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female
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26-29,
anonymous
writes:How does ballet objectify women? I am a dancer, I've danced for 7 years, and i do ballet, jazz, tap, and pointe but have also done lyrical and jazz funk. I heard recently that ballet apperently "objectifies women". I have never felt this way, ever. I'm curious to know why people think it objectifies women. I've never felt objectified. How does it objectify women? Reply to this Question
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 June 2011): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionForgot to add this: it was my overly femenist friend who told me after she found out i danced. Her exact words were "*gasp* how can you take part in such a horrible activity?! It objectifys women!!" after that she urged me to quit. Feminism is great, but come on. This morning i did what the one reader said and asked how it objectifies women. She couldn't give me a straight answer so I told her that its my life, and if i choose to become a stripper or something she won't have a say in it whatsoever. That shut her up. :)
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 June 2011): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThanks everyone!!
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female
reader, CindyCares  +, writes (17 June 2011):
 It beats me. That 's the first time I hear this and it sounds ridiculous to me.
If any.. ballet may objectify MEN. Nude portraits of ballet etoile Roberto Bolle grace the pages of GQ type magazines every other day.... not that I complain about it !:)
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reader, idoneitagain  +, writes (17 June 2011):
Interesting question. Ballet is a dance form, most would say it is intended to be an expression of artistry through physical movement. It involves a high degree of technical ability which has to be gatherd through hard work in combination with natural talent and ability like most artistic expressions. This does not seem to have anything in common with the objectification of women, which is the limitation of a women to being seen as an object of desire, attraction or simple physical or sexual beauty, for the enjoyment of men (historically) regardless of ability or individual qualities or character.
However, here are a few interesting things to think about. Firstly, there is a relationship between ballet and the physical beauty of the body, explicity more so than in other dance forms. You can get largely built hip hop dancers that can shake their booty but you won't find a lot of fat ballet dancers. This applies to men and women by the way, but women do dominate in this arena. The appreciation of the beauty of a particular kind of physical form: long, thin, elegant, graceful, is part of what ballet is. An appreciation of beauty and grace, expressed through movement. This does not objectify women or men in my opinion, but it does make the area a little more grey.
Secondly, and something that adds to the grey area, is to think about how ballet originated. Humans would have danced since the beginning of time, but when I think of the origins of ballet I imagine rows of beautiful young women dancing for kings in the courts of Europe. For the viewing pleasure of royalty and the elite, a world ruled by men. Before dance was an art form, it would have also played a natural part in human courtship. Before ballet, men and women would have danced for and with one another in courtship displays the same way that birds do, and that people do every day when they go out to night clubs. There is an element of sexual attraction and courtship to dance, and this is not something ballet has lost simply becuase it has been elevated to an art form. Whenever someone dances, whether it be artistic or not, there will always be an element of sexuality projected onto the dancer by the viewer, and in many cases projected by the dancer too. Of all of the men who are dragged to watch the ballet with their wives, sisters, girlfriends, I would guess 10% like the ballet and want to be there, 10% wouldn't have planned it but will enjoy it, and the other 80% will get by through oggling at the pretty girls on stage as they twirl.....
My final thoughts? Ballet does not objectify women. Even if many of the men who watch ballet do so with an interest in the attractiveness of the dancers, this is not enough to call it objectification. A viewer can objectify a man or woman in any context, and ballet is quite obviously an artistic context first and foremost. If you meet people who objectify women in ballet, they are missing out on the ballet, on the art, and there is nothing you can do to change the objectification which stems from the eye of the beholder. Also, the person who's opinion really counts is yours. If you dance and you love it, you love to express yourself and move, and create art and magic, you should do it. If you feel like the whole thing is about how much you weigh, and how you look, and if doing it makes you feel like an object and not an artist, then you have your answer.
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reader, Gabrielle Stoker +, writes (17 June 2011):
 Objectification is always more in the eyes of the person doing the objectifying than the person being objectified. A lecherous man (or woman, for that matter) can look at the most modestly dressed woman as nothing more than a sex object (happens all the time) where another would see a bikini model and not think the same way.
Ballet is generally accepted as a classical art with a high degree of respectability. I don't think you have anything to worry about. People who talk will always talk, regardless of anything.
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female
reader, ArtsyGirl +, writes (17 June 2011):
The outfits maybe? I'm not sure, I wouldn't let it bother you. Ballet and dancing is wonderful and good for the soul. Just enjoy your ballet and dancing, and ignore anything negative people say.
But like I said, in modern times outfits for women are getting more and more revealing, so just be careful of what you wear is all.
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