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!

Bertrand Russell not joking at all. I am am atheist and I believe the bible in fiction. But fictional stories need to be historically consistent don't they?

My sons main role in any nativity when he was at school, and he was only picked once, was to be the one who collected the star at the end and took it back to the classroom. I think he would have preferred to be the innkeepers wife 😃

And also, why do some people think it’s OK to be so rude to people who care about this sort of thing?

because they are replying to posters who think it's ok to be rude to any woman who decides to be a wife, work with her husband or just be a SAH wife.

Making it sound like it's an outrageous insult and that no woman should ever be called just that, a wife. So basically the absolute opposite of what a real feminist is fighting for...

My nephew had to walk across the stage and feed 3 pieces of hay to the 'donkey' (child wearing a mask) last year. He loved it!

Yes you are completely right. Why stop there? You should suggest they ditch the star and use a satnav, the 3 wise men should be renamed the 3 wise non gender specific people, the council should be providing a hostel place instead of having to bed down in a barn and they just have to call out God for getting Mary pregnant without consent. I mean because this is 2019 after all.

Genius post!

Ps I was once chosen to be Mary. Sadly the entire production was cancelled due to the weak immune systems of the other cast members who all succumbed to a communal flu and cold outbreak. I was healthy, and it still rankles. I reckon I could have covered most of the parts with a bit of judicial costume changing , mostly involving cloaks....... Though I think we would have had to lose inspired casting like "chicken herder" as outlined in a previous post.

because they are replying to posters who think it's ok to be rude to any woman who decides to be a wife, work with her husband or just be a SAH wife.

Whaaaat?

Some people have way too much time on their hands!!!

I feel sorry for teachers too reading your ridiculous post.

Don't, I can hear the staffroom laughter from here! Parental stupidity is a constant much-needed source of amusement.

My son is an elephant who goes to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus. Explain that one!

My nephew had to walk across the stage and feed 3 pieces of hay to the 'donkey' (child wearing a mask) last year. He loved it!

I recall our daughter getting the donkey gig because 'You're Daddy is so good at making paper heads dear and can get all his supplies from school'!

"because they are replying to posters who think it's ok to be rude to any woman who decides to be a wife, work with her husband or just be a SAH wife."

Eh? You are obviously on the wrong thread.

I haven’t RTFT but essentially it’s a story about a magic baby that is also the supreme being. That had to be born to a Virgin female child.
Innkeepers wife is the least of your problems.
Oh and BTW - I played the donkey in my nativity.
You need to pick your battles mate.

Howling at some of these replies!

flowery
why? It's such an insult to be describe as the Inkeeper's wife apparently...

How is people having a problem with that the same thing as insulting women who choose to SAH?

How many brownie points did you give yourself for being so woke OP?

Schadenfreude he did - my sister proudly declared him to be a little (25%) Arab prince admittedly my costume was slightly shit in the construction as I am not a gifted seamstress, but I was very proud of how he strutted about in it.....

I am surprised by the number of posters who think this is a joke.

There is no reason why the parts shouldn't be Innkeeper and Innkeeper's husband.

Why should we automatically assume that the Innkeeper was a man?

And it would do men good to be defined merely as somebody's husband for a change.

Women have put up with this shit for generations and PP who think this is funny should re-evaluate their comments IMO.

As for PP saying what their DC played in Nativity Plays passim - that isn't relevant.

You're all missing the point.

You lot need to look up Obama's recent video about cancel culture and listen to exactly what he says. This isn't activism.

I need to go and write a strong email of complaint to the school where I have been described as "Johnny's mummy" -- how fricking dare they, motherhood doesn't define me, it's absolutely outrageous, I am a real person don't you know.

And it would do men good to be defined merely as somebody's husband for a change.

may we introduce you to the concept of "Joseph", from the same nativity?

Women have put up with this shit for generations

Well yes. Kind of the point that many of us are making - it's accurate for the time that this is representing.

Maybe they could have a TV and ensuite in the stable, because it's 2019 after all?

Oh no wait. That would anachronistic huh?

Think you need to chill out with a op!

This has reminded me that, when I was in the school nativity, aged about 8 I think, I was cast as the innkeeper’s SON. I was (and still am) female, why wasn’t I the innkeeper’s daughter? Apparently, because I had fairly short hair it was less confusing for the audience to call me a boy!

WTF!!

This thread is so depressing.

The idea that men are generally in charge permeates into our children's minds from such an early age. I always remember DS1 saying to me when he was about 4 or 5 "Mummy, you're the boss at work aren't you? That's unusual because usually it's a man isn't it?"

I was horrified. And then I thought why he thought that. Bob the Builder. Fireman Sam. Postman Pat. The Headteacher at his school (the only man working there at the time). The Prime Minister. The US President. Everything he'd been exposed to in his short life had reinforced that men are usually the 'main' person, or the 'in charge' person. Films he'd watched. Cartoons. Everything.

Having a role like Innkeeper played by a girl rather than a boy is a tiny little easy thing teachers can do to undo all the damage done by so many other things in our children's lives. It causes no difficulty, no stress, no extra work. Just a tiny bit of imagination and commitment to doing a tiny bit towards making sure our children don't stereotype.

The integrity of the nativity story is not remotely damaged by having a girl being the Innkeeper. But it can help just a little bit in undermining damaging stereotypes.

Why so many people would have a problem with it is utterly beyond me.