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!

At least your DD has a named part. When I was at school I was a small child and was always told to be an angel and stuck at the front to be aaah'd over. One year my DM, who was a fantastic seamstress, upon hearing I was yet again an angel, made me the most blinging wings you've ever seen. The teacher was really unhappy and put me at the back of the angels but my wings rose triumphantly over those sitting in front

So OP, can you think of anything that will make your DD stand out?

Phone phone phone! I used to work in a school office and we were always after quotes like this from batshit parents to keep us amused at the staff Christmas party.
Just to reassure you we did pay for our own food and drink no school funds were used.

The point is that this character is being identified solely as somebody’s wife. Not “the innkeeper’s wife, Rebecca” just the innkeeper’s wife.
and the innkeeper is identified solely as "an innkeeper" - that's pretty dismissive and snobbish if you ask me.

BertrandRussell
I am very strongly for equality and defending womens right - which is probably why I don't recognise any of my values and belief in what the so-called "feminists" rant over on these boards. 🤷

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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“ and the innkeeper is identified solely as "an innkeeper" - that's pretty dismissive and snobbish if you ask me.”
No (I’m still taking you seriously) Nativity plays usually have characters identified by occupations- shepherd, king, angel and so on. “Wife” isn’t an occupation.

There is no valid complaint here! To sum up ...

1. "It's wrong! This character lacks all dramatic depth and substance."

Meet Ox. And chicken.

1. "It's wrong! You cannot define this person by reference to their relationship to someone more important. This never happens to men."

Meet Joseph. And Jesus.

1. "It's wrong! It is demeaning for the character to have no name."

Meet Innkeeper. And Shepherd 3.

So “wife” is an occupation?

PMSL - good joke OP!

I love these threads, they're hilarious.
Yes, YABU and utterly ridiculous OP. But I am glad you started this thread as your ridiculousness appears to be a bit contagious. Loving the batshittery.

I nothing wrong at all with being the Inn keepers wife and I played that role 30+years ago and stopped the nativity, Mary and Joseph knocked on my Inn keeper door and asked if any room my Inn keeper said "no there is no room at the inn" to which I poked my head round from behind him to say "let them in don't be mardy " total show stopper while the parents stopped laughing and my dm crawled under her chair from embarrassment

Bertrand, "sheep" isn't an occupation either, but OP doesn't seem bothered about that.

I still think that this is how casual everyday feminism gets perpetuated

It really isn’t though. Please do your DD a favour and clue up a bit. She’ll need your support to figure our what casual sexism actually is as opposed to just being professionally offended.

What has happened here is there are too many kids in your DDs class than parts.

Are you just really annoyed that she wasn’t Mary?

Nativity plays usually have characters identified by occupations- shepherd, king, angel and so on

Today's metaphysical question: is being an angel an occupation? I'm saying not, any more than being a human is an occupation.

Maybe they could re-cast the role as 'Joint owner of inn'. 😂

Lol

Today's metaphysical question: is being an angel an occupation?

Also legally significant. As employees they would benefit from statutory protection. Lucifer, the fallen angel, might well have a tribunal claim for unfair dismissal at being cast out of heaven. Probably also discrimination on religious grounds.

But the immaculate conception is absolutely fine by you?

she was old enough to be married in the middle east at the time? So child marriage is ok?

Of course it isn’t now. It was then. The past is another country and all that.

Wife means simply woman. I am described as Mr Pavlovas wife. That doesn’t mean that’s my entire identity; it’s just a rather nice part of it. I wouldn’t be described as that at my work or socially but at events linked to his work, it would seem appropriate.

The Hebrew equivalent of wife was probably less specific than you suggest but the biblical translation of the passage from Proverbs 18:22: “[Whoso] findeth a wife findeth a good [thing], and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” suggests wife was not a lowly derogatory term but something to celebrate and exalt.

There are,apparently, eleven words in Hebrew that are rendered as wife. The word used in this verse is ishah which means a woman, wife, female, spouse, old woman and a hen.

I’d think that if you really can’t accept coupling as a norm, then probably best to withdraw your child from the play and give the part to a child who does want to sing a few carols with a tea towel on her head.

How about the innkeeper polyfamily. More kids could get involved in that.

I'm thankful for the "bitter, ridiculous and embarrassing " posts on FWR as they've shown me so much that genuinely threatens the opportunities and boundaries of our daughters,

I'm quite in awe of how articulate, patient, clever and compassionate many of those posters are. There's a few on this thread today.

“ What has happened here is there are too many kids in your DDs class than parts.”
No it’s not. That’s how you get Christmas trees, robots and parcels. The innkeeper’s wife is a regular Nativity Play staple-often it’s one of the better parts. It’s just the name. A problem easily sorted with a bit of tippex.

The Immaculate Conception is nothing to do with the Nativity.

Oh for goodness sake! Please don't embarrass yourself by saying something to the teacher. Be pleased that your daughter has a part.