Is Dance unmanly?

[Littaly]

Yeah it's unmanly, at least according to the traditional definition of "manly". It's also pretty freaking cool, so who gives a damn?

Seriously, I act all like "Can't dance and proud of it!", but deep down I wish I had rhythm

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well if care what people think enough to not consider doing something because it will make you unmanly you are already unmanly and should be ashamed of your unmanly self. It may be something I'll never do as I have no interest in it. However, others shouldn't care and besides who gets closer to generally considered hot women in skin tight outfits a football player or a male ballet dancer?

 

[DugMachine]

From my experience, girls like a man who can dance. Who cares if other men find you unmanly? You're getting laid, and they're not. Simple as that.

 

[viranimus]

?Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.? - C.S. Lewis

I Love this quote. Because Friendship or community was evolved out of being more successful when people co-operate. Friendship is what fosters the desire to cooperate with others.

Philosophy again has a purpose to survival. Philosophy along with religion is our moral compass. Its what tells us its wrong to slay newborn children or eat human flesh. Because those things detract from community and friendship and would leave us as weaker individuals than stronger community.

Now the last one, art, Is a subjective opinion, though it is mostly right. It is one of the things what makes life worth living. However in this case, dance, serves no such purpose in making life worth living. It is an archaic art form as in we have since developed greater forms of art. It was intended as a form of entertainment and mating ritual. We now have greater forms of entertainment and as for mating ritual, given we have 7 billion people on the planet, helping people to screw each other is about the last thing we need more of.

Look it is an archaic art form that is no longer needed. Anything it does can be accomplished by other means without resorting to rhythmically convulsing and self deprecation Its use is about as useful as cursive writing is today. Honestly I am shocked that it has remained with us this long. It has continually died off, because how many people can actually make money as a dancer? A hundred? A thousand? And I mean a dancer that does not involve taking ones clothes off.

Your argument is a slippery slope my friend. If you dismiss dance on those grounds, you may find yourself dismissing music, games, films, sport etc. on the same logic.

Slippery slope arguments are bogus. It is in essence a straw man argument. By suggesting that allowing dance to fall to its proper place of of obscurity that it somehow is going to push us over the edge as if we are incapable of metering our responses to things. Though Sport is hypothetically one that could be dumped on the wayside too.

Anyway, it does not matter. Dance will continue to exist, sport will continue to exist. this is just the opinion of one individual. My end is only to express it, its up for the reader to give it merit or not. It is unlikely it will have any impact on the world. If you agree with it, thats great, if not then just ignore it and let it fall to obscurity.

 

[SwimmingRock]

Balls no.
Just gotta look for the right kind (don't know if this entirely counts, but it's the first thing I thought of)

acoridng to what exactally? our culutre?

ever seen the hakka?

Saw your post exactly one second after I replied.

Aw, man. I'm going to a Haka workshop next saturday. So fucking stoked!

OT: I find it impossible to consider dancing unmanly on account of the fact I teach dance. I'm a bit biased, as you can perhaps imagine. Every style of dance is different, but I can't think of one I would actually call unmanly. Then again, I don't really care much for gender, so I'm not entirely certain what that word means. Is "froo froo cuddlypoops" unmanly or the manliest shit ever? So many questions.

 

[babinro]

Not at all.

Dancing typically displays strong emotions and confidence in the face of societal pressures. Refusing to dance comes across as being shy or cowardly, traits associated with boys, not men.

This is especially tough to say because I take the Seinfeld approach to dancing. I don't do it 'because it's so stupid'.

 

[Abedeus]

I don't know, let's ask my good friend Technoviking...


Nope.

Not unmanly at all.

This.

Depends on what kind of dancing.

You might as well ask "Are hobbies unmanly?". Collecting dead ants? Yeah, in the board with that one.

Collecting bear heads? Fuck no.

Not at all.

Dancing typically displays strong emotions and confidence in the face of societal pressures. Refusing to dance comes across as being shy or cowardly, traits associated with boys, not men.

This is especially tough to say because I take the Seinfeld approach to dancing. I don't do it 'because it's so stupid'.

I don't dance unless asked by a girl I like because I'm terrible at it and I'd rather not make a complete idiot out of myself and make other people feel bad for seeing it.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

Dancing is manly as fuck. Whoever says otherwise is wrong and needs to be reminded that good fighting technique is essentially a form of dance. And if fighting isn't manly, then I'm not sure what is.

 

[prophecy2514]

This somehow feels relevant

EDIT: ooooops late to the party on this - note to self, go back through thread first

 

[Skratt]

So I just sat though a presentation on South American dance. I really enjoyed it and would maybe like to learn some of those fantastic moves. That said, I live in a very conservative part of the United States. The beer drinking (not that there is anything wrong with beer), trucker hat wearing, good old boy type folk. I know some of my peers would disapprove of this, because they would view any dance as "girly" or, and I will not mince words, many dances were brought to the States by immigrants who many of my peers hate. But this made me think about what other people think on the subject.

So my fellow Escapists, what do you all think? Do any of you view dancing as unmanly?

Edit - I should have been a bit more clear in my post. I have already decided that I would learn a bit. I just wanted to know what my fellow Escapists thought on the subject. I just wanted people to know were I was coming from. That is my bad for being a bit unclear.

That said, thanks for all the positive comments!

Bigotry and ignorance exist everywhere and is probably the strongest force inhibiting the human race. My recommendation to you is get the fuck out of the bucket before the other crabs drag you back down into it. Seriously. Leave. These small towns full of ignorant backwater beer drinking hicks need to dry up and go away and that won't happen if people like you who are open minded don't just leave them behind as they deserve.

 

[M0rp43vs]

If you can call this unmanly... Then something is wrong with you!

Well, I was about to say that nothing about dance is unmanly, but you just proved me wrong on that point, congratulations.

And yet, there is a sort of manliness in his ability to confidently dance to K-pop
Mind you, the rest of his videos are like this.

 

[krazykidd]

If that's not the manliest fucking thing ever I don't know what.

If you can call this unmanly... Then something is wrong with you!

You guys are joking right ? That is NOT manly . At least not in North American culture. Don't mistake "manly" for "attractive to women "

Of course women love men that can dance well .That'S a given . It's sexy , but not manly.
That being said you will never find a dance that is viewed as manly in North America . But it will get you mad pussy . But don't let that discourage you ( unless you live in texas where you might get shot and beat up for being teh gay ), i wont't say dacing isn't fun , especially when you can dance well. But it is not viewed as manly.

Sure dance take technic, endurance, finness, but your peer ( especially male ) with not view you as manly, no matter how much pussy you get from being able to dance. But don't let others dictate what you can and cannot do .

 

[Serge A. Storms]

You guys are joking right ? That is NOT manly . At least not in North American culture. Don't mistake "manly" for "attractive to women "

Of course women love men that can dance well .That'S a given . It's sexy , but not manly.
That being said you will never find a dance that is viewed as manly in North America . But it will get you mad pussy . But don't let that discourage you ( unless you live in texas where you might get shot and beat up for being teh gay ), i wont't say dacing isn't fun , especially when you can dance well. But it is not viewed as manly.

Sure dance take technic, endurance, finness, but your peer ( especially male ) with not view you as manly, no matter how much pussy you get from being able to dance. But don't let others dictate what you can and cannot do .

I'll repeat myself from the last page because it really fits here as well:

Being so friggin secure that you upload a dancing video to k-pop, the unmanliest kind of music in all galaxy, is as manly as anyone can be.

I don't view that as sexy. But I view it as manly if you have no problems displaying yourself in such forms. Actually, I envy him because I lack the kind of fitness and body control to achieve the same moves.

Absolute truth. The strongest links between sex appeal and sheer manliness are confidence and security in one's manhood.

 

[Thespian]

You know, I'm just gonna say... Yeah, generally dance is girly.

But only in the respect that like... Choreographed theatrical dance is most often accompanied with girls, and the two concepts, 'girly' and 'dance' are often associated.

But just like it's not bad for a girl to do a 'manly' thing, like.. Uhm... What are we supposed to do? Like, drive a big-ass truck, or... Punch people. Yeah.
It's fine for a girl to do those things and she can do it in a totally different and sometimes better way than a man, and samesos for you and dancing.

BT dubbz, dance happens to be awesome and cool when done right, so yeah.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

Buckling to other peoples expectations is unmanly. Sticking up for what you believe in/enjoy is manly.

Although to be honest Manly is a silly standard to aspire to, being happy and doing what you like is much better

 

[Airsoftslayer93]

The only reason some people try to frown on dancing is because they can't do it themselves, and notice how popular guys who can dance are.

Flamenco and tango are all about masculinity, passion and romance, the bullfighter character is the very definition of a man.

I don't think torturing animals with all sorts of protection built in so the risk is minimal is manly. That's cowardly.

You know what I'd find manly in bullfighting? Unexpectedly swapping the (intoxicated) bull and all the helpers with a big trained guy with a sword and a promise of a million quid if he kills that bullfighter.

But my best guess is we'd hear a lot of screaming and pleading and see a lot of fleeing in that case.

Maybe i should have highlighted, I'm not talking about an actual bullfighter, i think the sport is terrible, Simply about the name of the character that the male dancers inhabit, I'm still talking about dance here, not bullfighting, it's just a name.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

'I heard about sex but not enough
Found you could dance and still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found that a man ain't just being macho.'

If anyone can name the song without Google, then you win one free cookie.

But yeah, dancing can be manly, of course. I cite Billy Elliot as my course, particularly because it teaches a different sort of manliness.

 

[KingHodor]

Eh, I don't like dancing. I don't find it unmanly, just awkward... since you're mostly just doing random instinctive movements and hope it comes out looking "cool".

The only song I'd actually like to dance to at some point in the future is Hot Chip's "Ready for the Floor".

Strangely enough, the only words that come to mind when I listen to it is "really gay" - but in a positive kind of way, as in "get up on your feet, tell all your friend/lovers/secret crushes how much they mean to you, start moving, and don't give a damn about how this night might affect anyone's perception of your masculinity"

 

[loa]

There are far too many dances to categorize all of them as "unmanly".

 

[Heronblade]

If you can call this unmanly... Then something is wrong with you!

Well, I was about to say that nothing about dance is unmanly, but you just proved me wrong on that point, congratulations.

And yet, there is a sort of manliness in his ability to confidently dance to K-pop
Mind you, the rest of his videos are like this.

And yet, no not really. Confidence is a personality trait that is neither limited to nor required by the stereotypes attached to either gender. This nonsense about a "real man" being willing to act in a foolish manner to prove himself is exactly that, nonsense, just a form of reverse psychology that preys on the very insecurity it criticizes.