IT'S RAIIIIININ' MEN
hey hi i haven't posted in a while. I've been thinking!
There's been a lot of backlash from the So You Think You Can Dance episode last night. Which starts at 5:10 in this clip, for anyone who didn't see it, who might be interested. Long story short, two men auditioned with a ballroom dance on the show - together, in sparkly, low-cut, tight-pants'd outfits, mind you. Naturally, that's not the norm. Obviously it could happen, but, typically, ballroom is one guy and one girl. There is a leader and a follower. That's just how it rolls.
People don't seem to agree. A lot of people have been accusing the show of prejudice, homophobia, etc. AfterElton.com had an article in particular that stuck out.
I keep going back and forth on this, just because I've got arguments towards either side. There's the one hand where, yes, the judges - Nigel in particular - were coming off as very unreasonable, not at all understanding. Nigel's a bit too old-fashioned, I think - he shows it often in his judging, but he's an old Brit; of course he's going to be old-fashioned. That doesn't work with the constantly changing dance world. Especially in the US, where, well, stereotypically, guy dancers (save for the hip-hop dancers, the lockers, the breakers, etc.) arrre pretty gay.
On the other hand, the guys weren't that good. Their movements were off, their chemistry was cheesy, the dance was a bit cheesy as well. The costumes threw you off. I get what they were going for, absolutely, and I love that they were two gay men dancing together. It's just... with ballroom, typical ballroom, there IS a leader and a follower. I think there could absolutely be males partnering, or females partnering, but you have to have some kind of focus. Someone SHOULD be leading the other person, or else it's back and forth, it's confusing, it generally ends up sloppy.
I don't think it's about a male being in charge, or effeminate people, because the show's broken those boundaries before. There was a Broadway dance to I'm A Woman from Smoky Joe's Cafe (that a gay man choreographed, mind you), where the guy - while still manly! - was very dominated by the woman in it. Or the Garden dance that's gone down with a bit of notoriety on the show. The West Coast Swing dance that Benji Schwimmer choreographed had a girl throwing a guy into a few moves where she was DEFINITELY taking the lead, which added nice touches! But the guy was overall the leader; again, some kind of focus.
I dunno. I think it's boiling down to something that it shouldn't be. It should be about the dancing, not who's doing it, and it's ending up looking like some kind of prejudiced business, which I don't think it should be. As someone who's very involved in gay rights issues, with gay and lesbian friends, who's unsure on her sexuality herself, I'm obviously very sympathetic towards the guys! But I also think Nigel and Mary were right, about the leader and follower business, that it was too effeminate.
And also aaaanyway, end rant, sorry for that >>; I've been thinking about this a lot, ever since since what exploded up from it. I'm such a SYTYCD addict, I can't help myself :DDD:
Anyone else see it? What do you think?
There's been a lot of backlash from the So You Think You Can Dance episode last night. Which starts at 5:10 in this clip, for anyone who didn't see it, who might be interested. Long story short, two men auditioned with a ballroom dance on the show - together, in sparkly, low-cut, tight-pants'd outfits, mind you. Naturally, that's not the norm. Obviously it could happen, but, typically, ballroom is one guy and one girl. There is a leader and a follower. That's just how it rolls.
People don't seem to agree. A lot of people have been accusing the show of prejudice, homophobia, etc. AfterElton.com had an article in particular that stuck out.
I keep going back and forth on this, just because I've got arguments towards either side. There's the one hand where, yes, the judges - Nigel in particular - were coming off as very unreasonable, not at all understanding. Nigel's a bit too old-fashioned, I think - he shows it often in his judging, but he's an old Brit; of course he's going to be old-fashioned. That doesn't work with the constantly changing dance world. Especially in the US, where, well, stereotypically, guy dancers (save for the hip-hop dancers, the lockers, the breakers, etc.) arrre pretty gay.
On the other hand, the guys weren't that good. Their movements were off, their chemistry was cheesy, the dance was a bit cheesy as well. The costumes threw you off. I get what they were going for, absolutely, and I love that they were two gay men dancing together. It's just... with ballroom, typical ballroom, there IS a leader and a follower. I think there could absolutely be males partnering, or females partnering, but you have to have some kind of focus. Someone SHOULD be leading the other person, or else it's back and forth, it's confusing, it generally ends up sloppy.
I don't think it's about a male being in charge, or effeminate people, because the show's broken those boundaries before. There was a Broadway dance to I'm A Woman from Smoky Joe's Cafe (that a gay man choreographed, mind you), where the guy - while still manly! - was very dominated by the woman in it. Or the Garden dance that's gone down with a bit of notoriety on the show. The West Coast Swing dance that Benji Schwimmer choreographed had a girl throwing a guy into a few moves where she was DEFINITELY taking the lead, which added nice touches! But the guy was overall the leader; again, some kind of focus.
I dunno. I think it's boiling down to something that it shouldn't be. It should be about the dancing, not who's doing it, and it's ending up looking like some kind of prejudiced business, which I don't think it should be. As someone who's very involved in gay rights issues, with gay and lesbian friends, who's unsure on her sexuality herself, I'm obviously very sympathetic towards the guys! But I also think Nigel and Mary were right, about the leader and follower business, that it was too effeminate.
And also aaaanyway, end rant, sorry for that >>; I've been thinking about this a lot, ever since since what exploded up from it. I'm such a SYTYCD addict, I can't help myself :DDD:
Anyone else see it? What do you think?