Intersectionality

A hobby of mine is dance. I have been in dance since I was three years old and now I teach dance since I am older. I have boys in all of my classes but two of them. It has always been a dream of mine to have boys in a dance class because it is different having boys in a class with girls and a class with all girls - less drama when boys are present, depending on the age. I feel like one reason  why I do not have boys in my  3&4 year old class is because boys at that (and maybe it isn't even the boys but the parents) feel that it is a girly thing- only girls can dance. So in TC it says, "...1970's research about men's gender role expectations by David and Brannon (and popularized by Michael Kimmel) identified four dictates of masculinity; (1)  No Sissy stuff (i.e., Prohibition on expression of feminine characteristics); (2) Be a Big wheel (i.e., Strive for status and success); (3) Be a Sturdy Oak (i.e, be confident, stoic  and self-reliant); and (4) Give 'em Hell (i.e, take risks, be daring and aggressive). (pg. 119).  So if we look at this from an intersectional perspective boys are not the main gender in Dance it is mainly female dominated class. I feel like  for socio-economic class, it depends on what kind of dance they are signed up for- one class versus a semester of class, and if they have a recital at the end-- this can add up to a lot of money. So, if this child has a single parents or even two but one isn't working, then they might not be able to afford dance. As for race, I don't really know what to say for this one, because there is dance everywhere and in every culture. But for Age, I definitely feel like the best time to have a dancing career is when they are under 40, because it is hard to keep up at older ages with the "new styles" that people come up with. And besides, society says younger looking boys and girls are what they want to see.  I also feel like dance is for everyone, sexuality, able-bodiedness and religion do not matter in the sense of being in a dance class. If you look on shows, like ALDC ( Dance moms) there are boys in the other dance groups and in BRING IT! the assistant coach is a male. It is also a static that males bodies are able to do more ballet than females, because of the muscle that they have. I think it is just society saying that dance is "girly" and boys do not do girly things. I don't know if many know, but there are tons of ballet creators are male ballet dancers in other countries like Russia and France.  Dance is for everyone, but it depends on how the families feel if they let their sons dance.