As a new production reimagining Joan of Arc as a gender non-conforming hero sparks predictable backlash, historian Florence Scott explains why it’s impossible to define Joan’s gender through our modern lens.
A new play at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, I, Joan, imagines Joan of Arc as a queer figure who uses they/them gender-neutral pronouns.
Though simply an artistic interpretation of Joan that offers “the possibility of another point of view”, this portrayal has been considered controversial by those alarmed by the perceived de-gendering or re-gendering of a famous historical character as non-binary.