Women Playwrights and Critics

I thought this was a really wonderful article, particularly because it doesn't try to hide behind the idea that a bad review by a woman's play = sexism, but rather to understand the complex processes and subtleties that create an atmosphere of bias. The Als "Sweet Charity" review still irks me when I read it in the link.

I can already see the criticism. Being male doesn't mean you're incapable of reviewing a woman's work, a bad review doesn't equal sexism, etc. And that's true. But here's what I've experienced. I'm a woman, and a playwright, though not at a level where I have a body of critical reviews or anything. But in peer groups, in workshops, in professional development, I have noticed over time that the way my male colleagues react to my work is different than how they react to each other's work, and different from how my female colleagues react. I think a lot of it is based in cultural ideas (that are slowly going by the wayside), and a lot has to do with their individual temperaments. But I consistently get feedback, for instance, that I should ramp up the romantic storylines, or suggestions that a female character is unlikeable, where her male counterpart is "dastardly charming" or something. I get spoken down to when I address "big" issues, but also patronized when I write something lighter. Perhaps it's just that particular group of people that I'm around, but I've met others who report similar experiences. It's not an "everyone" thing, but it's definitely not a unique experience either.

Bias exists. We are all human, and we all have our biases, conscious or not. To pretend that any person can 100% remove themselves to be completely "objective" is ridiculous. Instead of being indignant, it would be so much easier to just acknowledge that and push for a more diverse set of biases. We have to deal with them anyway, might as well try to make it more balanced.

Updated On: 6/26/17 at 10:17 PM