper who was actually doing the business transaction at the time.

No point casting her as "mechanic" as nobody would know where to put her in the story's and her occupation is not relevant to the story being told.

I'm my husband's wife. Yes, I'm also my own person, with my own job, but in the context where I'm being introduced to someone relevant to my husband or his work etc, I'm "his wife". It's factual.

Outraged?

I was sand... I kid you not!

Something gritty to get your teeth into

Hardly worth getting your knickers in a twist over

She could have been a shopkeeper, or teacher, or mechanic.

I mean, in keeping with the couldn't possibly modernise anything brigade, I must point out that this is unlikely.

Weird how people love to cling to stereotypes. Surely the sensible response to this issue is “Yeah, that’s a bit crap- maybe suggest that next year they have two innkeepers” Not “How dare you suggest deviating from the Ur text of the sainted nativity play- even though it seems to be OK to introduce lamp posts, presents, robots and a million other characters to give everyone a part who wants one....”

There's 30 kids. Assigning each innkeeper a wife doubles the roles available. Many parents would rather their child had a speaking part than be in the generic choir.

I was the innkeeper's wife one year and got to tell Mary and Joseph that there was no room at the inn.

Oh good grief

Better than 3rd sheep from the left

Perhaps you’d prefer Mary’s line to Gabriel in one of our Nativity plays (I get the kids to make their own up):

“Hold the baby a minute: I’ve got to go to a meeting.”

@TeacupDrama I've read all 13 pages, expecting to find discussion of the biblical story & the lack of any mention of innkeepers! Is everyone aware there's also no little donkey & it's highly likely there wasn't even an inn - the word used is more commonly used to describe a guest room in a family home than a hotel type establishment. The guest bedroom would've been occupied by the most important members of the family. Those who were perhaps a little looked down upon due to her being heavily pregnant surprisingly quickly after "he took her as his wife" not fiancée at this point would've had to sleep elsewhere. The standard set up for houses in that time had the animals staying in the building at night & the main living area being on a sort of mezzanine level next to the animal area. The feeding troughs were positioned between the animals & the living area, hence the baby being put in the manger.

AFAIK, there's nothing in the Bible that says they weren't surrounded by his family & if there was no room in the guest room, it could be that they were surrounded by a lot of family. If you're going to complain about the Nativity play, perhaps you could start there & suggest that next year they do a more accurate play where most of the drama takes place at Joseph's auntie's house with all the cousins crowding in & helping out. There could be a lot more named characters in that play!

Yes, but who got the part of Brian, though?

“Not by rewriting history.“

Have you seen a Nativity Play recently!
Good luck with casting all the angels as male, by the way.

Oh, and it’s not bloody history. Chriatians don’t think it’s history!

Well said @vivacian

Weird how people love to cling to stereotypes

you are confusing traditional roles and stereotypes. And since when is it remotely outrageous to be someone's wife.

Yes, it could be Mother Christmas going down the chimney - but it's a man. I am sure you can get over it.

I admit that I do think the OP has a point. There's no point fighting it on this occasion, but I can see how these 'micro-aggressions' add up.

@PIPERHELLO

Instead of being upset, teach your daughter acting and what is involved into being a different person raised at a different time / period.

This is nothing to do with her or the time we live in, it was a long time AGO. Teach her history and women’ rights: how women rised up for equality instead of calling the school and ask them to change the role to suit your unwilliness to teach.

Poor teachers... cant do nothing right, can they!

When I was 7 I was cast as the Innkeeper's Wife, the Innkeeper was played by my brother. Still bearing the scars.