Is Dance unmanly?

[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.

 

[Guffe]

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

The fuck did you just make me watch???!!!

On Topic
Dancing, when done correctly (not as video above) doesn't need to be "manly, macho etc" but can still be really cool. Especially dances with partners like tango, walz etc are really hard to master and when done by people whom have mastered it it's something really great to watch!

 

[AngloDoom]

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 (and since it were two pages between it and the post you quoted I also assume you did not see it):

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.

Eh, I think I'm going to have to disagree with you there in some ways: confidence does not equal manliness, confident women are not manly.

Similarly, I once wore a very feminine costume out one time to a party because I don't give a damn about how people view my degrees of masculinity. However, every girl I was with criticised me, strangers (both male and female) mocked me, and my girlfriend at the time was mortified and refused to be seen with me for the night.

I like the sentiment - really, I do - but I just think it is inaccurate.

 

[DANEgerous]

What do those dumb fucks think boxing is? Oh footwork and locked arm actions? Sounds a lot like a dace to me. In fact all fighting not done with a gun is more or less a form of dance.

The difference is in the goal and emotions involved. Yes, they are similar insofar as they both involve 2 people moving. Except a boxer who focused on making his opponent enjoy himself as much as possible would be a pretty terrible boxer, same goes for a dancer that hoped to defeat his partner.

I think the more fundamental issue is about expressing sexuality. Most people are pretty uncomfortable with it. A lot of guys see pretty much any expression of emotion (except anger) as unmanly. This is another dissimilarity between dance and boxing. Dance is an art, its a form of self expression. I suspect those calling dance unmanly are the same types that think fine art is only something for gays and Europeans.
Really though, despite all I've said so far, rational arguments are unlikely to convince anyone that's already dismissed dance as "unmanly". However, if its something that you really want to learn, why should that let them stop you?

I must say that i honestly grasp and yet am confounded by this argument. I mean sure all the points about showing emotion are valid yet the art of war and the art of dance have nothing t do with the about of enjoyment or dismay you have on you partner.

If you an you partner truly enjoy a hideous or even just simple dance in a composition or from mere 3ed party perspective you "lost" to a person that dances better yet hates or does not enjoy doing so just as in a fight you may love to fight yet get knocked out by a person that hates violence you enjoy the act more but they "win" so to speak.

I suppose this comes from me being on the side that sees boxing and dance as one in the same and my father as seeing them as polar opposites. I find this ever the more intrusting that i think "the Dept of Science" knows precisely what I mean.