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| Breakdancing |
Many people think that dance is something that only females do; “real” men, on the other hand, don’t dance.
However, when you look at other cultures around the world, it’s very clear that this mentality is in the minority. Salsa, which is a Latin ballroom dance, highlights a hypermasculine male partner who must sensually “chase” his partner. In many indigenous groups, dancing among men is seen as normal daily activity.
In the United States, hip hop dance and breakdancing have both emerged as styles considered to be masculine. Both of these styles employ athleticism and aggression as key elements that make them so manly to the audience.
In the past ten years, even the media has done its part to encourage men to dance. The television show Dancing with the Stars first showed that even men who at first lacked artistic ability could learn the choreography and eventually excel at it. Look at Hines Ward, a manly American football player who actually looked good dancing to the rumba, the tango, and the foxtrot.
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| So You Think You Can Dance |
feminine art that had no place is a man’s world. Now, men were watching other men perform to masculine styles like hip hop and salsa.
So this should be enough, right? Surely you’d think that the media should have enough of a presence of convince men to accept dance as masculine.
Not quite. As early as in preschool, boys are still being made fun of for having an interest in dance. As a boy, you might have learned that dancing was for girls. Boys, on the other hand, should be interested in having adventures or playing tag, but certainly not dancing. Similarly, in high school, you probably saw that dancing was generally restricted to females. Boys were often too proud to take part in this activity.
There are many reasons for this kind of thinking. You may feel like you could be ridiculed by other men if you engaged in this kind of activity. You may feel like learning to dance is too arduous of a task, an activity too much trouble to be worth pursuing.
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| Find a dance class near you! |
These are not legitimate reasons. These are excuses. As long as this mentality dominates the public’s way of thinking, men will continue to be discouraged from dancing. As a result, they rob themselves of an opportunity to be immersed in the beauty and artistry that is associated with dance.
We cannot allow dance to be seen as a taboo among men anymore. Men who show an interest in dancing shouldn’t be singled out. They should be allowed to follow their passion unimpeded.
Find a dance studio near you and try to take a dance class. If you’re still worried about dance being too “girly,” attend a beginner hip hop class and see for yourself.
