Why did men play the roles of women in Shakespeare's plays?

Answer 1

One Answer:Elizabethans were not averse to women working, and many did, especially in the clothing, food and brewing industries. The whole idea of people parading about on stage in front of other people was scandalous to them (hence the Puritans' hatred of the theatre), and their standards of female modesty were much higher than those for male modesty.

The idea of actresses as immodest and probably loose women persisted well into the twentieth century, whereas being a spinster (someone who made her living by spinning thread) was the paradigm of propriety for an unmarried woman.

Another Answer:During the time when Shakespeare was alive, some 500 years ago, it was believed that the only appropriate activity for women was to bear and raise children. If a woman were to become an actress, who would be looking after her children? It would be flagrant child neglect.

Answer 2

It was contrary to the standards of propriety of the time for women to appear on stage.

In order to understand this, imagine a candy store owned by a nice old man who says he has special treats for especially good kids in the back. Hands up everybody who thought the word "creepy" when reading that. See those hands? If the store had been owned by a little old lady they wouldn't have been up. Our society has the prejudice that men who want to do nice things for children are probably child molesters.

In Shakespeare's day, society had the prejudice that any woman who wanted to flaunt her body in public was probably a prostitute. It didn't matter if a woman wanted to be an actress because she loved acting, not to sell her sexual favours, any more than it matters that the man who wants to open a candy store wants to sell candy, not molest children. Either way, the person is going to be treated according to the stereotype--she must be a prostitute, and he must be a child molester.

Answer 3

Men often played the roles of women during plays at it was socially unacceptable for women to be involved in drama and theatre.

i thought that it was because they split the boys from the girls schools.

The idea of actresses as immodest and probably loose women persisted well into the twentieth century, whereas being a spinster (someone who made her living by spinning thread) was the paradigm of propriety for an unmarried woman.

Elizabethans were not averse to women working, and many did, especially in the clothing, food and brewing industries. The whole idea of people parading about on stage in front of other people was scandalous to them (hence the Puritans' hatred of the theatre), and their standards of female modesty were much higher than those for male modesty.

During the time when Shakespeare was alive, some 500 years ago, it was believed that the only appropriate activity for women was to bear and raise children. If a woman were to become an actress, who would be looking after her children? It would be flagrant child neglect.

Answer 4

They don't very often any more, although modern all-male productions have been staged. Nowadays it is more common to find women playing men's roles in Shakespeare as there are about as many actresses as actors but a lot more parts for actors in Shakespeare's plays. The reason for that is that when Shakespeare was writing the plays, it was considered indecent and obscene for a woman to parade about for a large group of men to look at, so the female parts were played by men and boys in drag. There were not as many accomplished transvestite actors in the company as there were actors who played men, so there were fewer women's parts. Actresses were not allowed on stage in England until the 1660s (much earlier in France).

Answer 5

Up until 1660 women were not permitted to appear on stage in England (they did appear on stage in France and other countries). The reason was that it was considered indecent for a woman to show herself off to a group of men in public. To do so would get about the same reaction you would get by showing pornography to a Sunday School class.

In 1642, the Puritan government of the day declared that ALL acting, even by men, was indecent and the work of the devil and they closed down the theatres. Their extreme position probably helped make the idea of actresses acceptable when they were thrown out of government.
men and or boys played the femal roles as women at the time could not act on stage or in public play houses Women were forbidden, by law, to perform in the Elizabethan theatre, therefore there were no actresses at the Globe Theatre. The acting profession was not a credible one and it was unthinkable that any woman would appear in a play. The parts of female characters were played by young boys. These boy actors were usually aged between 13 and 19 years of age when their voices were still high and muscles had not fully developed.
Acting was considered dishonorable for women and women did not appear on stage in England until the seventeenth century.

boys

because the woman was cleaning and looking after children although there were female roles for important parts like Juliet

Answer 6

Before 1660 it was illegal in England for a woman to perform on a stage. It was considered lewd and indecent for any woman to do so. Therefore the parts of women had to be played by men or boys. Boys whose voices had not yet broken played the parts of the younger women.

Answer 7

It was illegal for women to appear on stage in England up until 1660.

Answer 8

Because the customs and traditions at the time didn't allow for female actors.

Answer 9

During that time women weren't allowed to perform.