Back when it was orthodox for male actors to play female characters, was it not in the least bit controversial when they kissed the male characters, dressed like womem etc?

by dntbacoconut

I was reading midsummer nights dream and in parts of the play a group of laymen are rehearsing a play, none of them seem resistant to having to play the woman's role and one of them even wants to because he says he would be good at it. Maybe it's my country's culture but most modern men would find it controversial or at least not ideal to act like women, and also embarrassing to read all these lovey lines to a man even if they are just acting. Was this not the case in Shakespeare's days? Is this strict idea of masculinity a modern thing?

gynnis-scholasticus

This is a really interesting topic! Whilst waiting for a new answer I can link to some older ones related to this question: this one by u/cdesmoulins and this by u/amandycat especially, and also a thread by u/caffarelli and perhaps this other answer by cdesmoulins