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!

What do you mean you're sad that this is still going on?? It's the Nativity! It's a very, very old story from the Bible. There are far more offensive things in the Bible than the Inkeepers wife not being given a first name!

ffs outraged, really ? possibly annoyed but outraged ?
this thread will go poofff shortly as op will get angry and close the account due to responses,
totally daft thread.

I have a wife.

She's also a mother, Director of a charity, board member for another, and may other things. There are many ways to describe people.

Sadly for the Innkeepers wife, in this instance, as a fictitious character, she has nothing else by which to be recognised. Perhaps you'd prefer they were each referred to as co-owners? Not historically correct, but as you say, it is 2019 and we'd not want to let a little historical accuracy get in the way of "the message".

Oh, and I introduce my wife as "This is my wife, (name)" and she introduces me as "This is my husband, nornironrock".

I'm all ears for your alternative.

When 'actors' are not named in the play they are named by a shorthand descriptor.
'Inn-keepers wife' identifies who they are in the play, not their station in life
Even the inn-keeper doesn't get a name
Could be worse. In films you can get descriptors such as 'fat kid 2'
Chill

The Innkeepers wife has more lines than the Innkeeper in my DD play... In which incidentally the main characters are a pair of midwives (both female) and their Donkeys (both male).

I don't expect history to be changed to suit the modern preferences Happyspud.

My DD was a tomato. In a Catholic school. In the nativity. I would have been thrilled had she been anyone's 'wife', at least that's human

This is mental.

It's up to you to make ur child a little more robust than you obviously are.
Don't sweat the small stuff snowflake.....

@PIPERHELLO I understand. I'm not sure much can be done with this particular instance.

If the school does lots elsewhere to inspire the female pupils then I'd let this slide

Or the innkeeper and wife could both be cast as girls?

Or the wife could be the owner and the innkeeper works for his wife?

It's an example of micro everyday sexism and it least it only happens once a year.

Please decide to make this the hill you choose to die on .......please, please, please let this be the hill.

Then report back.

I don't see anything wrong with it. The innkeeper isn't named and neither is his wife. If you want to you could tell your dd that she is joint owner of the inn. They don't normally have an innkeeper 's wife in my dc's school, apart from the year my ds4 who has learning difficulties was playing the innkeeper. She was brilliant, held ds's hand and made sure he was in the right place at the right time.

This is mental.

the thread is obviously a joke, which is great, but the scary thing is that there's always a poster or 2 who will take it seriously and go on a big dramatical rant and lesson!

Mary (Mariam) was not Joseph's (Yusuf's) wife. They were betrothed. More like fiancee.

(Fifty-odd year old bloke and the pregnant fourteen y/o.)

If this is the play I think it is.....the innkeeper's wife is a main part as a judge on a "strictly" type programme. The innkeeper is just in a dance. More feminist than it at first appears.

Perhaps you could ask that she be dressed as a snowflake....?

Perhaps also suggest that Jesus not be the addressed as the Son of God but self-identifying individual of a spirit being? Mary, the victim of a forced illegitimate pregnancy?

I mock but our Catholic school received so many complaints over the nativity that it now does a traditional and non-traditional version which I find incredibly sad.

If you want a contrived role, Bethlehem Bus Driver! Now that's grasping.

Did you hear the PM on fivelive by any chance?

You are beyond ridiculous

Do you know for sure she isn’t actually saying anything? At my DC’s school there were three innkeepers’ wives and they all said more than the innkeepers (who were also not named and credited simply as “innkeepers”.

If it was a modern re-creation of the Nativity story, then it would be a bit odd.But as the traditional story is set thousands of years ago, it's fair enough. Would you change the Chaucer tale name "The Wife Of Bath" ?

Or the wife could be the owner and the innkeeper works for his wife?

And how exactly do you expect the school to shoe-horn that information into the script?

Joseph (knocks on the door)
"Have you any rooms left?"

Inkeeper: "oh I'm sorry, sir. I don't have the authority to answer that question as although I am technically classed as the inkeeper, it's actually my Wife, Sandra, who is the proprietor of this establishment and I'm technically her employee"

Promises to be thoroughly entertaining

Perhaps they could re title the role as Co keeper of the Inn? It wouldn't be historically accurate but I suppose it would send a more modern message.

Crikey! When it was my first nativity I wanted to be an angel but wasn’t allowed as I had dark hair; the only ones cast as angels were blonde. This was 1984/5. Happily (for me) one girl was sick on the day of the performance and the class voted me to be the replacement 🙂

I'm a teacher and I'm begging you to go in to complain.

This can be a tough term and those teachers will really appreciate the laughs it'll give them.

Please report back once you've spoken to them

I would have loved to have been the inn keepers wife! I was the donkeys hooves in mine, not the actually donkey or even the arse end... but his actual trotters.