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Original poster

Belly dancers at weddings...

26 replies

WlZoz · 07/08/2022 13:23

I just came back from a wedding (bride was Middle Eastern) where there were scantily dressed belly dancers jiggling around. Im not a prude by all means but I cant understand why a bride would want to hire them for her big day. All eyes were on the sexy dancers and their assets not on the bride.

Can anyone explain?

OP posts:
Yesthatismychildsigh · 07/08/2022 13:30

You’re a prude. That’s the only explanation. Has it not occurred to you that it may be cultural?

VandyCan · 07/08/2022 13:31

You're an ignorant prude

TooBigForMyBoots · 07/08/2022 13:36

There was a belly dancer at my Greek hen night back in the early 00s. She was brilliant. Not every bride wants all eyes on her. I found it a bit disconcerting being the centre of attention when I got married.Blush

Smidge001 · 07/08/2022 13:37
Biscuit
dontyoubother · 07/08/2022 13:40

Would you have preferred it if the bride had joined in?

DailyMailHater · 07/08/2022 13:45

quite traditional at Middle Eastern weddings.
some also see them as symbol / celebration / worship of a female fertility hence why they became a wedding tradition for those cultures….
you say the bride was Middle Eastern so she has chosen them to represent / celebrate / honour her culture and family
I can’t see any issue at all

RobynNora · 07/08/2022 13:48

Love a Middle Eastern wedding with loads of dancing! And I’m not a big wedding person at all as a rule. Belly dancers are fun!

I think the emphasis is on communal enjoyment rather than ‘all eyes on the bride’ which is pretty individualistic. I’m western but much prefer communal fun!

Jalisco · 07/08/2022 13:53

I think it possibly says more about you that you found it inappropriate, deemed it "sexy" and assumed all eyes were on the dancers because they were being "sexy". Would you have made the same comments about scantily clad ballet dancers?

In most parts of the Middle East this form of dancing is part of folk tradition and culture, and commonplace at celebrations. Nobody would even think about it. In the Middle East professional performers are highly regarded for their skills and expertise; and it has been copied by many highly regarded Western performers.

You are assuming that what you "saw" in it was what everyone else did.

MomwasCasual · 07/08/2022 13:53

People do generally watched hired dancers, that's kind of the point.

WhippedSoap · 07/08/2022 13:56

I'm assuming it's because people from other cultures are entitled to celebrate however they want and don't have to explain themselves to anyone else.

knittingaddict · 07/08/2022 13:58

Oh dear.

MsBallen · 07/08/2022 14:00

You are a prude. My mom's a belly dancer. It's fun and interesting to watch the routine between dancers and is absolutely the point of hiring dancers for eyes to be on them for their segment. I assume the bride wasn't so lacking in self esteem she couldn't stand for anyone to look away from her for a minute.

UseOfWeapons · 07/08/2022 14:14

You’re a prude. They have a cultural place in the celebration, and it’s not about ‘jiggling….their assets’, it’s a beautiful, intricate, and complicated dance. Would you be this judgy about any other kind of dance?

ShirleyPhallus · 07/08/2022 14:17

I went to a wedding where the bride’s aunt did a belly dance as a surprise gift for the B&G. She had no cultural link to belly dancing but did it as a hobby and thought it would be a nice surprise. It was horrifyingly inappropriate.

Hoppinggreen · 07/08/2022 14:18

ShirleyPhallus · 07/08/2022 14:17

I went to a wedding where the bride’s aunt did a belly dance as a surprise gift for the B&G. She had no cultural link to belly dancing but did it as a hobby and thought it would be a nice surprise. It was horrifyingly inappropriate.

That would be very cringe
However, where there is a cultural link I think it would be great

Original poster
WlZoz · 07/08/2022 15:40

@TooBigForMyBoots I get that.

@dontyoubother Yes its lovely if they want to.
Lots of Middle Eastern brides do dance on their wedding, I asked a Syrian friend once about this and she said they dance to show they are happy and not being forced.

@DailyMailHater thank you for your post. Its very interesting.

OP posts:
NC12345665 · 07/08/2022 15:45

MomwasCasual · 07/08/2022 13:53

People do generally watched hired dancers, that's kind of the point.

Exactly.

Bizarre goady post, op.

NanaNelly · 07/08/2022 15:45

Middlev Eastern weddings are great fun and most Arab women can match or outdance professional belly dancers.

Never underestimate Abaya clad women when they’re at a wedding and their Abayas are at home or in their car in the hotel car park ready for the drive home.

titchy · 07/08/2022 16:01

'Jiggling'. 'Assets'. FFS.

Racist and misogynistic at the same time.

NanaNelly · 07/08/2022 16:42

titchy · 07/08/2022 16:01

'Jiggling'. 'Assets'. FFS.

Racist and misogynistic at the same time.

And all the more-so when it’s actually the rib cage and the shoulders that are being moved not the breasts. It just looks as if they are.

HRTQueen · 07/08/2022 16:49

I’ve been to many Arab weddings

everyone dances (have not been to one where sexes celebrate separately) all women will show off their moves which are sensual and teasing and fun men will shake their hips too

little girls will imitate their mums, aunts, grannies often tying a scarf around their hips no one worries about them being sexualised everyone is having fun

DangerouslyBored · 07/08/2022 16:50

ShirleyPhallus · 07/08/2022 14:17

I went to a wedding where the bride’s aunt did a belly dance as a surprise gift for the B&G. She had no cultural link to belly dancing but did it as a hobby and thought it would be a nice surprise. It was horrifyingly inappropriate.

Oh Jesus, I would literally pass out from cringing

NanaNelly · 07/08/2022 16:52

everyone dances (have not been to one where sexes celebrate separately

The female only wedding celebrations are the best ones.

Jalisco · 07/08/2022 16:58

NanaNelly · 07/08/2022 16:52

everyone dances (have not been to one where sexes celebrate separately

The female only wedding celebrations are the best ones.

I have been to quite a lot of them, and believe me, they definitely put the lie to most preconceptions about downtrodden women! But then, when I visit friends who have "men's rooms" I have often thought that the men only have their own space because they are hiding from the women, not the other way around 😀

dontyoubother · 07/08/2022 18:45

@WlZoz Yes I know I've been to several south Asian and Middle Eastern weddings. I was taking the piss.