Sunday, June 9, 2013

We Aren't Creating, But Let's Stop Enabling

Many of the comments on social media, blogs and news stories seem to show confusion about the issues at hand.

As far as I'm aware, there is no evidence to suggest that itty bitty costumes, adult choreography and make up on children create pedophiles.

We could dress our children naked on a stage and have them dance with a pole and it wouldn’t create any extra pedophiles, nor would it mean those children were asking to be violated any more than a woman wearing a short skirt or low cut blouse walking down the street is asking to be raped.  It's also true that women and children who wear clothing from top to toe are subjected to sexual assault and rape - so clearly clothing has little to do with the creation of sexual predators.
Nonetheless, in the wake of the arrest of Grant Davies of RGDance there has been a lot of focus on the costumes, style and choreography preferred by that studio, which is reasonably pervasive in some pockets of the dance industry.  It’s definitely the preferred style of some of the high profile dance schools in the US like Dance Precisions or the Abby Lee Dance Company of ‘Dance Moms’ fame.  It’s interesting that RG Dance not only chose similar styles but actually targeted those particular studios for workshops and collaboration.  Clearly they didn’t create the style but they certainly - obviously and unashamedly - admired and emulated it.

RGDance was obviously more than one person.  However, from an outsider observer viewpoint it seemed to me that Grant Davies set the marketing tone and general style.  As I point out in my last post I don’t think the style created the situation, but perhaps with the hindsight that these allegations provide, the style preferred by the studio reflected Grant’s personal preferences.
The more we see something the more normal it becomes, even if it is something initially that shocks us.  Every time a new boundary is pushed, there is initial resistance but soon after acceptance and there is then a ‘new normal’.  We see this in the (highly scripted, I suspect) Dance Moms TV show where the parents frequently complain that this time Abby has gone too far…but they don’t pull their student out or refuse to participate.  They meekly accept, the performance goes on, it may do well in competition simply because the technique is the best of the day, everyone breathes a sigh of relief that it’s over, but by then a new normal has been created.  The next new costume or routine is even more shocking and suddenly the one that shocked before doesn’t seem so bad.

This trend is pervasive throughout society right now.  Certainly not just in children's dance, but also in music videos, movies, games, TV shows, clothing stores, sports and especially advertising.  There is so much ‘noise’ that to be heard one needs to shock, push the boundaries, do something more than the last person.  The dance world – with it's well groomed children wearing make up and revealing costumes, dancing in provocative styles to adult lyrics – reflects and perhaps contributes to this progression to a hypersexualised childhood, and therefore not surprisingly is open to criticism.
What is the harm if we let this just continue unfettered?  I honestly do not believe it will create more pedophiles.  Presumably it creates more material for them to enjoy – something many of us don’t like to think about – but those pedophiles have plenty of material beyond the dance world to access 24/7 on the internet or even in the catalogues in the mailbox.  I believe the larger risk is that creates harm to us as a society.  There is plenty of evidence that the increasing sexualisation of children, objectification of women, and hypermasculinity in men is creating enormous social problems.  If you are interested in this topic there is a wealth of information – just google these terms and start reading.

The thing is, over time kids see all of this imagery and behaviour as normal.  And adults around them see it as normal.  And adults start to think that children actually have those characteristics they are portraying.  We start to forget that they don’t actually understand sexuality, they are play acting as they have been taught.  Our children soak up this culture day after day after day.  They learn through saturated media that it is a boy's role to dominate and a girl's role to please him sexually on demand.  Then when one of our sons asserts unwanted attention on one of our daughters who resist, there is confusion on both sides.  As adults we watch in disbelief when we watch news events like the Steubenville rape case, an event that was high profile but certainly not isolated in nature.  But why are we so shocked?

As a dance community we think it is ok to playact this stuff on a public stage in a suburban school hall to the encouragement and delight of an adult audience.   But if a dance teacher regularly asks a student to pose for photographs in small costumes or studio uniforms, to much public adoration, why would we expect that the same child would understand that his asking her to pose similarly but naked is a significant and inappropriate extra step? It's not a signficant extra step to the child, who is simply eager to please the adults around her.  No wonder our children get confused as to what is appropriate and what is not.
You may think I’m talking nonsense.  Fair enough.  I think there is a lot of evidence to support my assertions but you may disagree.  That’s ok.  But here’s the flip side.  Can someone please explain to me the advantage of smaller costumes and provocative choreography on children.  What benefit does it provide?  Why can they not achieve the same skills in a non-sexualised environment?  What harm does not sexualizing them cause?

I hypothesize that by creating common standards and best practices, similar to those that have been set in other arenas such as schools and swimming pools, on matters such as competition rules, sharing information on the internet, chaperones for tours, changing room policies, viewing windows into studios and so on, we might hinder the ability of potential predators to indulge their fantasies, because those fantasies would look out of place in this world, where increasingly right now they don’t. Let's not make it so easy for those who want to disrespect our children in this most hideous of ways.

And along the way, perhaps we create a healthier social environment for our children in this increasingly sexualised and objectified society.  A separate but equally worthwhile goal.

There certainly appears to be momentum to develop such industry guidelines, and I for one couldn't be happier about it.  I don't care who leads that charge as long as the process is open to all to provide input and discussion, and I'm grateful to those who have started the process.  I hope the momentum continues long after this news story leaves the headlines.
Grant Davies is not the first or last person to be accused of sexually abusing students in his care.  Sadly there are likely to be more just as there have been in other areas of life, such as sports, schools and churches.  But I'm hopeful there is the will now, as a community, to limit their opportunities and stop enabling, while simultaneously contributing more positively to society and our children's future wellbeing.  Surely our children deserve that we try.