Beyond the Binary: Gender Performances in Asian Theatre

Kayson Carlin

Bowling Green State Univeristy

November 28, 2018

 

Beyond the Binary: Gender Performances in Asian Theatre

Recent years have seen a surge in attention to issues concerning gender, as if the topic were a new phenomenon. However, history is saturated with gender issues, from defining what gender is exactly, to determining what role one should play in life based on genitalia, to debating if gender has a spectrum of identities or forms. In the world of arts, the line between male, female, and other is frequently blurred, especially in the performing arts which pays great attention to the human form. Theatre is notorious for crossing this line. It should be noted though, that the idea of gender itself varies from region to region. What is considered masculine, feminine, or androgynous in western theatre differs from that of Asian theatre. As such, theatre in Asia includes great variation when it comes to performances on the gender spectrum.

Japan has one of the most notable reputations for gender bending not only on the stage, but in other popular entertainment as well. There exists a sort of androgyny for what is considered attractive, as seen in comics, television, film, and celebrities. This could be partially explained by Japan’s history of cross-dressing entertainment, such as Takarazuka and Kabuki’s onnagata.

The term onnagata refers to a female impersonator on the kabuki stage. Women in kabuki groups often consisted of nothing more than prostitutes (Bowers p.44) or were considered too “alluring” for the audience to watch, and resulted in their nation-wide ban on performing in the mid-17^th century. From 1629 on, male actors, the onnagata, played women’s roles (Leiter p.495). Such actors were specifically designated female roles rather than portraying both men and women on stage. Far from what may be thought in the west, this was, and still is, a respected art. In the onnagata‘ s early years, roles of power went to male-role actors while dance was the onnagata‘s specialty (Leiter p.502). From this portrayal of women, the onnagata created an idealized version of femininity, based on what men thought women should be like. They created an abstract idea of a woman, becoming a stylized version instead of someone specific (Scott p.3). Some accounts even included these actors who would live as women to better understand and perform femininity. Kabuki crossdressing is mainly a matter of men dressing as women rather than the reverse (Leiter p.512), though this later changes when women are allowed to perform again.

In 1629, any appearance of women on stage were forbidden, and until the 19^th century the ordinance remained tacitly in effect (Bowers p.44). Women were limited to behind-the-scenes work, such as costume construction. In the late nineteenth century, western-style theatre was introduced to Japan and challenged the custom that only men were allowed to perform on the stage (Chen p.54). Due to it’s influence, the constraints on gender began to loosen, and women stepped into the light. Although theatre offered women a platform, its policy was heavily informed by the male stance, and its categorization of gender roles on the stage, in fact, accorded with Japanese social expectations of men and women (Chen p.58). The Takarazuka Revue, founded in 1913, was one of the first all-female performing groups in Japan. Less than a year later in 1914, The Takarazuka Girls Revue gave its first performance in the Paradise Theater, a converted indoor pool (Takarazuka Revue Company). Despite women playing the roles of men, the gender binary is strictly enforced. On the Takarazuka stage, gender is constructed in two categories; one is the otokoyaku (an actress playing the male role) and the other is the musumeyaku (an actress playing the female role). The categorization of otokoyaku and musumeyaku reinforces gender stereotyping of both male and female roles (Chen p.64). The two different genders on the Takarazuka stage are made distinct by the use of stylization in gesture, movement and voice; the otokoyaku emphasizes masculinity as she plays the male role whereas the musumeyaku highlights femininity as she plays the female role (Chen p.58). It’s interesting to note that while male characters (specifically love interests) attempt to adhere to the binary, they are not extremely”manly”, and instead are portrayed as androgynous with a masculine edge. Similar to the onnagata, otokoyaku is the idealized version of what women want men to be; strong and capable yet in touch with his feminine side.

China has an extensive history of traversing gender, most notably Mei Lanfang who was regarded as the greatest nandan (female impersonator) in living memory (Li p.39). This type of cross-dressing, male to female, can be said to have existed several hundred years prior to the Tang Dynasty. The earliest recorded instance of female cross-dressing (female to male) is found in the eighth century Tang Dynasty when actresses played the role of the male officer in a theatrical act known as “The military counselor” (Li p.33). However Chinese opera, and theatre in general, has gone through dramatic changes depending on political authority. In the Yuan Dynasty, under Mongol rule, male and female performers were free to appear on stage together. In fact, women prospered in theatre; the first fully developed Chinese theatre to emerge in the Yuan Dynasty favored female players and female cross-dressing (Li p.40). Furtermore, each play was, very uniquely, written as either a female role-type script (danben) or a male role-type script (moben). Despite this categorization, there were female players who, apart from playing the leading female role, also cross-dressed to play the leading male role, and equally certain that there were also men who played the leading male role (Li p.50). In the subsequent Ming Dynasty, however, such freedom was reigned in due to backlash of “not being Chinese enough”. Basically, anything that flourished in the Yuan Dynasty was seen as Mongolian, and needed to be replaced with more “Chinese” ways of thought. It was with this re-emergence of Neo-Confucianism under such conservative return to “Chinese” culture in Ming China that women were tightly confined to the private sphere (Li p.58). As such, began the stage practice of separating male and female actors. Due to these resrictions, cross-dressing became a necessity for the sake of the performance, especially for female roles, as women were restricted from public stages.

When discussing gendered performances in Chinese theatre, it’s important to mention “The Butterfly Lovers”, arguably the most celebrated folk tale in Chinese culture (Li p.109). The general narrative revolves around Zhu, a girl disguised as a boy in order to attend a prestigious school, and her male best friend, Liang, who is unaware of her true gender. After studying together for three years, Zhu is called home for an arranged marriage. She reveals her true gender to Liang, and despite falling in love, she is forced into her arranged marriage. Liang soon becomes ill, and dies, and at his funeral, Zhu commits suicide by throwing herself into his tomb. The two are then said to have turned into butterflies. While the story itself plays with gender, theatre has taken it to a new level for performance. The character of Zhu bends gender expectations, and as such, can be difficult to cast. Historically speaking, when women were prohibited from the stage, men would play female roles, as mentioned above. The actor for Zhu, then, would be a male, playing the role of a female, disguised as a male, resulting in a double cross-dressing act. In the Yuan period, when women performed on stage, the character of Liang would occasionally be played by a woman. In these instances of cross-play, it is important to note that the traditional Chinese construction of masculinity manifests itself in a variety of representations and is in many ways different from today’s Euro-American notions of masculinity (Li p.125). Therefore, having men and women playing oppsite sexes, is less transversive than western expectations. Today, “The Butterfly Lovers” is a popular performance put on by the Yueju opera in mainland China, which is basically female and is dominated by female players, although there are often a couple of male actors in each troupe (Li p.112). In the staging, on the physical level of the players, there are two women; while on the level of dramatic representation of the characters, it is a man and a woman (Li p.125), though the character of Zhu complicates which is which. The gender-bending of this play is a cornerstone in Chinese theatre and gender theory.

India has a complex approach when it comes to gender and theatre. Like Japan and China, Indian theatre has a history of dividing performers along the gender binary of male and female. However, in India there are people known as hijra, who are culturally recognized as a third gender, neither male nor female. This adds another layer to gendered performances on stage that is unique, though somewhat ambiguous and under researched.

Chhau is a performance belonging to the three contiguous States of Jharkhand (Seraikela), Orissa (Baripada) and West Bengal (Purulia), involving vigorous dance movements based on mythology, and is traditionally performed by males (Mehta p.1). Some movements, however, are modeled after the daily housework of women, such as sweeping, fetching water, and grinding spices. The Chhau dance at Purulia does not have many female characters, since its themes are from episodes of the epics of Mahabharata that do not have such characters. Women as performers have not yet been introduced to Chhau at Purulia, while Chhau at Seraikela and Mayurbhanj have an array of female characters and women as participants (Mehta p.10). Traditionally, Chhau had restricted women as performers, as the only women who performed in public were dancers known as devdasis, a type of courtesean or prostitute. Therefore Chhau is a heavily male dominated art form having had the traditional hegemony of not only male performers, but teachers and instrumentalists as well (Mehta p.39). Hijra, who are more commonly born male or intersex, were then designated to female roles (if there were any). Often this was one of the only ways to earn money, as their gender ambiguity caused scorn and adversity in mainstream society. Even today women do not have exclusionary rights to female performance roles as male artists continue to perform the female roles (Mehta p.74), though this is rapidly changing as there is no official decree banning women on stage. Where this leaves the hijra is unknown.

The common thread seen not only in Asian theatre, but theatre around the world is the restriction of the female sex at one point or another. As a necessity, cross-dressing proliferated, and blurred the lines of gender. Men performing female or feminine roles took precedence, despite the existence of women playing male roles, partly due to the fact that there was not much academic concern of them until fairly recently. In fact, some performers cannot be distinguished between male or female, resulting in being overlooked by historians. Thus, the gender binary of male and female in theatre is constantly being rewritten as new information comes to light. Perhaps in the future, this binary will be replaced by a spectrum of sex, gender identity, and gender expression, if it hasn’t already.

 

 

References

Banerji, Anurima. Odissi Dance: Paratopic Performances Of Gender, State, And Nation. New York University: UMI, 2010.

Bowers, Faubion. Japanese Theatre. Toronto. Canada: University of Michigan Press, 1952. Book.

Chen, Yilin. “Gender and homosexuality in Takarazuka theatre.” Performing Ethos 1.1 (2010): 53–67.

Kothari, Sunil and Avinash Pasricha. Odissi, Indian classical dance art. University of Michigan: Marg Publications, 1990. Book. 26 November 2018.

Leiter, Samuel L. “From Gay to Gei : The Onnagata and the Creation of Kabuki ‘s Female Characters.” Comparative Drama 33.4 (2000): 495-514.

Li, Siu Leung. Cross-Dressing in Chinese Opera. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2003.

Mehta, Gouri Nilakantan. Pan Indian Identities Of Female Performers. Miami University: UMI, 2004.

Scott, Margaret. “Transformer Controversial Kabuki star Tamasaburo Bando.” Los Angeles Times 22 May 1994. Newspaper.

Takarazuka Revue Company. History. n.d. 10 October 2018. <http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/english/history/index.html&gt;.