bachelorette

I'm supposed to be gathering material for my bachelor's thesis.

I am. In a way. 

But mostly I'm still thinking.

The lecture on feminism and gender studies yesterday gave me lots of interesting ideas, but not one clear path to The Subject as I had hoped.

There are three contenders:
1. something about gender roles in dance.
This is so vague an idea I don't even know if it will ever materialize into an actual anything. I suppose I could look at how women are portrayed in classical ballet vs modern dance. Or the inherent heteronormativity in a lot of dance, even modern. Or the complete lack of any hinted at sexuality in modern dance.
2. something about patriarchal structures in drama.
This idea came to be from watching The Last of the Haussmans by Stephen Beresford, because in his play there is no male lead role. Or I should say, there is no classical male patriarchal lead role. There is a matriarch. Does this shift the focus to something else? Why? Where does that place the three male roles in the play? 
3. something about genderbending in drama.
When I was in London earlier this year I saw Joe Penhall's new play 'Birthday'. It focuses on Ed and Lisa, who are about to have their second baby through a (planned) caesarean. The plot twist is that it is Ed who is giving birth. One could say that this play takes place in what in fanfiction is called an Alternative Universe. It's not sci-fi, it's a fictional place where otherwise "unnatural" events are normal. So in this play men have been given the opportunity to carry a child by having an artificial womb implanted in their body. The procedure is more common among gay male couples, which makes Ed and Lisa somewhat of an anomaly at the fictional hospital where everything takes place. (There is also an interesting sub-theme about race, which I remember stood out for me when watching the show. But I may need to re-read the play-text before I comment on that.)