The Role Of Gender In Down From Heaven By Colleen Wagner's Down From Heaven?

What defines gender? The sex of a person refers to their physical anatomy, their sexual orientation refers to whom they are attracted to. The gender identity of a person, however, is their internal sense of being male, female, neither or both. The way in which they manifest their masculinity and/or femininity is their gender expression. Society has no right to dictate a person’s gender identity or manifestation, nor does it have the right to confine them to any one of these. Too often does the public deem someone’s gender and expression the same as their sex, and treat them as such without consulting the individual. The play Down from Heaven by Colleen Wagner and the novel Annabel by Kathleen Winter depict the ongoing battle that society faces

Down from Heaven is about Laurel and her family who are being held captive by their gardener, Cheater in their basement during a time of plague. Annabel is the story of Wayne who is a perfect hermaphrodite being raised as a boy in Labrador the 1970s. Primarily, gender roles within the home are based upon the social expectation that women are subservient to their husbands. Secondly, there exists a severe imbalance of power within the capitalist classes where socioeconomic status directly correlates with the sex of the individual therefore making one party involuntarily dependant on the other. Thirdly, before being able to achieve gender equality, society must first become aware of the deep seeded stereotypes that it continues to perpetuate. Society has been continually moulding gender roles which confine the very people who uphold them. Historically, it is conventional for the woman to be the submissive figure who relies on her husband to be the strong provider for the home, however these are very restricting gender roles for both parties. In Down from Heaven, Laurel is begging for food from Cheater,

Annabel follows Wayne throughout his life and his experiences that resulted from him born a perfect hermaphrodite in the 70s. Down from Heaven follows Laurel who tries to save her family during a time of plague whilst dealing with Cheater, her former gardener and captor. Society expects certain roles to be fulfilled within the home, often having women be the subservient accessories to their dominant husbands. Within the capitalist classes, women are disadvantaged severely in comparison to men with regards to their socioeconomic status. In order to gain equity, society must acknowledge the confining stereotypes and gender roles that it is placing upon itself. The best place to learn about social issues would be from children who are innocent and far less biased and are the perfect teachers of what is natural and