A controversial artistic and educational performance for children regarding gender fluidity has had a low turnout among its target audience.

The show, Gender Boss, focused on the abstract themes of inclusivity, diversity and self-understanding.

But earlier this month, PN culture spokesperson Julie Zahra flagged parents’ concerns on social media regarding the show’s “sensitive themes” as she questioned whether experts had been consulted for the project.

Of the five planned performances, one was cancelled due to the public controversy while the remaining four suffered greatly as younger viewers were often a minority, the show’s technical director Niels Plotard said.

Performers Martina Georgina and Romeo Roxmann Gatt spoke about their disappointment with the low turnout.

“A lot had been said before the work was shown. It’s very sad because this work was created for kids,” Georgina said.

“There was a lot of misinformation,” Romeo echoed, saying people’s speculations led to a lot of misguided discussions and smaller audiences.

After yesterday’s final show, Verdala International School teacher Tyler Shepard said: “There was so much controversy around it but it’s not really a controversial message”.

“It’s a message of acceptance, loving yourself and being yourself,” she added.

Inclusivity and acceptance

Zahra had questioned whether sociologists, anthropologists, sexologists, psychologists and other experts consulted for advice.

She emphasised her stance in favour of freedom of expression but noted that she is also in favour of sensitive topics being introduced in their own time and with expert consultations.

Responding to Zahra, organisers ŻiguŻajg insisted that Gender Boss is in no way meant to act as “a brainwashing tool” or “an act of prejudice”.

“On the contrary, it’s being devised by accomplished artists, with whom we have worked on these topics in the past, with assistance from experts in the field, to promote acceptance and understanding of diversity through arts and creativity,” it said.

The multi-faceted performance is described on organisers ŻiguŻajg’s website as a “multidisciplinary performance aimed at teaching youngsters about gender fluidity” and that “gender is playful and malleable, not chosen for you but by you”.

However, the broader themes of inclusivity and acceptance took centre stage throughout the show’s 30-minute runtime.

Produced by Martina Buhagiar, it opened with brief introductions to the two main characters of the show: Toothy the Tooth Fairy and Bogey the Bogeyman who are both struggling with the roles that life has handed them.

“She dreamed of battling monsters. You know, heroic stuff,” Toothy’s introductory voice-over said while Bogey’s explained that he wanted to “protect” children rather than scare them.

Following the audio explanations, the show took on a performative approach as Toothy and Bogey went on a bedtime tale. This segment including dance sequences and metaphorical cartoon clips showed transformations from media such as The Little Mermaid and Teen Titans.

By the end, both characters had found their place in the world by carving their own path, deviating from what was expected of them.

After the short show wrapped up, a writing and drawing workshop saw the audience create their own characters to fit in with the theme of the show on the workbooks they were handed.

One child created a character named “the spy guy” in a booklet. “This character is facing lots of crime and his superpower is camouflage,” the child scrawled.

“Pingu, the Flightless Bird,” read another booklet cover, which was printed blank to allow people to create their own titles and images.

The show’s final moments had participants draw their characters on a large sheet alongside doodles from previous viewers, emphasising the theme of embracing everyone equally.

Across the two halves which lasted around an hour in total, no mention was made of gender or sexuality except for Gender Boss written on a single prop and on the booklets.

Older audiences

At yesterday’s show, the audience was mostly composed of adults while only two children came to see the final performance.

When asked what they took away from the show, the young audience members, who were within the vicinity of the show’s eight- to 10-year-old target audience, were unable to answer. However, their tight-lipped responses may not have been due to a lack of understanding as they nodded when asked if they understood the show’s meaning but were unable to expand.

‘Nothing wrong with this message’

Speaking to Times of Malta, Parliamentary Secretary for Equality Rebecca Buttigieg expressed the show’s positive effects as it teaches kids to be themselves.

“At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong with this message,” she said.

“We are talking about love, we are talking about being yourself. There is nothing controversial in this message and I think that before we speak, we need to analyse and see more about what we are talking about.”

Buttigieg emphasised the “simple message” of being oneself amidst society’s imposed stereotypes.

“We experienced a creative space that spoke about something that we have always preached and surely was not worth the controversy surrounding it.

“If we have politicians who are against diversity, against every type of message regarding diversity, then I think we need to reevaluate our questions.”