Nice White Parents

[Sugarintheplum]

This podcast has been fascinating. Has anyone else been listening?

I've long seen that reflected in my life / kids lives. But what I am still lacking is an understanding of the thought process these parents go through.

For example, I used to send my children to a very diverse tap / ballet /drama class where I lived previously. It was very mixed ethnically. Lovely lovely place. Where I live now the classes are more expensive (the area is still very diverse), and the kids who attend these classes are more than likely white and middle class. I yearn for other kids who look like my kids to join for a myriad of reasons. There IS a ballet school in this part of town that has the stated mission to improve representation of ethnic minorities in ballet through the adult core to the school for children. There is a waiting list BUT STILL white parents send there kids there. This means ethnic minority children are waiting while white children take up the place. I see that and honestly wonder what the parents are thinking. And this is just a tiny example, but it happens in other aspects of life, too.

It needs to be explained to me because I'm truly lost!

Longtalljosie I don't know either tbh, I've heard of the 'black people and swimming' stereotype but don't know the reasoning (DH isn't black).

American racism is on a whole other level to the UK

I get you OP, you want to go somewhere you feel like you belong. I grew up briefly in a white area of the USA my best freeing was the only black girl in the school. One day her mom picked us up from school and took us to a black children’s club. It was a coming of age moment for me as I realised what is was like for her every day. Personally the ethnically diverse dance class sounds much more enjoyable then the white only one I can see why it’s popular.

Personally the ethnically diverse dance class sounds much more enjoyable then the white only one I can see why it’s popular

Is there a whites only ballet school?

Just FYI as a few people on the thread said they had listened to the podcast OP references - I started a thread on it because I found it the sort of thought-provoking that makes me want to talk about it with other people who have listened to it too, so please join if you'd like to: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/podcasts/4015015-Nice-White-Parents?watched=1

Personally the ethnically diverse dance class sounds much more enjoyable then the white only one I can see why it’s popular

Can i ask what in particular makes you think that that dance class sounds more enjoyable...? I mean it might well be, but what are you basing your opinion on @stairway

I’m just thinking back to the days I did ballet as a little girl. I was a bit curvy and I can remember feeling a bit rubbish compared to all the stick thin girls in the class and the teacher making comments. I just think that an ‘ethnically diverse’ ballet class might be more open to different body shapes. I also think ballet is a bit dull but might be more interesting with a different cultural take on it.

Talk about ballet being a white thing to do is interesting. I guess it's from Italy whether they are white I guess could be debated. In any case I would not associate ballet proper with english culture. I mean how many people have been to see a professional ballet performance? But sending little girls to ballet is something I think lots of British people think of doing, regardless of skin colour. Whenever I see accessible affordable ballet I see lots of working class kids in the lesson. At a fiver or less a lesson you'll get a diverse group. At 10-15 quid for half an hour which is the cost in London in some places you're obviously pulling in a different crowd. That's the issue with kids ballet.

About the feelings of the founders of the BAME ballet school or BB or wherever. I never questioned whether it was ok with them for white kids to join. I covered that in another post. My thoughts were always on the parents - what were their thoughts. This was the connection I made with the Nice White Parents podcast. But now that others bring it up, yeah, it would be interesting to hear what the founders' thoughts are on the classes becoming 100% white, which is of course they very well could do (I say this because I have personally seen - and also heard from others of my generation and before - white people becoming the sole patrons of groups originally set up for BAME people. There is one women's group that quickly comes to mind which now has zero black women in it, despite having Black Women in the name) . I wonder whether they would feel the same if the class were 100% BAME?

But I am not looking for actual answers, and i do believe my initial question has been answered.

@Sugarintheplum you described in an earlier post the process of a ballet class with a majority of black children becoming more white as one or two of the black children leave and are replaced by white children who are at the top of the waiting list. After reading that, I wondered why the children are leaving - are they moving up into the next class, leaving because they are no longer interested in ballet, or because it clashes with something else they want to do? Or is the changing make-up of the class making they feel uncomfortable?