U of G theatre prof faces backlash over Vivek Shraya comments

Toronto theatre cancels celebratory reading of Sky Gilbert play

A public reading of the 1986 play Drag Queens in Outer Space: A Dreamplay by U of G theatre studies professor Sky Gilbert was cancelled after he wrote a controversial poem in response to trans artist, director, and writer Vivek Shraya’s recently published book. The reading was to take place at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. Buddies, which Gilbert co-founded, is the world largest and longest-running queer theatre. Gilbert’s reading was replaced by a community dialogue event about intergenerational issues and allyship within the queer community.

Shraya’s first non-fiction publication, I’m Afraid of Men, details how aggressive and toxic masculinity affected her through boyhood and continues to follow her into girlhood. She talks about gender identity, privilege, transphobia, homophobia, and misogyny and does not point the finger exclusively at men. In an article with the Toronto Star titled “Vivek Shraya’s I’m Afraid of Men a powerful look at how words hurt,” she explains, “It always feels important to think about the role that people beyond the oppressor have in giving power to masculinity.” Masculinity is written as a concept that is not restricted to men exclusively, but rather anyone who finds solace in misogyny.

On his personal blog, Another Blog that Nobody Reads by Sky Gilbert, he wrote both a poem and an open letter in response to Shraya’s book. The poem, titled “I’m Afraid of ‘Woke People,’” was posted on Nov. 10, and outlines a fear of ‘woke people’ because of an apparent censoring of his identity. His poem begins, “I’m afraid of ‘Woke People’ because they divide humanity into either ‘us’ or ‘them’ / I’m afraid of ‘Woke People’ because they taught me to fear being gay…” and continues for 17 more lines. He expresses concern for his self-identity, the power of privilege, and social norms being affected by social justice warriors.

The public reading for Drag Queens in Outer Space was part of Buddies’ 40th anniversary series, of which Evalyn Parry is the artistic director. The Buddies website states that “Sky obviously does not speak for Buddies; in fact, we feel the sentiments he has expressed in his piece stand in opposition to our values and current leadership. After some dialogue with Sky, we feel it is no longer appropriate to continue with a celebratory reading on Monday. However, we are committed to our theatre continuing to be a place that holds space for differing viewpoints and difficult conversations.”

On Nov. 25, Gilbert announced on his personal blog that he is stepping away from Buddies and will no longer be associating his name, voice, essays, ideas, plays, novels, poems, or art with the theatre. As of now, however, Gilbert’s new opera Shakespeare’s Criminal, which was co-written by Dustin Peters, is still scheduled to play at Buddies in April 2019.

The Ontarion asked Gilbert the following question over email:

Based on your post on your blog (poem directed at Vivek Shraya), it’s possible to discern that you had not read the book before posting. Is that accurate?

Sky Gilbert: “There are two blogs:

The first: An Open Letter to Vivek Shraya. This was written when I had NOT read the book. The blog is about the TITLE, only.

The second is: I’m Afraid of Woke People, subtitled ‘for Vivek Shraya, upon reading her book — I’m Afraid of Men.’

As it clearly says there, I wrote the poem I’m Afraid of Woke People, about the book, after reading it, so I DID read it, and it’s about being upset by some of the things she says about gay men in the book.”

The Ontarion reached out to U of G College of Arts faculty for comment about the situation and this is what they had to share:

“Freedom of expression is a very important principle in democratic societies. Exercised appropriately, freedom of expression requires each of us to be aware of the power of words. They can facilitate better understanding between people but they can also lead to harmful divides between people. Each of us should express ourselves with care.”

—Ann Wilson, Director of the School of English and Theatre Studies

“I’ve read Sky’s poem and comments, and I don’t share his perspective. I’m pretty comfortable using ‘they’ pronouns and I don’t find it threatening. As a fellow self-identified queer faculty member, I have more to say. But as Dean, my role clearly includes protecting Professor Gilbert’s freedom of expression. I respect Professor Gilbert’s right to express his views even as I disagree with them. The University and the College of Arts protects freedom of expression for individuals but in doing so we are not condoning the message or opinions expressed.”

—Samantha Brennan, Dean of College of Arts

Random Tweets:

@EvelynaEkokoKay: sky gilbert hasn’t even read “I’m afraid of men” yet was confident enough to publicly criticize vivek shraya in 2 separate blog posts based on his interpretation of the title. The simultaneous entitlement and fragility he possesses could sustainably power a small country

@TheThirstyWench: I feel that people who really helped the cause 30+ years ago shouldn’t get an eternal pass for damaging and outdated behaviour if they still want to work within the community. That’s not about conformity, it’s about acknowledging ab evolution in how we interact

@WeitznerDavid: Studying [Brad Fraser] and Sky Gilbert as a humanities student in the 90’s made me a better ally for marginalized communities. I’m even more interested in what they have to say today. Wisdom comes with experience. Our elders are not our enemies. They are our best hope for truth.

Story by Odesia Howlett

Feature photo courtesy of Globe & Mail