Womens roles during Shakespeares time

Women were not allowed by law to perform in theaters during the Elizabethan era. So since women were not allowed to perform the theaters hired teenage boys between the ages of 13 and19. There voices were still high pitched and not as deep as that of a grown man. They were not paid as much as a grown actor and would often be an apprentice of an older actor. Many of the boys had to put on the white makeup that high class women would wear. This makeup consisted of lead, which led to many of the boys getting lead poisoning.
Women were allowed to act in the theatre until 1660 as it was judged to be unseemly for a woman to undertake such a profession. It was thought that the lower class women in society should not be allowed to perform onstage because it would be lewd and immoral. The upper class women performed in masques, including Queen Elizabeth’s mother. This didn’t stop the lower class women to performing, many would perform and dress up as men.