A little too risqué?

        So I'm going to start this blog off with a story. Last Tuesday I was in my intermediate 2 Jazz class. Not only am I the oldest girl in the class being 16, going on 17 in a week (first of all, Wooho! Second of all, this will become relevant later I swear), but I am one of the few girls in this class that is not on my studio's company or competition team. The competition team is our team of the best dancers in the studio who go and compete at competitions on the weekend. Although, a lot of the girls on the team are about my age, there is a good amount of girls that are only about age 12. My dance teacher for jazz is one of the two coaches for competition, I will use a fake name to keep her identity and the other teacher's identity a secret in order to honor the ethical guideline of privacy. So my teacher Linda, was walking by the room where her fellow competition coach Jessica was talking. Linda hears Jessica telling the girls in the class that should start practicing using tampons and making sure they know how to use them, and then continuing to say they need to either be fully shaven or waxed in their "bikini area". Now Linda thought this was absurd, but also humorous. I on the other hand was just purely shocked to be hearing this.

       I am sixteen years old (told you this would be relevant) and did not need to worry about either of those things until my freshman year of high school. These girls are twelve, half of them have not even hit puberty, they should not have to worry about these things yet. Could you imagine your twelve year old daughter coming home and saying, "Mom I need a box of tampons and a razor because Ms.Jessica said I need to know how to do these things for competition."? Personally I think it would be awkward, and I would be a little pissed my daughter's dance teacher is telling her to grow up faster than need be.

   This conversation got me thinking that dance is not only forcing young girls to grow up too fast, but is also over sexualizing children. In recent years, dance has become significantly more risqué, with more provocative and sensualized moves all while the girls (particularly, this is not as big as a problem with the male dancers) are wearing very showy, revealing costumes. Just looking at the website for Kelle Company, a site full of dance costumes, shows girls of all ages wearing costumes with cutouts, skin tight clothing, fish net stockings, or full stomachs showing (for example the photo on the right, taken from the Kelle Company's website). Even the songs are becoming more sexual (coming from someone dancing to "Lady Marmalade" for her recital dance).

   Now I understand as a dancer the importance of being able to have full mobility in your costume, but why are we subjecting such young girls to such showy costumes. The fact of the matter is that this can be detrimental to their later development. According to psychotherapist, Rachael A. Sussman, subjecting girls to these kind of outfits and situations can affect their sexual growth, as well as their self confidence and self worth. This article was written in 2012 when on an episode of the hit TV show Dance Moms aired (and was later pulled from Lifetime due to parental outrage), in which the team of tweens was depicted as being nude Vegas showgirls.

       Besides the possible negative long term effects on the young girls' psychological development, think about what we are teaching these girls. We are saying it is okay to be seen in inappropriate clothing, which although I personally am not a hard-core feminist, in recent feminist movements the point has been made that we can wear whatever we want because it is our bodies and we should not adhere to the idea that revealing clothes are distracting and become disruptions for guys. The main problem with this is not the encouragement of "slutty" clothing but rather the implications that come with the clothing. Girls are mean. Especially in high school.   If these young dancers grow up and do wear more revealing clothing, there is a higher chance they will be called harsh names in high school, which will add to a lower self-esteem. Along with this, it is common in rape culture for the victim to be asked what they were wearing. Now by no means am I saying if girls show off a little skin or wear tighter clothing they will get raped. What I am saying is that as current rape culture stands if a girl says she was wearing a tight miniskirt and a top that looks only a little more than a bra, she could get the response of "Well then you were basically asking for it now weren't you?"

     I thought this story would be great for me to write about as a part of my magazine. This would make a great story for my two page spread, for not only is there a lot of content to write about, but it is very easy to get fitting pictures for. Okay that's all I have to say for this blog.  Until next blog.
- Taylor Barton

Citations
Ferguson, Wes. "Are Racy Outfits on ‘Dance Moms’ Damaging to Young Girls? Expert Answers! | Celebuzz." Celebuzz. N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

http://dancemoms.wikia.com/wiki/Topless_Showgirls (where the image was found of the girls from Dance Moms)

Kemper, Martha. "Recital Revelations: When It Comes to the Over-Sexualization of Young Girls, We Are the Problem." Rhrealitycheck.org. N.p., 22 May 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"Kellé Company - Dance Costumes, Dancewear, Dance Clothes, Dance Apparel, Jazz Costumes, Lyrical Costumes, Kids Costumes, Competition Costumes, Recital Costumes." Kellé Company - Dance Costumes, Dancewear, Dance Clothes, Dance Apparel, Jazz Costumes, Lyrical Costumes, Kids Costumes, Competition Costumes, Recital Costumes. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.