With as much as the arts brag about being on the cutting edge of weighty issues, I would assume a dance program to be the last place I would encounter something as primeval as sexism against women. An interesting point is that the dance world is mostly dominated by women, except for that men are still largely the ones in power. Here at our lovely college in the Western Hemisphere of Oregon, it is rampant. It takes an odd spin, however. The girls are most definitely not treated badly or disrespected. Five of our six faculty members are women and highly esteemed and respected. Sexism attacks in the form of overt favoritism shown to the one male dancer in the department. Apparently, he can do no wrong. While the rest of us, namely the women in the program, are required to work our tails off to get the smallest of compliments, everyone's favorite male can shit a brick, inducing everyone to moon and moan. I in no way resent working hard, recognizing that that is how it ought to be. There should be something required of us to succeed. I want to be challenged and pushed. But the requirement should be equal of all, male and female alike. I readily admit that it is a personal offense, but it also goes far beyond that. It is a sick picture of a blatant bigotry. Even though said male has no technique, and too big an ego to ever be able to gain that technique, he will succeed in this place of education because he will be verily revered from now until he graduates or decides to take himself elsewhere (which he won't, because elsewhere he would likely be required to work).
I have encountered the problem before. Perhaps it is an age old struggle, the problem being there will always be those people in your life who do nothing, give nothing of themselves, and are rewarded for their non-effort. While the rest of us give everything we have and more and never get credit, never hear anything but how we need to work harder and give more, these people are invariably worshiped. Put on a pedestal, they are incapable of fault or folly.
As I sit and rant in my frustration, I begin to see the true evil and tragedy of this sort of life. In a nut shell, there is no growth because their is no challenge. No roots will grow deep because there is no resistance of wind. While it looks like a disservice those of us required to work, the reality is that lifting someone up in this manner is only damaging. Either they will one day face adversity, totally unprepared for the challenge, perhaps to crumple and be destroyed or they will simply never grow, reaching the end of their lives as an incomplete person. Both are tragic. This is a good perspective to reach, realizing that although life is hard and uncomfortable, we will always be required to rise to one occasion or another and therefore have the opportunity to be the best we can be. Sadly, the male dancers in our lives will never have that opportunity, as it has already been taken away from them.
The point is that learning should always continue. No matter how far your potential has been pushed, there are always new horizons to be explored, there is still knowledge and experience to take place. For the majority of us this takes place everyday, in getting out of bed, in making it to class on time, in completing homework assignments. I never have to look for challenge, which is almost a luxury. I will always be challenged, as long as I am living life.
As much as a display of sexism pisses me off, there is perspective to be gained from the experience, just as with anything else. Because I'm a woman in a female dominated field, I will never become stagnant in my growth, except of my own choosing. Not only in technique and creativity, but more often in the people I am required to dance with everyday, I will always have a new adventure, pleasant or not, waiting for me around the next corner. Hopefully, I will learn to approach this with maturity rather than in bitterness, seeing the reality that it is simply a challenge to me and disservice to the dance gods around me.
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