Globe Theatre makes Joan of Arc non-binary in new play

[ChristinaXYZ]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/11/globe-theatre-makes-joan-arc-non-binary-new-play/

"Joan of Arc is represented as non-binary in the Globe show, and the pronouns of the French patron saint have been changed to “they/them” rather than “she/her”.

Women’s rights campaigners have raised concerns that the move is another example of female figures being “erased” from history.

Promotional material for the “powerful and joyous new play” sets the scene: “Rebelling against the world’s expectations, questioning the gender binary, Joan finds their power and their belief spreads like fire.”

The play is written by writer Charlie Josephine, whose web biography states: “My pronouns are they/he. I’m an actor and a writer."

The Telegraph writers, who like The Spectator staff, know their stuff on this and have included a Women's Place comment too:

"Campaigner group Women’s Place UK said in a statement on the issue: “Women are getting really tired of being erased from history and having our achievements diminished.

“Joan of Arc was an astonishing woman who rebelled against the authoritarian oppression she faced for being female.

“Theatre has a fine tradition of inverting reality to encourage us to look at life differently but the fact remains that Joan of Arc was a woman and was persecuted as such.”"

She was almost certainly non-binary, because her behaviour wasn't ladylike and she insisted on wearing trousers.

Non binary is a nonsense luxury term.

Joan of arc was a women who as far as we know, didn't find women clothes of that era very convenient

There is no gender binary.
There is a sex binary though and women have been persecuted and oppressed because of this.

They can fuck off with this ridiculous 'queering' of historical, mainly female, figures by pretending they had a special gender identity.

Woman.

Being ladylike and being a woman (adult human female) are not synonymous. FFS this is gender studies 101.
Girls need to know they can grow up to be strong, independent women who don’t fit gender norms without questioning their sex. We can be mad as hell about shitty restrictive feminine gender norms without feeling like there is anything wrong with our bodies.
Joan or Arc seems like a pretty obvious example of a gender critical feminist to me.

So like most women then?

It was too long ago, no-one can say for certain what she was like.
It's easy to put a woke slant on a performance, to match up with current societal trends. We know what she did, but we can't know about her real feelings, or exactly why she chose to dress as she did.

This

I wonder what the french think, first we're taking the piss with ze/zem and now transing a national icon.

But she had a buzz cut...

Wait. I'm thinking of Sinead O Connor.

Is it even a notable story if she isn’t female?

I'm getting ads for this on Facebook for some reason.
With the image that they have on their site to promote it. Yup.
www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/joan-2022/

I don't really want to read their "statement on I, Joan and identity" but maybe someone can take one for the team and report back.
Has this underneath though
"If you’d like to find out more about the themes of this play or learn about allyship, visit organisations such as Gendered Intelligence for resources and more."
Oh yes.

The history and the woman in it is not being erased. You can't erase something that's already happened.

Someone's just written a play with a different angle. I can't say I care for it but this feels like a non-event to me.

Because all women's stories must be taken away from them if they don't like pink and high heels.

Nothing is being taken away from anyone.

One person has written what sounds like a fairly crap play.

It doesn't detract from the actual history.

Dickheads - why would anyone bring their daughters to see this (and I would have thought that women/girls would have been the majority of the target audience given that blokes aren't generally queuing to watch women-centred plays).

Except that "non-binary" hadn't been made up then so no one went around pompously demanding to be called "they/them". Or whatever the French equivalent was.

She called herself "Jeanne la Pucelle" which means "Joan the Maiden" which is about as clear a declaration as any that she was a woman who refused to bow to the patriarchy. Feminism's first martyr, if you like.

How is regressive progressive?? Where is the thinking??

I* get you AgnestaVipers*!

Wasn't the whole point of Joan of Arc's story that she was a woman defying all the norms of the time, that's why she stood out and that's why she had to claim (aside from also being a peasant) that she was On A Mission From God), and that's why she was burned at the stake?
To be fair I imagine if Jean d'Arc had tried the same schtick, he'd have been hanged or skewered at the end of a sword 2 paragraphs into his story!

I think it does detract from the actual historical woman. Especially if people do what they often do with fictionalised accounts of real people from history, which is to take what is presented to them as generally accurate.

Regardless of that, I think it's great to have a thread where women can discuss what a shit idea for a play this is and how it stomps all over the real history of what was a brave and challenging woman.

I imagine the main character in the play won't get much done anyway, they will spend two hours correcting the other characters pronouns.

I notice it says “ The men are fighting again “ in the description of the play...🤬