state Oklahoma: Last News

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All news where state Oklahoma is mentioned

metroweekly.com
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Texas School Board Restores Cross-Gender Roles in ‘Oklahoma!’
barring a transgender student from playing a male role in his high school’s production of Oklahoma! has reversed course, allowing the original casting decisions to stand.On November 13, the Sherman Independent School District board voted to reinstate the original script and cast for the musical after local community members flooded the board’s regularly scheduled meeting to defend the casting of Max Hightower, a transgender male, as the peddler Ali Hakim.According to Dallas-area ABC affiliate WFAA, more than 60 people spoke in support of Hightower and slammed the board’s decision to prohibit not only Hightower but all students from playing roles that don’t match their assigned sex at birth.Administrators had interceded after several students were cast in cross-gender roles, citing a nonexistent district policy as justification for recasting the musical.Sherman High School administrators also insisted that the musical contained “mature adult themes, profane language, and sexual content,” and the production would have to be postponed for a month while the musical was rewritten to create a more “age-appropriate version.”But local community members weren’t buying the administrators’ explanation, with speaker after speaker denouncing the recasting decision and the decision to rewrite the musical.Speakers criticized the board for caving to perceived political and social pressure to enforce rigid gender roles in school productions.“I’ve played male roles in the past and it was no big deal — and guess what, that’s theater!” one actress told the board.“Reinstate the real version of Oklahoma! and let the students sing!” said another commenter.Following the public comment section of the meeting, the board went into a private,
metroweekly.com
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Texas High School Removes Trans Student from ‘Oklahoma!’
Oklahoma!But soon after, the school’s principal called Hightower’s father to inform him of a new district policy.“He said we’re instituting a new policy where only males can play males, and only females can play females,” Phillip Hightower told Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS-TV.The elder Hightower was “devastated” by the decision, noting that Max has never been treated differently because of his gender identity — until now.Aside from being absurd — cross-gender casting has been a reality in the theater world dating back centuries — the school district’s purported policy will likely prove logistically difficult if it tries to avoid cross-gender casting, in part because there’s frequently a dearth of males in high school production casting pools.Illustrating that point, the sudden policy change also reportedly cost several other cast members their roles, according to the New York Post.Max Hightower’s adult sister, Gracie, recounted the events involving her brother, writing that some female students cast as “cowboys” were told they could not participate in the play due to the school district’s decision to intervene in casting.“Many opportunities were ripped away from kids not for bad grades, not for bad behavior, not for attendance, but for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the production whatsoever,” she wrote.A group of parents, including Phillip Hightower, plan to appeal the decision to the school board. “I’m not an activist.
metroweekly.com
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9 Governors Want the NCAA to Ban Trans Athletes
letter demanding that the NCAA ban transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports.The letter’s signatories are Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.All except Lombardo — who is saddled with a Democratic-led state legislature — represent states that have passed laws banning transgender participation on female-designated sports teams.The governors decry the NCAA’s current policy on transgender athletes, which allows the individual national governing body of each sport to determine criteria for eligibility.Some of those sporting bodies, including track and field and swimming, have barred transgender competitors from female events.Both bodies have also suggested holding a third “open” category in which transgender swimmers could compete at the elite or post-collegiate levels.“The NCAA has the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes can thrive without the concern of inequities,” the letter reads. “We trust that you also want to guarantee just such an environment.

Current Events in state Oklahoma

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What cultural or social events are upcoming in state Oklahoma?

state Oklahoma hosts a variety of upcoming cultural events that attract attention locally and beyond, offering insight into the area's vibrant community life.

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