This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UPR chapter.
On august 23rd, Lara Spencer, host of “Good Morning America”, made a comment about 6-year-old Prince George wanting to take a ballet class in school. Although she has since apologized, her comment ignited a movement among dancers using the hashtag #boysdancetoo on social media. “Details of George’s curriculum have been released, making us all really happy we don’t have to do homework anymore,” she said. “In addition to the usual first or second-grade things like math, science and history, the future king of England will be putting down the Play-Doh to take on religious studies, computer programming, poetry and ballet, among other things.”
As a dancer (I was also a dance teacher), I can assure the numerous benefits dance training has for everyone, be it for their physical, mental or emotional health.
Movement and rhythm comes naturally, especially to kids, so dancing is a way of allowing them to express themselves and learn the language of movement. Dance imparts discipline, self-confidence, responsibility and so many other values that translate to different areas in life, although one of the most important values learned through dance is empathy.
The talk show host held back a laugh when she mentioned the word “ballet.” She didn’t care to make the rude, upsetting comments and make a “joke” out of it. How can a grown woman bully a 6-year-old on national television? And in return get laughter and applause from the audience and other hosts? This is bullying, and some may take it as motivation to prove detractors wrong, but others won’t.
Although it didn’t seem like the comments were intentionally meant to hurt anyone, they were very hurtful to the dance community.
Astudy by dance sociologist Doug Risner said that 93 percent of boys who study dance have reported “teasing and name calling,” and 68 percent experienced “verbal or physical harassment.” Eleven percent said they were victims of physical harm because they are boys who study dance.
This message represents the hateful and irrational way people perceive boys who dance. It was wrong. Lara Spencer promoted unhealthy and irrational gender roles. No one should be mocked and laughed at for doing what they love.
Dance stars have since shared their support for Prince George on social media and demanded an apology from Lara Spencer. She apologized on theshow and on her social media accounts by saying:
My sincere apologies for an insensitive comment I made in pop news yesterday. From ballet to anything one wants to explore in life, I say GO FOR IT. I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions. Go climb your mountain-and love every minute of it.
It’s amazing how much support there is on social media for the dance community and, although things are improving, there are still people that don’t have inclusive beliefs and who are harder to educate about male dancers. 300 dancers even went to a class in front of the “Good Morning America” studio in Times Square led by dancer and choreographer Travis Wall to show support for the community.
Dance is beautiful, artistic, athletic and challenging and I’m proud to be a dancer. No one should laugh because a kid loves doing it, they should try instead to see beyond the notions of masculinity and appreciate it.
Jeaneliz is a sophomore pursuing a degree in Journalism at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. At times an introvert but she’s not afraid of speaking up when there is something she believes in, regardless of what others think. When she isn’t studying or dancing, you can find her scrolling through Pinterest or binge-watching shows on Netflix.
