Thresholds of Masculinity: Understanding how to act and dance “like a man".

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: In recent years, studies have explored the influence of hegemonic masculinity on boys’ identity development, and shown that masculine pressures idealize emotional stoicism, encourage aggressiveness, and threaten mental wellness among boys (Kenway et al., 1997; Coyle et al., 1998; Way et al., 2014; Chu et al., 2014). The purpose of this study was to explore the salience of hegemonic masculinity for male ballet dancers within the context of their training and how this impacts the ways they view themselves as dancers and as men. My findings suggest that dance, being a context where a more fluid masculinity can be preformed, may offer a means of resisting hegemonic masculinity norms. However, my findings also suggest that the benefits of dance are contingent on the dancer’s ability to overcome manifestations of conventional masculinity within the dance studio as well as within society. While these manifestations seem to influence the social wellbeing, body image, and self-esteem of every male dancer, the extent of this influence seems to vary between dance styles and across generations. This paper concludes with a discussion on how dance training can be modified to be more supportive of male dancers’ wellness and help validate alternative masculinities.

Type of resource	text
Date created	2016

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/mf053rq0024

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC-ND).

Preferred Citation: Leahy, Brian (2016). Thresholds of Masculinity: Understanding how to act and dance “like a man". Stanford Digital Repository. Stanford Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/mf053rq0024

Undergraduate Theses, Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Stanford University.

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