This Harvard theater group will finally allow women to perform, and it only took 223 years
Naming Mila Kunis as its Woman of the Year is apparently the straw that broke the sexist camel’s back for the Harvard theater group Hasty Pudding. Because during its celebration of Kunis as Woman of the Year, Hasty Pudding Theatricals announced it will finally allow women to perform after 223 years.
Some students at Harvard University were hoping that Kunis would not accept the Woman of the Year award from Hasty Pudding because of its unfair treatment of women. Although female students can be involved behind the scenes, the group has never allowed women to participate in its performances.
But at the January 25th ceremony for Kunis, the student president of Hasty Pudding announced that women will be permitted to perform starting next year.
"The Hasty Pudding welcomes women to audition and to give equal opportunity to play those roles based on the quality of their individual talents," student president Amira Weeks read from a letter by the organization's governing board. "While we have great respect for the art form as it's been presented by the Pudding for over 170 years, the world is in a very different place. We are very proud to take this organization forward as a leader in women's rights and gender equality."
After 174 years, Hasty Pudding Theatricals at Harvard will cast women https://t.co/ic4wGTVLN5
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 26, 2018
Established in 1795, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has put on a student-written show every year since 1844 (except during World Wars I and II). It’s a burlesque-style show with men dressing in drag to portray the female characters. While women have been able to audition as a form of protest, they were never cast. But in 2019, that will change.
Kunis, who has been activist for gender equality in the workplace, accepted the Woman of the Year award as numerous other esteemed female celebrities — like Helen Mirren, Anne Hathaway, and Kerry Washington — have since 1951.
After being honored by the Harvard group, during a Q&A, Kunis explained her stance on Hasty Pudding’s decision to cast women from here on out.
"I wouldn't be here otherwise," Kunis said. "It was just something that to me was very important. To clarify, this is something that this program has always wanted to do. It has nothing to do with me or today. It's simply something that was going to happen inevitably."
Kunis then went on to criticize a Boston Globe columnist for writing that she shouldn’t accept the Woman of the Year award, and said it would be better if the columnist had asked her to take a stance rather than to not show up. The actress also defended Hasty Pudding for being “forward-thinking for many years” and credited the students in the organization for making this change occur.
It’s debatable how “forward-thinking” Hasty Pudding Theatricals has been throughout its long history, but this change is definitely welcomed by many people involved in the group and beyond. And though Kunis seemed tired of talking about the sexism controversy on this fun occasion honoring her, she will now always be associated with this monumental shift for the Harvard theater group.
