shiradotnet

There's a new opinion piece on my web site written by Valizan, a male dancer in Canada. It's titled "The Odyssey of the Lizard Boy", and talks about the experience of being a male belly dancer. You can find it here:

Musings about Belly Dance: Essays, Opinion Pieces, Creative Writing

I'd be interested in seeing what other people think of his article.

__________________
www.shira.net and www.bellydanceplus.com, on twitter @shiradotnet

Aisha Azar

Dear Shira,
He complains about his treatment as a male, and yet he states in his bio that as one of the "few male belly dancers" in North America, he is "sought after" for workshops and shows. The way he words that is very telling. It does not sound like that much of a handicap to me....
And this idea that there are just a few rare male dancers in N. America is a mythology and has been since at least the 1970s when I started dancing. They are plentiful and have been for a long time, nearly as I can tell from my own experiences.
I find that many women seem to take men far more seriously than they do women when it comes to how they are treated as dancers. In my experience, if women say it, so what? If men say it, suddenly its worth supporting, and I think I am not the only female dancer who has had this experience. Not to mention the fact that many mediocre men get asked to perform when there are women who are far better who are not asked, just because they are female instead of male.
There are some very good male dancers out there, and I have worked with them and for them. But, I believe we need to settle down and treat males as equals instead of treating them as if they were somehow more special than women.
Regards,
A'isha

jenc

and that to give him his due is EXACTLY what he is saying

Aisha Azar

Dear Jenc,
I think it is more he is complaining that men are treated like freaks, which is not the case. They are mostly treated more like visiting royalty; something that just doesn't happen every day, and they get special treatment IN their favor most of the time, not against it, as he is trying to portray it. And, just like women, any time they can't stand the heat, they are welcome to stop working in the kitchen. I am sick of hearing men in this business complain about how tough they have it, as if it is a bed or roses for women. We certainly complain far less if nothing else.
Regards,
A'isha

Aniseteph

I agree - way more likely to get treated as royalty than lizardboy freaks by the dance community, and have dance skills applauded all the more.

We have enough male dancers teaching and performing at events here for it not to be anything terribly shocking. The "OMG its a MAN! " thing wears off pretty quickly

Maybe the general public are so weirded out by a male bellydancer that they can't see the skill for the chromosomes, but hey, some of them can't see the skill for a cute cleavage or shimmying fringe on a female dancer either.

shiradotnet

Actually, I've had conversations in the past with Valizan about this, and he *does* acknowledge that the special treatment tends to work in men's favor. But he wishes people would applaud him *because of his dance skill* rather than applauding him because of the novelty factor.

__________________
www.shira.net and www.bellydanceplus.com, on twitter @shiradotnet

shiradotnet

Yes, and this effect is particularly pronounced when the male saying it comes from the Middle East.

I agree with this, too.

__________________
www.shira.net and www.bellydanceplus.com, on twitter @shiradotnet

Aniseteph

Ah but how does he know they are doing this?

I bet a fair proportion of any audience get over the novelty pretty fast.

Aisha Azar

Dear Shira and Steph,
What he says in his article does not express that he sees the advantages to being a man in this business, but that he feels like a freak. His bio gives us a different set of clues all together and he states that because he is a male, he gets work. Very mixed messages there, I think.
I have seen Middle Eastern men and women working in the dance community say things that do not tend to be exactly what I would call true, when it comes to dealing with dancers. I am not sure how much this is influenced by the financial factor...??? I have heard the most horrendous misinformation come out of the mouths of western dancers, though, and probably again financially motivated.
Regards,
A'isha

Leslie

Can I be honest with you ladies for a moment?

Valizan, is one of my nearest and dearest friends. And, he will not take offense to my saying this, so I am going to just say it:

He, is many things - one of which, however, is not a liar.

I kind of feel like he's being attacking in an unfair, semi-trollish kind of way here. Please give him the chance to say something, and let's try and turn this conversation into something a little more productive, please? Pretty please?

Thanks!
Leslie