Choosing Belly Dance

Abstract

Belly dance originated in a patriarchal tradition, viewing women’s lives and bodies as objects for male oppression and sexuality. In this context, a female soloist performing an eroticized form of dance generally became an opportunity for the performer to be demeaned or exploited. Although these uncomfortable possibilities still exist in the contemporary performance world, modern women have found ways to control these situations and to turn the dance into a vehicle for the expression of their sexuality and female power. In fact, many women are extremely attracted to this dance form and find their involvement in belly dance to be a personally enriching experience. This individual ethnography describes one woman’s history working as a belly dancer in New York City. It uses details about costume, body image, performance environment, interaction with the audience, attitudes to sisterhood, and the transformative power of artistic expression to explore how belly dance intersects with modern women’s perceptions of gender and sexuality.