Catholic Schools in Ontario Cancel Children’s Play on Gender Identity
Catholic schools in Ontario, Canada have canceled scheduled performances of a play because of concerns that its protagonist is a small child who explores gender boundaries.
Carousel Players, the theater company behind the play, announced the cancellations of “Boys, Girls, And Other Mythological Creatures.” According to Global News, the play “tells the story of 8-year-old Simon, who dreams of becoming a princess and feels boxed in gender stereotypes.”
Parents’ complaints about the content led the Niagara Catholic District School Board to cancel the show on the grounds that the play was “not age-appropriate” and students would not understand the issues it raises. The Board claimed Carousel Players did not include information in its promotional materials that the play was about gender identity.
Yet, CBC Radio reported the play, targeted at elementary age children, “was created in conjunction with representatives from several Ontario school boards to be in line with the province’s new sex-ed curriculum.” The Players were explicit in marketing their performance as such.
Not everyone is convinced the cancellations happened due to concerns over students’ ages. Jessica Carmichael, the artistic director for Carousel Players, released a statement which said, in part:
“I fear these cancellations may be based on misinformation, grown out of fear, intolerance, transphobia, homophobia and misogyny. . .The core message from the main character, Simon(e), in Boys, Girls, And Other Mythological Creatures, is that every child needs the support of friends and family no matter who they are, what they dress like, what toys they like to play with and what they imagine they can be. I wholeheartedly believe in this message.”
Carmichael further said the play has been well received when performed at other schools, where staff are “encouraging children to have conversations which promote acceptance” and where the magic of live theater “brings people together to work towards a better today and tomorrow and it encourages discussion.”
The Carousel Players have since staged a free performance, followed by a question and answer period so anyone in the local community who wished to view the play could do so.
Having not seen “Boys, Girls, And Other Mythological Creatures” myself, I cannot comment on the play’s contents, and whether it would be appropriate for elementary age children. But school officials should be aware that even young children are already grappling with questions about gender. Many trans individuals claim they had a consciousness about their identities as young as five or six years of age.
Whether through the Carousel Players or some other means, Catholic schools in Ontario and elsewhere should be addressing issues of gender identity as an essential aspect of their commitment to students’ flourishing.
—Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, May 8, 2017
too bad – they cancelled these – another example of the Church’s intolerance!
I wish to unsubscribe and your site is preventing me . Please delete from your end Barry Waterfield
A few generations ago, it would have been cancelled for a bi racial couple focus. Pick the prejudice du jour. Tsk Tsk
SAD!
You can almost smell the fear, yet it need not be so, if only we could reflect on our dogma.
For this Catholic school board it’s a game of “hide and seek”. When the students are not allowed visibility or voice, then the publicly funded Catholic school system FAILS them. One bright light in this region of Ontario is the Niagara Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association local. They have sponsored several LGBTQ Safer Schools training sessions with Egale Canada – the national Human Rights organization for LGBTQ folks.
You, Robert Shine, and apparently Jessica Carmichael, have handled this well. God bless you.