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

[chronicleink]

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...

As I said on the other thread, would the same sex partner have to be a part of the LGB community as well?

Plenty of females dance together in ballroom competitions because there aren't enough men/boys to go around.

maddiemookins16mum I think it's a fine balance as I said in my earlier post. If the competition is based on a man and a woman dancing together as a team then that's how the competition (in this case) should stay. If the gay competitors are fine with that (as they would be playing mixed doubles tennis or Olympic ice dance) then again, that's how this particular competition should stay. It's not about a romantic or sexual pairing. It's a competition with a particular set of rules. BUT there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with a same-sex dance pairing in other circumstances and most people can envisage how that would work without it being shocking for children or without it looking ridiculous. It shouldn't be made to be a niche or tokenisitic thing.

Nobody is forcing them to dance with somebody of the opposite sex. They are not dragged out on the dance floor kicking and screaming. They are professional dancers or the amateurs are willing participants who are having an enjoyable time learning a new skill or reviving a flagging career. Nobody is being forced to do anything - just dance. I would love to have the opportunity to participate. As are they.

And I would love to see the BBC drag this programme out of the dark ages in a positive and proactive way...

I quite like the dark ages.

I think it would be amazing. We need more representations of gay couples on the small and big screen - and representations that show the physical relationship in the same way as heterosexuals, not just some notional relationship where the couple never seem to touch!!

I've never watched this programme, but I was under the impression that it was a dance show not a dating show.

Am I wrong?

Do the winners get to shag each other?!

I'm glad Susan Calman is being an average Strictly contestant doing exactly what every other Strictly contestant has done. The way lesbian and gay people are represented in the media is shit. So often LGB people/characters are defined by their sexuality. I'd like to see more representation of LGB people as people. Sexuality isn't that important.

If a lesbian can dance with another women then so can a straight women. Plenty of straight women contestants on Strictly. Get one of them to be the massive deal, hold the front page, ground-breaking novelty act.

Zebra - perfectly happy to see a straight woman do it - but my point isn't shouldn't be a 'novelty' act. When I hold hands or dance with my wife or kiss her we aren't being a 'novelty' act. We're showing our children that not every pairing in the world has to be the 'normal' heterosexual in the world.

You just need the heterosexual bit to get the children.

Actually Antigonads - you really don't. We're gay, both of us, and yes we have kids...

Exactly. You're showing your children. Unless you're a celebrity couple, what you do has no bearing on how LGB people are represented in the media/on TV/in films/books/etc. IMO, those things in general don't show homosexuality as normal. A lot of the time, they show it as some massive deal worth noting before absolutely anything else about an LGB person.

Okay. Wasn't suggesting you'd had intercourse with the opposite sex but unless you know something I don't I presume you had to get sperm or an egg from someone of the opposite sex. Is this the future?

Love your definition of heterosexual Antigonads... unusual to say the least. Indont know any LGBT families who consider themselves hetero because they have kids but maybe you know more of them than I do.
zebra - exactly. It's about representation and what's seen as normal. Two people of the same sex dancing is not a 'novelty act' and should be seen as such either. Don't get why everyone is so hung up on 'sex' on this thread - it's nothing to do with having sex. It's just dancingZ and shouldn't be a threat to anyone.

myfeetarealwayscold Susan specifically said "I wanted to dance with a man" and she's annoyed by people arguing otherwise. So you're not helping anyone by deciding you know what she should be doing.

Thinking ahead then, would there be percentages/quotas of same sex partnerships?

Why should your sexual preference determine who you dance with? Why change things if it already works?! I love watching the traditional dances with the man leading the woman. I think of that era and think it's a work of art!

suzyx - which era? The one where men and women waltzed together to Like a bat out of Hell? or couples danced to Little Mix songs? Wearing skirts that barely covered their arses, that era? Or could we maybe just agree that Strictly has already brought ballroom dancing into this century and it's not quite as traditional as everyone here seems to think.

Why is susan calman being questioned about this and nobody else... because she's gay?

A woman is quite capable of leading another woman, or a man leading a man. It's not hard, if you know the basic steps.

Zebra has made the most sense so far.

FFS it's pathetic. On and on about sex. It's a stupid bit of light entertainment. I imagine families got themselves a few snacks or a takeaway and enjoyed it. Before it got burnt out and sad.

The doubles tennis analogy is relevant, and frankly this is just bollocks. I think most gay people are entirely comfortable with doing things like dancing, singing, playing tennis, etc with people of the other sex. We are all human beings after all. What is the concern? It isn't a romantic dance in real life, it's a performance!

FFS!! Why?!!