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Original poster

Belly dancing

329 replies

JessinAvalon · 23/03/2011 23:55

I don't want to start a raging debate about this but I am hoping that some on here may be able to settle a difference in opinion between me and a friend.

She thinks (after seeing a belly dancer perform at a feminist arts event in Bristol) that it's anything but feminist and thinks it's not that different to lapdancing (titillating, revealing costumes etc).

I don't see it like that. I do Bollywood dancing (which is very hard!) and have come across belly dancers through my dancing but they were all older, larger ladies (am I allowed to say that?!) and, to me, the belly dancers I saw were celebrating their form, celebrating the dance and generally having fun.

Admittedly though I don't know much about it. Does anyone have any views/experience/knowledge that would help the debate?

OP posts:
queenofthecapitalwasteland · 24/03/2011 08:13

Without wanting to start an argument, I have never found any difference between a woman looking/acting sensually and one looking/acting sexy. The meanings seem interchangeable to me.
I'm not suggesting bellydancing couldn't be fun or a good workout, but it would be worth knowing whether this was just titillation by any other name and thinking what you intend to do with it once you've learnt it?

dittany · 24/03/2011 08:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tinierclanger · 24/03/2011 07:55

When I did belly-dancing lessons it was very much a woman's thing and didn't seem at all anti-feminist! It was sensual rather then sexual and mostly just fun.

queenofthecapitalwasteland · 24/03/2011 07:50

Based on my own, very brief, research I would agree with your friend. Www.worldbellydance.com/history suggests a woman lead religion created belly dancing as a celebration of women and child bearing but wikipedia en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dance and some other sites seem to say it mainly came from nightclubs in the middle east in the 19th century, which gives it more sleazy origins. But I will look into it more.