According to Tan, bangsawan had the precedence of enabling women to come to conspicuity in both commercial performance and cultural participations for the first time ever in the conservative Malay Peninsula. This was a radical social change brought about by the popular culture and urbanization. Previously, men often had to take on the roles of acting as females in traditional Malay folk theatre as women had limited opportunities for activities beyond the domestic domain. This was due to the fact that the society considered it inappropriate then, for Malay women to have open interaction with men on stage and in general.Through the advent of a changing bangsawan, women gained employment in society as professional dancers and in a way, empowerment as females. This had allowed women to earn a chance at self-expression in the public domain. Furthermore, the inclusion of women in bangsawan also led to a greater independence for the female performers, who could now support themselves and not depend on men for a living. However, female bangsawan performers still had to contend with the social stigma that they were women of loose morals as perceived by the deeply religious and conservative society of that period. They were seen as women of dubious characters who were displayed publicly for men to ogle at and unfaithful ladies who changed spouses often. Despite the undesirable stereotypes attached to female bangsawan performers, the popularity of bangsawan entertainment ensured that they retained the treatment of celebrities and status of stars with a huge following of bangsawan supporters. Due to their fame and talents, these bangsawan stars were still regarded as desirable spouses in spite of the persistent stigma against their stardom.
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