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 can't read the thread as it's too long but I agree with you. They should both be cast as innkeepers jointly. No need for the boy to have the role and the girl to be the appendage.

@flowery it isnt, that isn't the discussion. The discussion is about the OP's upset at her daughter being cast as a 'wife' of someone.

Why are the 'don't be ridiculous' wailers insisting that the innkeeper's wife is historical/set in stone/can't be changed etc yet are quite happy for lobsters/spacemen and tomatoes to appear in 21st C nativities? If a vegetable is in there why not a Sandra?
Two innkeepers would be best, innkeeper 1 and innkeeper 2 and share the lines. As I said above accuracy isn't important in the new nativity scripts.

I'm firmly with you OP. It's a clear indication of the normalisation of everyday discrimination.

Dunno - personally i'd get more worked up about a child virgin being impregnated as the central focus of the story

Has Mary’s age ever been mentioned in any primary text? Because, if it has, it’s completely passed me by.

People are so missing the point. Of course we should find it acceptable now that a female character is just someone's wife. But 2000 years ago I doubt such a woman would have been considered a business partner. Therefore you refer to the role as what it was as the time. Just like you would refer to some character as a school mistress perhaps if the play is set in the past, even though you now talk of teachers.

Wait until they start doing some work based around ancient Egypt and they discover the idea of ... slaves! How do you update that to make it politically correct and the teacher to firmly show that they are not advocating slavery!

Or if they learn how Herod ordered the murder of all the baby boys - presumably op will be equally outraged and demand that it's changed?

I mean it’s also offensive that the innkeeper is referred as “the innkeeper” rather than his name

Lexplorer well actually yes I would think it quite daft to introduce the things you mention in a nativity play. Not that I have seen it myself.
But if you are going to compare the two, on one hand you would have people complaining about an inaccurate change, whilst here the OP is requesting the inaccurate change.
Not quite the same thing.
Although personally I wouldn't complain about either.

I see your point... but in your position I would roll my eyes and make a few sarcastic comments, not get steamed up about it.

Then again I was a tree in my school nativity, and I'm still scarred.

I agree its hopelessly out of date. But I wdnt contact school as wdnt want to be that parent!

Wait until they start doing some work based around ancient Egypt and they discover the idea of ... slaves! How do you update that to make it politically correct and the teacher to firmly show that they are not advocating slavery!

Crack on Sandra. You are so missing the point.

myolivetree
I am not, but clearly you are.
And a sense of humour.

If you want to cast your own kid as "Karen", just call her that

OP I agree 100% we owe it to our girls to call out everyday sexism when we see it, even more so when they see it too.

I think you need to decide where you will channel that energy and pick your battles. I'm not saying don't do it but weigh up how likely you bringing this up will change anything at such a manic and busy time of year.

That doesn't mean you should sweep if under the carpet as you should speak to your DD about it and maybe she will feel equipped to challenge it herself in a few years? Do an inside job! That could even have more impact.

From a "feminazi"!

“ But 2000 years ago I doubt such a woman would have been considered a business partner. Therefore you refer to the role as what it was as the time”
And the robot, the Christmas tree, the parcel, the turkey and the cracker? Because I’ve see all of toward and many other things over many many years of Nativities. All of those fine- but an innkeeper’s wife with an actual name?? it’s the end of civilisation as we know it. There’ll be a woman playing Hamlet next.......

Jesus wept. Get a grip OP.

“ I see your point... but in your position I would roll my eyes and make a few sarcastic comments, not get steamed up about it.“
Now that would really be daft.

@ooooohbetty Oh the irony (I assume you meant it!)

sorry haven't read all the posts. My daughter has been casted as the innkeeper wife as well and tbh didn't think anything of it until I read some of the posts. Yes should be called innkeeper 1 and 2. Not sure if your play is the same as ours but ours sound more like strictly come dancing ! def nothing like the old version of jesus being born and our is a catholic school !

If I went to dh’s place of work I’m sure I’d be introduced as dh’s wife wife
Really? ‘DHs wife‘, or ‘DHs wife, Julie’? Because they’re different, aren’t they?

The thing is, I know all of this, but I still think that this is how casual everyday feminism gets perpetuated

Is that a Freudian slip OP?

There’ll be a woman playing Hamlet next

Can someone please link to the Ur Nativity Play. We need to make sure that nobody ever deviates from the historical fact........

There you go making it up as you go - again. No one actually said that did they? It’s simply been pointed out that a narrative with a historic setting would reasonably include characters (stereo)typical of that historic setting.

I find it more worrying that self-proclaimed ‘non-soft’ feminists are getting bent out of shape about what is actually one of the least problematic aspects of a Nativity play while avoiding addressing the very pregnant elephant in the room.

Is it Innkeeper’s Wife or Innkeeper who tells the couple there is no room at the inn? Seems more likely (given who often runs the show in these kinds of businesses) that the dialogue would run something like this:

Innkeeper: [checks book] Yes, think we can just squeeze you in.

Inkeeper’s wife: [appears, flushed and flustered, at the door] What was that?! If you think I’m squeezing in a couple (or even two and a half) more covers on the bloody census weekend, you’ve got another think coming, Derek.