Society's Perception

When we read "John Frog Gives Birth: An Interlude" I was very shocked at how open all of the jokes were regarding sexuality. This play did not stop at any boundaries when addressing the issues of homosexuality and feminine men, but the audience found all of the humor hilarious. I find it amusing that certain issues that are considered taboo subjects are often easilty accepted through the act of comedy. By making fun of certain lifestyles those who are opposed to them find it easier to listen to the topics because they do not feel threatened by the subject material. For example, in the television show "Glee", Kurt's father is able to accept his son's homosexuality when he demonstrates his dancing ability on the football field. Kurt's "Single Ladies" dance routine by Beyonce was entertaining, but it also was able to merge his father's aversion to his sexual orientation with his own style of expression despite the fact that dancing does not occur in football.

For John Frog's time period it was amazing that people still loved him even though they knew he had committed the forbidden crime of sodomy. Even back then people were able to look past sexual orientation and base their opinion of a person on their personality instead. Although John Frog is paraded around in women's clothing, at the end of the play the other mayors admit that they want to act like John Frog as well. If people merely focused on a person's personality rather than topics such as their religion, background, or sexual orientation, people might find that they have a lot more in common with others than they think. Many people are still shocked to hear that cases of transgenderism exist, but obviously there have been people like this for many years. I feel like society's judgment often constrains people so much that they choose to hide important parts of themselves in order to be accepted. I wonder how many more cases of transgenderism would come out if society did not react so controversely to it?