If I be waspish, best beware my sting.

For my individual play, I'm reading The Taming of the Shrew. I'm pretty excited, if only because it inspired one of my favorite movies of all time.

The Plot: A Paduan lord, Baptista, decrees that his younger, more attractive, more likable, more airheaded daughter Bianca cannot get married to one of her many suitors until her older, angrier, presumably less-attractive, but also less airheaded daughter Katherina gets married. Unfortunately, no one wants to marry her. Some Italian guy named Petruchio comes to town and is immediately recruited by not one, but two of Bianca's suitors to please, for the love of God, take Katherina off the market. Naturally, hilarity and possible gender discrimination ensue.

My question for the duration of the play, and upon which I will be focusing: The Taming of the Shrew is incredibly sexist. True or False?

Now, as of this moment, I think the answer is very obviously and overwhelmingly true. However, I've already had one discussion about it with someone who disagrees (and a female someone, no less), so I will try to consider both sides of the argument.

I'm seriously considering hosting a viewing party for two fantastic film adaptations. One stars the lovely and glamorous Elizabeth Taylor (I still get sad when I remember she's dead), and the other, the somewhat forgettable Julia Stiles. I think that Julia Stiles is so basic, and I don't understand why she was cast in not one, but TWO Shakespearean adaptations. But I digress.

I expect that we'll be dealing with themes of power, namely, who holds the power in a romantic relationship and why it's important, as well as themes of love. Based on what I know at this point, I have a hard time believing that the relationship between Katherina and Petruchio could be legitimate or long-lasting. As I delve deeper into the characters, I hope to find out.

I'm very excited to look at this from a performance perspective as well. I plan on utilizing the book Speak the Speech!, a book of Shakespearean monologues put in context of the events of the play and possible character motivation. I feel I will be able to easily identify with Katherina, but I question how well I'll be able to understand Bianca or most (if not all) of the male characters.