• Home
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Resources
  • Workshops
  • Street Team
  • Code of Ethics
  • Friday Flourishes
  • Contact
  Contra Syncretist
Connect with Contra Syncretist!

Gender-Balance and -Skew

4/23/2013

 
I was talking to a dancer friend of mine recently about gender balancing and how, in her opinion, younger women get shafted by this, because most of the younger women are more willing to dance with each other if there's a shortage. As a result, in some ways gender balancing might make a weekend less accessible, even if it's trying to make it more accessible by ensuring that men and women have equal opportunities to dance with each other. (Incidentally, this person was a young female dancer who is comfortable dancing either role, and does dance both roles very well.) 

Part of the reason that Steve and I started registering for events as a couple was to avoid having me languish on a waitlist because not enough single* gents registered in a timely manner to balance my registering as a single* lady.  The other argument that I've heard come up in favor of gender balancing is that older women, who may be less willing to dance with other women, "need" to have men to dance with, so a policy of gender balancing helps older women.

I'm not sure I buy this argument, but when I fall into the relevant demographic I might reevaluate my stance based on the facts on the ground. The "Stuff Contra Dancers Say..." community on Facebook has covered this particular topic exhaustively, so I'm not going to reiterate here, but I will mention it for the sake of completion of the current picture. 

On the registration form for Contra Colours weekend in October (which, by the way, Steve and I are planning to attend), it asked not for gender but which parts you were comfortable dancing, with an option for "both." It looked like they were trying to role-balance, rather than gender-balance. It may turn out that by role-balancing, they also gender-balance, but I found this approach to be rather inspired. 

What are your opinions on this? I don't tend to find that gender balancing (or the lack thereof) makes life easier or harder -- I have been to gender-balanced events where I have had a devil of a time finding a partner even when I was actively asking others (they were booked, or didn't want to dance with another lady), and to non-gender-balanced events where I've had my pick of partners. For my part, I am much more bothered by booking ahead 5 dances than I am by what the gender of the person I'm dancing with is, but that's me and I'm aware that there are other opinions out there. 

 *(for purposes of the dance weekend, not necessarily for their personal lives)
Rob Malerman
5/30/2013 09:17:31 pm

Gender balance in my humble opinion is a myth. I was thinking about this just last night in Glenside when I found myself in the unpleasant company of 10 or so extra men. Not that I mind the company of other men, just that I don’t prefer to dance with them.

And it is less about comfort than it is about ability to switch roles in the dance. I, for one, am a horrible partner in the woman’s role. (I constantly revert to auto-pilot and come out of a swing on the left side). And I find that most of the men I have danced with have similar challenges, or are simply awkward in the other gender role.

By my way of thinking, gender balancing only works when everyone who is dancing dances the role they signed up with. This is frequently not the case as some women clearly prefer to dance with other women, and less frequently some men prefer to dance with other men.

It is a great idea not to leave anyone out. I just don’t see a pathway to success without dancer buy-in to the idea of deciding in advance what role they will actually be dancing.

FWIW YMMV

Jeff Kaufman link
5/31/2013 12:27:24 am

"Not that I mind the company of other men, just that I don’t prefer to dance with them."

I used to only like dancing with women, but then after several years of increasingly dancing both roles and dancing with male friends I've ended up where the gender of the person I'm dancing with is only a small factor in how much I enjoy dancing with them. This has made me much happier and more relaxed about partnering.

Perry
5/31/2013 12:25:53 am

It's obvious that there is no way to make everyone happy. There will always be people that will always dance the role of their physical gender no matter how much you convince them otherwise that it's "good" for them to dance the other role. And then there will always be those who simply do not care about the gender of the other person who they are dancing with, as long as they are dancing. The thing is that dance weekends are a different animal, and the fear is that if you don't do SOME sort of balance then you'll wind up with 90 women and 10 men and a LOT of unhappy people. I think that THE solution is just what Contra Colours is doing - you have to balance not by gender but by preferred dance role. I think that weekends should really start doing it this way, because if you're going to balance strictly by gender and people who want to dance with a same-sex partner does so, well, then, you've defeated the purpose of gender balancing. I don't even know what balance weekend organizers strive for. Is it strictly 50/50, or something like 60/40 to account for those women who like to dance with other women? By role I think is simply the best solution.

Ryan (blogger) link
5/31/2013 06:56:42 am

I was talking to one of the weekend organizers (while languishing on a wait list as a lady sans partner) and she was talking about how frequently women will sit out more than men do, so the skew was generally "more women but not a lot more women." I don't know if that was a generally accepted rule of thumb, or just hers.

Speculation as to why women sit out more than men could likely be a whole discussion in and of itself.

Sarah
5/31/2013 03:38:26 am

I am an older woman who is happy to dance either part. I've noticed that when I dance the men't part my calves get sore, so I don't want to dance the men's part all evening. Most men must have strong legs--thanks, guys! My complaint is that I can't get male partners at an out-of-town dance. This started a few years ago, so it must be mostly because I'm older. Women will dance with me if I dance the men's part.


Comments are closed.
    This project has concluded as of mid-2013 (with an epilogue posted mid-2016) but we hope to see you soon on a contra dance floor! Meanwhile, head over to our Facebook page for upcoming techno contra events and other items of interest.

    The 100+ Friday Flourish videos can still be found on YouTube.

    Author

    I dance with abandon. I play with glowsticks. I look for music that is conducive to one or both. I play behind cameras.  I write about all of the above. I'm based in Glen Echo's contra dance community outside of Washington, D.C., but I'm happy to go dance afield when I can. Lather, rinse, repeat. Always repeat.

    Archives

    June 2016
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All
    Aaron Marcus
    Advanced Dances
    Alan Foss
    Album Review
    Alex Krogh-Grabbe
    Allemande
    Allemande Swing
    Alternative Music Party
    Alternative Twirl Out From Promenade
    Andrew Marcus
    Andrew Vannorstrand
    Andrew Van Norstrand
    Andy Reiner
    Anna Kendrick
    Anna Rain
    Anne Midgette
    Ann Fallon
    Arlington Va
    Ascap. Bmi
    Asheville Nc
    Atlanta Ga
    Back Lead
    Backward Swing
    Backward Swing With Lasso
    Balance And Play
    Balance-&-swing Transition
    Balance Switch
    Bates College
    Beatles Contra
    Behind-the-Back Swing Variant
    Bennett Schatz
    Bev Bernbaum
    Binary Blackout
    Blaise Thompson
    Blogger
    Blogger's Soapbox
    Blogger's Soapbox
    Blogger’s Soapbox
    Blues
    Brendan Carey Block
    Brendan Taaffe
    Brian Hamshar
    Burning Man
    Cake
    California Twirl
    Caller
    Call For Submissions
    Cha-cha Slide
    Chaos Lines
    Chattaboogie
    Chelsea Co
    Choreography
    Chrissy Fowler
    Christopher Jacoby
    Christylez Bacon
    Claps
    Clark Baker
    Club Contras
    Community
    Connie's Whirl
    Consent
    Content
    Contra Evolution
    Contra Evolution.
    Contra Evolution. Greenfield Ma
    Contraforce
    Contra-phoria
    Contra Shenanigans
    Contrashock
    Contra Sonic
    Contrastock
    Cool Hip Dancer
    Copyright
    Costuming
    Courtesy Twirl
    Cover Bands
    Crabs
    Crowding
    Cuddle Swing
    Cuddle Swing Switch
    Cuddle-up California Twirl
    Culture Clash
    Cups
    Dana Parkinson
    Dance Experiment
    Dancers
    Dance Weekends
    Dancing In Small Spaces
    Dancing Switch
    Dan Kappus
    Dave Colestock
    Dave Eisenstadter
    Dead Cat Bounce
    Decadance
    Deca-dance
    Deca-dance Event
    Demon Barber Roadshow
    Diane Silver
    Dj
    Dj Fml
    Dj Gaga
    Dj Improper
    Dj Nu B
    Dj Shel D
    Dj Solar Sound
    Donna Hunt
    Do Si Do
    Double Allemande Swing
    Double Apex
    Double Twirl Under
    Doug Plummer
    Ecd
    Ed Howe
    Editorial
    Eileen Thorsos
    Elbow Swing
    Electric Camel Contra
    Electric Slide
    Electrotrad
    Elyse Marder
    Eric Harris
    Eric Johnson
    Fads
    Fiddlefoxx
    Firecloud
    Flash Mob
    Flourishes
    Flurry Festival
    Flying Swing Switch
    Follow
    Footfall
    Footworks
    Fox News
    Fremont Abbey
    Friday Flourish
    Gangnam Style
    Gate
    Gaye Fifer
    Gender Balance
    Gender Free Contra
    Gender-free Contra
    Gender Roles
    Gents Chain
    Gents Swing
    George Marshall
    Gerry Diver
    Giant Robot Dance
    Giant Swallow Motion
    Glen Loper
    Glossary
    Greenfield Ma
    Greenwood Va
    Gypsy Meltdown Twirl
    Hank Morris
    Hay For Four
    High Ceilidh Swing
    High Ceilidh Wing
    High Contrast
    Hip-hop
    Hiphop Contra33bdaf614f
    History
    Housekeeping
    Infographic
    Intergenerationality
    Jack Mitchell
    Jamie Oshima
    Jayjfresh02b2d7b2bf
    Jeff Kaufman
    Jesse Edgerton
    John Cote
    John Pranio
    Jordy Williams
    Julie Vallimont
    Ladies
    Ladies Chain
    Ladies Chained9d7891b2
    Lead
    Lewiston Me
    Licensing
    Lighting
    Lights
    Links
    Lisa Greenleaf
    Live At The Butterball
    London Bridge Hay
    Long Lines
    Louis Dow
    Low Ceilidh Swing
    Macarena
    Madonna
    Marketing
    Marlin Prowell
    Martin Hayes
    Martyn Bennett
    Medley
    Melissa Taggart
    Mel Novner
    Mens Chain
    Miami Fl
    Michael Ferguson
    Midswingc4f63a1de0
    Midswing Spinoutb14a07051c
    Midtwirl Reverse8b8dd124c4
    Mike Wilson-jones
    Miriam Baker
    Misdivine
    Money Musk
    Moral Issue
    Morris
    Mosh Pit
    Music
    New Dancers
    News Coverage
    New York Ny
    Nils Fredland
    Noah Van Norstrand
    North Carolina
    North Whitefield Me
    Organizer
    Other Syncretists
    Outreach
    Over The Head Slide
    Parallel Variant On Crabs
    Pattycake
    Paul Dalessio5fc83e8cd1
    Pawbat Twirl3677eefc75
    Penelope Weinberger
    Perpetual E Motion
    Perpetual Emotionab4aa3ee79
    Perry Shafran
    Petronella
    Phase X
    Portland
    Portland Or
    Pretzel Swing
    Principle
    Promenade
    Ray Polhemus
    Redux
    Resolutions
    Reverse Cape Position
    Reverse Courtesy Turn
    Reverse Ripcord Twirl Variant
    Rick Mohr
    Ripcord Twirl
    Road Stories
    Roanoke Wv
    Roll Away
    Rollover
    Ross Harriss
    Rss Feed
    Safety
    Sarah Dicegoldberg38fd311c67
    Scout House
    Sean Oshima
    Seattle Wa
    Sesac
    Seth Tepfer
    Seventeen
    Shiny Objects
    Simple Twirl Switch
    Singing Squares
    Skaters
    Sonny Newman
    Soulja Boy
    Sound Mixing
    Spark In The Dark
    Spider Vetter
    Spinout
    Spokane Wa
    Stanford Ca
    St Petersburg Fld35dde8e84
    Street Team
    Stretches
    Survey
    Swallowtail
    Swing
    Switch
    Technoberfest
    Techno Contra
    Technophoria
    Ted Hodapp
    Terpsichore
    Terra Price
    The Henry Road Bandits
    The Matt Blackfield Project
    The Speech Project
    The System
    The Turtle Duhks
    Things To Think About
    Tobacco Road
    Toki Oshima
    Tradeoff Twirl
    Transsiberian Orchestra6b3cf55bca
    Traveling Swing
    Tricky Swing
    Turn Under
    Twirl
    Twirl In Switch
    Twisted Swing
    Twisty Chain
    Twitter
    Two Handed Ladies Chain
    Ufo
    Uk
    Variety
    Vernals4785e4f52b
    Vicki Herndon
    Videos
    Vince Budnick
    Waltz Variant On Crab Swing
    Washington Dc
    Wendy Graham
    Whipperstomper Balance
    Whipperstompers
    Whitefield Me
    Will Mentor
    Willow Grove Pa
    World
    Xecd
    Youth Dance Weekend
    Yuja Wang

    Comments are welcome; spam-bots and disrespectful behaviors are not. Please do (nicely) point out errors if they are found.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from edwin.bautista, Cupcake KITSCHen, Ivy Dawned, Martin Pettitt, quinn.anya, LimeTech, avlxyz, Sarah and Jason, Bill Ward's Brickpile