Sexual Orientation and Male Participation in Dance Education: Revisiting the Open Secret

Abstract

Abstract This interpretive inquiry explores the ways in which young adult males experience and make meaning of the social stigmatization associated with men in dance. General procedures for this study include interviews, confidential surveys, and field observations with six undergraduate male students (three self-identified as heterosexual, two as gay, one as bisexual) enrolled in beginning level dance technique courses at a public university in the United States. The participants' narratives reveal a deeper understanding of social stigmatization as articulated through stories that lace together five important themes: homophobic stereotypes, narrow definitions of masculinity, heterosexist justifications for male participation, the absence of positive male role models (straight and gay), and internalized homophobia. The findings of the study suggest that a more responsive pedagogical path for confronting homophobic attitudes and social stigmatization should begin with openly discussing the fact that gay and bisexual males represent half of the male population in dance, and second, seeking to understand the larger social context male youth and teens encounter as dance students.