AustLit

What happens to a woman who isn't considered beautiful? This play reflects the bizarre and true story of a woman in the 1850s who crosses the gender line and lives her life as a male boundary rider in the Australian Bush.

(Source: State Library of South Australia)

What do They Call Me? raises questions regarding both lesbian and Aboriginal identity. The three monologues which comprise the play are intricately interwoven and each presents a different view on the impact of legislation from the 1940s through to the 1970s.

Although thrown into jail, Connie Brumbie is at least allowed her Aboriginality. On the other hand, Connie's daughter Regina has been denied knowledge of her true racial background. Having uncovered the fiction of her Eurasian heritage, Regina spends ten years trying to come to terms with her blackness. Regina's sister Alison points out, based on the insights gained through her engagement with radical feminism, finding an identity is not so simple.

The play makes it painfully obvious that we live in a culture subject to the extremes of stereotyping and name-calling. Source: Australian Gay and Lesbian Plays (1996)