Males obviously also don't have (to use a quaint term) bussoms. This is far less a challenge to the male dancer, as they play little role in the actual dance - although they certainly do in the visual presentation. As I am a male (for better or worse!), I don't worry about it.

"Wiring" Difference

So, if you accept the premise that boys tend to do "boy things", and girls tend to do "girl things", what does that have to do with Belly Dancing? Possibly nothing - the male who is determined to be a Belly Dancer will become one. Possibly quite a bit - if indeed our biological "wiring" tends to make women graceful dancers, and men clumsy bumblers - well then that is a uniquely male challenge that we must overcome.

Goddess knows my own personal fight against my own clumsiness was, is, and no doubt will continue to be, the greatest single obstacle to my desire to be a great Belly Dancer! I've started jokingly calling my clumsy incidences "Male Moments"!

Cultural Difference

This is, in my mind, the greatest single difference between males and females in all walks of life. Being cultural, it is very much indeed arbitrary & artificial, yet nevertheless very powerful. Only the oddballs like me will think of challenging it!

One of my dance sisters once told me that she really liked the fact that I was learning Belly Dance, but was frankly "confused as to what role a male Belly Dancer plays"!

Hmmm - what role? To my mind I'm a Belly Dancer first, and a male second - my role is the same as her's, a dancer.

But her confusion underscores the significance cultural conditioning and expectations play. Everyone, myself included, follow culturally accepted guidelines on how to conduct oneself, how to dress, and what activities to pursue. But, some of us rebel against guidelines that make no sense, or are outdated, or just don't apply to a given person or situation.

I certainly do not dress by cultural guidelines accepted by most of society (see my Gender Rant page), yet the fact I wear skirts, long hair, earrings, and even bindis on special occasions, doesn't mean I totally ignore these cultural pseudo values either. My skirts are generally a "masculine" variant (A kilt or a Foustanella), my long hair is in a "masculine" style, and I won't wear just any old pair of earrings out there!

Like most males, I like machinery and technology and love to yak with the boys about cars, hot-rods, turbo-charged engines, warp drive Pentium computers, etc. But then I'll go join the gals in the kitchen and talk about clothes, fabrics, Belly Dance, cooking , and even men, and women's relations with same (which is fascinating to hear from the woman's point of view).

I have just as much fun joining the hen party! So am I expressing my "feminine" side by doing this? Maybe. If I am, what's wrong with that? Or, as I believe, am I just a more fully rounded male? Maybe. If I am, isn't that good?

The Belly Dance Sub-Culture

Certainly in the case of Belly Dancing; all partitioners of this artform, male or female, have encountered the "Belly Dancing is sexy" or "Belly Dancing is stripping", or whatever other misconceptions the general public holds dear. However, some such ideas are even well entrenched in our own Belly Dance sub-culture. "Be Sexy" I was told by a sister dancer before performing my solo, "That lady over there is getting married in 2 weeks!". I replied "Well, I'll try my best, I just do what I do - the interpretation is up to the audience."

Afterwards, the sister dancer said that I indeed had been "sexy". Ok, I'm glad I made her day - I, on the other hand, don't view my dancing this way. In fact, I'm probably one of the few males on the planet who doesn't view belly dancing as sexy!

Not that there's anything wrong with males being sexy, it just isn't my thing. I like the grace, the power, the exoticness, the spirituality, the "oneness" with the music, and even the sensuality of the dance. I don't know whether or not the lady in question (apparently also a dance sister) liked my dancing or not, or thought I was "sexy". If she thought I was sexy - that's OK. If not, that's OK too - but I do hope she enjoyed my dance - that's what it's all about!

Update: The "lady in question" turns out to be a dance sister indeed, and she really enjoyed my dance - to the point of wanting her new husband to take up Belly Dancing!

Costuming

Many male dancers have whole rulebooks about costuming, and who am I to criticize them for it? They feel that their interpretation is "masculine"; and to do certain things costume wise results in a "feminine" look. For myself, finding such rules to be arbitrary as most cultural rules are; to a large extent I reject such thinking - I don't want to be limited.

Some males, for instance, won't expose the belly, that's "feminine". Ok - to them I guess it is, and I won't knock them for this - it works for them. Myself - people expect a Belly Dancer to look like a Belly Dancer - and that usually means an exposed midriff. Plus the exposed midriff helps in appreciation of the dance - the audience can see what you're doing! I get frustrated with males who dance in shirts, it makes it so much harder to see what is going on! So exposed it is.

Others dance topless. Well, people don't expect a Belly Dancer to be a topless dancer even if the dancer happens to be male and cultural norms accept topless males. Besides, there is just too much fun costuming wise to be had if a top of some kind is worn. The top frames you - the audience can see your torso working against the top as you do hip work. So a top it is!

So I can play the cultural expectations game against itself.

I had several male dancers tell me, when the subject of earrings came up, that studs or small hoops were fine, but to leave the large dangles to the women. Nuts. I have long hair, long dangles look good on me, even by the admission of several who don't like earrings on males - and I wear them all the time in my mundane life. Earrings enhance the dance, I'll keep my options open, thank you!

"No hanging fringe over bare skin - that's 'feminine!'" No it isn't, it's cultural perhaps. As if "feminine" is something bad anyways. If the costume works better with fringe over bare skin - let it hang, let it hang!

For the longest time, I wouldn't perform in a skirt as I figured it would fry the brains of the audience who might have a hard time with a male dancer in the first place. I'd do skirtwork in classes and workshops (in fact I was best at skirtwork in an Alexandra King dBare Nakedwomenprancing Guarantee Cheapcunt Naked Celebrity Celebs Naked Women Prancing Celebrity Celebs Celebrities Cunt Nude Celebrity Porn Celebrity Cunt Nude Nude Male Celebrities Sexy Cunt Naked Panties Topless Tgp Topless Lesbians Topless Tiny Topless Fuck Topless Cunt Russian Cunt Models Non Nude Topless Lita Naked Topless Celebs Topless Celebrities Sluts Topless Celeb Topless Little Topless Xxx Topless Celebrity Topless Topless Picture Topless Porn Male Belly Dancers, Are We Feminine?r t jBare Nakedwomenprancing Guarantee Cheapcunt Naked Celebrity Celebs Naked Women Prancing Celebrity Celebs Celebrities Cunt Nude Celebrity Porn Celebrity Cunt Nude Nude Male Celebrities Sexy Cunt Naked Panties Topless Tgp Topless Lesbians Topless Tiny Topless Fuck Topless Cunt Russian Cunt Models Non Nude Topless Lita Naked Topless Celebs Topless Celebrities Sluts Topless Celeb Topless Little Topless Xxx Topless Celebrity Topless Topless Picture Topless Porn Male Belly Dancers, Are We Feminine?s a Models Russian Naked