to think it wouldn't kill Strictly make an effort to have same sex couples?

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I know there a big row about the comedienne who 'chose' a male partner but Strictly really could make an effort - maybe something along the lines of - " If you do have a same sex partner we'll make sure that you aren't some novelty act, we have access to some of the best choreographers & musical theatre people and creative people and it'll be awesome. Not just a version of the 'straight' routines.''
I've seen boys dance with boys and girls dance with girls and it really shouldn't be a big deal...

But what about the dance rules like men leading how would they decide how was "the male" and who was "the female " I know fuck all about dancing btw.

I saw Bourne's Swan Lake with my GCSE dance class, and did a compare and contrast with Tchaikovsky's. It was a beautiful show.
It doesnt mean that ballroom dancers can only partner with potential sexual partners though.

Provided that they aren't making idiotic assumptions about gay people only wanting to dance with the same sex it's fine.

No and isn't it funny that this is only being discussed because of Susan Calman, it was never an issue when Julian Clary, Judge Rinder and other gay males appeared on the show.

Also, what would happen if the professional dancer didn't want a same sex partner?

Two men dancing together - which one is going to dance the female steps? Two women dancing together which one is going to dance the male steps?

It's nonsense.

the program is CRAP... get it off air...

Isn't Bourne's Swan Lake 'Ballet' not Ballroom?

It is interesting that all the attention is focused on Susan and not Richard/Julian Clary/Russell Grant etc.

I have no objection to same-sex couples but I am quite happy with the current arrangement of male and female partners. Perhaps because it's what I'm used to but I like it.

Hmm not sure the comparison with gymnasts is really helpful - they usually partner a fully grown gymnast with a much smaller one or a child in order to make the lifts easier - not sure that would be possible for strictly come dancing.

I'm also of the opinion that same sex partnerships aren't really needed. Agree they're not shagging they are just doing a dance routine. None of the gay participants have voiced any concern about being paired with the opposite sex, so I'm not entirely sure who we are trying to placate.

There seems to be confusion over sexual orientation and gender. Dance is based on gender roles not sexual orientation.

So I'm homaphobic because same sex ballroom dancing on a DANCE show would look ridiculous?

Stop the world I want to get off.

Are you a dancer chronicleink?

The sheer lack of imagination on her is astonishing I have to say - who would lead? Who would be the 'male' and who would be the 'female'?

Well much like in real life for gay couples there isn't a 'male' role or a 'female' role - and as for who's going to lead, that could be decided routine by routine. FFS. Tho' in my experience it works well with a taller dancer leading...

I used to do ballroom. Two females dancing together doesn't really work - too many boobs in the way

More than happy to have same sex couples dancing together but I don't really see the logic that because someone is gay they shouldn't have an opposite sex dance partner. Also, if people want Susan Calman to dance with a woman because she's gay, what about the pro dancer she's paired with? Surely she'd have to be gay too, to follow the same logic, and then everyone would all be paired based on sexuality rather than their compatibility as dancers, which seems odd to me. This is dancing, not a relationship!

Surely it's no different from mixed pairs figure-skating at the Olympics or mixed doubles at Wimbledon, neither of which anyone would suggest aren't appropriate for gay sportspeople to take part in.

I'd happily watch same sex couples dance, but I don't really see that it logically follows that they should have to, IYSWIM.

There is another thread about this and that's boring too.

Lottey90 - YES AND YES.
iNHO saying that a same sex couple dancing together look ridiculous is homophobic ...

I don't understand why being gay would mean that someone wants/needs a same sex dancing partner. I assumed that a fair number of professional dancers are gay, and dance with the opposite sex.
I suppose that there's also no reason why a straight person wouldn't want a same sex dancing partner - the trouble would come if there was an advantage of a same sex couple over a mixed couple (eg better matched strides, or two men being able to do different lifts to two women). I don't know much about ballroom dancing, but I assume that the dynamic between M/M, F/F and M/F partnerships and the moves they could perform would be different, and it would be harder to judge a competition fairly and objectively in such a scenario.

Swan lake is a ballet. What an utterly pointless argument as no one on the show has even asked for a same sex couple.

I imagine the press ARE trying to engineer this, or at least make it into a 'row'. Most of the press hates the BBC and they know that a) it's a shit idea which no one asked for but b) the BBC probably have to respond, which will inevitably lead to further criticism and scrutiny, despite everyone being perfectly happy and Strictly being incredibly successful.

Ballroom Dancing isn't real life, OP, it is worlds away from dancing in a club.

How is it homophobic?

I'm not commenting on their sexual orientation. I'm commenting your (imaginary) dance routine.

camilla dallrup x scd dancer was on wright stuff the othr day and explained the point quite well

they learn as a follow an lead partnrship if it was same sex one of thm wouuld have to learn a compltely different way of dancing

say the pro woul start having to lead if it was a woman thats a completely differn thing to what theyre taught

the men would prob fair better but then it would be unfair on the female partnrships

So does the professional have to also be gay? If not, why not?

It's not homophobic OP, because dancing is not shagging.

This is about the fact that gay men and women tend to dance with same sex partners, in real life, and not people of the opposite sex.

How do you know who they dance with in their own time?

I agree wholeheartedly that it's a dance competition, not a relationship. Why should someone's sexual orientation come into it?

If someone wants to dance with someone of the same sex, they should obviously be allowed to, but why should the lesbian not be able to choose her partner and be forced to dance with someone whose sex corresponds to her sexual orientation while everyone else is left alone to just get on with the dancing?

No-one else is quizzed on who they're shagging before they choose a dance partner - why has this only become an issue for the first openly gay woman on the show?

Oh, right, because women shouldn't have any say in what happens to them. Silly me.

ppeatfruit - feel free to read something else.
dollydaydream114 - I'm not saying a gay dancer should HAVE to or SC should HAVE to, I'm saying if the program made an effort to actually encourage a same sex couple that would be great. And as a same sex couple some thought would need to be put into how to adapt some of the more 'tradition' aspects. I dont blame SC for taking the easy route and as a larger lady I'm sure she wasn't up for dancing with some willowy woman anyway...