The stage is a place where magic happens. Reality is suspended and fantasy takes its place. Sugar plum fairies come to life, as do snowflakes, flowers, and gumdrops and move in ways that tickle the eyes. And girls become princesses; and princes too? Gender-bending has been seen throughout the history of theater, going at least as far back as Ancient Greece where all roles were performed by men. In the ballet I am performing with this weekend, the opposite is true. There is one boy out of 20+ girls; so, most of the boy roles are played by girls.
The girls don’t really care what role they play, as long as they get to dance! Sometimes a girl may have two roles, depending on the night of the show. One girl was practicing for her night as a girl, while wearing a dress, when the boy approached her to discuss her role as Fritz (the son of the Governor). She replied, “I’m not a boy right now, I’m a girl! See the dress I have on? Talk to me about Fritz when I am Fritz!”. Fair enough. She made clear distinctions between her two gender roles based on her own mindset and attire.
The ballet also breaks many gender stereotypes. The men who dance ballet are equally graceful to the women. And don’t kid yourself; those chicks are strong! Their bodies are SOLID and their muscles are very defined. Oh, and did I mention that Mother Ginger is played by 6’7” men? Watching and helping these men put on makeup for the first time is a fantastic experience. Their first attempt at applying lipstick, powder, and a little rouge made them look like they had set the make-up gun to “whore” (Simpsons reference). But, they are so willing to try new ideas and were actually jealous of my husband’s eyeliner.
In an ideal world, everyone would be able to move as a trained dancer, sing as an operetta, and paint masterpieces with finger paint. Even sex education classes wouldn’t be necessary because everyone would already have the knowledge they need at the time that they need it to make informed decisions, have tolerance and compassion for diversity (gender, orientation etc.), and understand the grander role of sex beyond procreation (social bonding, pleasure, intimacy etc.). Unfortunately, this fantasy only exists in my imagination. However, as an educator, I hope to transform my classroom into a magical space where anything is possible…roles are challenged and explored, critical thinking is encouraged, and curiosity is quenched by valuable information from a variety of perspectives.
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