This paper explores the multifaceted implications of teaching youth (ages 12-18) to express themselves through dance in a society that has increasingly imposed sexualized and gendered norms on young bodies, particularly since the 1990s. Specifically, the paper investigates how sexualization impacts youth who dance in privately-operated studios and competitions within Canada and the United States. Distinct from healthy expressions of sexuality that are important in adolescence, sexualized dance blurs the lines between self-expression and the erotic aesthetics or provocative movements dancers often learn to reproduce.

While sexualization of girl dancers is widely recognized and debated in competition dance, it is not always well-understood by instructors, parents of dancers, or the dancers themselves and impacts on boys and non-binary youth in dance are rarely acknowledged. Within a feminist theoretical framework of embodiment, gender and sexuality, this paper addresses this deficiency by highlighting particular ways sexualization can influence the identity development, body image, self-confidence, and social interactions of young dancers. Additionally, the paper investigates the following subtopics: a) current perspectives on sexualization, training, and performance practices within competitive dance schools in response to widespread acknowledgement of the need for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion, b) dance community thinking as influenced by the #MeToo movement and issues of consent, self-confidence, and bodily autonomy, and c) how social and digital media can perpetuate or resist sexualized constructions of young dancers. The paper concludes with strategies for dance studio communities wishing to develop alternative pedagogical approaches and expand conversations about sexualization within competitive dance.

Authors:
Lisa Sandlos, York University, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Lisa Sandlos is a University Postdoctoral Fellow or Instructor at York University in Canada

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