[Callers] Politically Correct?

Ron Blechner contraron at gmail.com
Wed Mar 28 09:47:00 PDT 2018


Hi Jeff,

I think your understanding of there being "no to little movement" is
inaccurate.

In New England, New York, Seattle, and the Bay Area, many callers have been
examining terminology and changing. Several dance series have gone
genderfree without being specifically chartered as LGBTQ dances. Not
coincidentally, these dances are thriving amidst a decline of attendance of
contra in general.

Many dances are also taking up safety policies before and after the #metoo
movement, despite plenty of resistance for years of some people insisting
that contra is a happy place where there's no harassment.

So yes, you're correct that these discussions have been happening for
years, true, but they have also been producing tangible change in many
places.

...


I might also like to disagree with your implication that everyone is
responsible for "arguing about it". We callers who have swapped terms for
g*pay, for example, have long since moved on.

In the case of this original post, Rich was asking for practical advice,
and there *was no* argument until a couple choice people started throwing
shade at those of us who think changing the lyrics from "she was a young
thing" to "she was a young girl" is an easy swap that doesn't diminish the
tradition, but also reduces the objectification of women.

In dance,
Ron Blechner


On Wed, Mar 28, 2018, 12:32 PM Jeffrey Spero via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

>
> On Mar 28, 2018, at 8:56 AM, Maia McCormick <maia.mcc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> While Jeffrey makes a compelling point, I want to chime in with another
> thought: *that not having these discussions is just as divisive (if not
> more so) than having them*, just in ways that are harder for some sides
> of the community to see. While people make (very valid) claims that long
> discussions about terminology, altering words to singing squares, etc. are
> alienating some more established members of the community, to *not* have
> these discussions is to alienate many other folks, particularly people our
> dance scene has done less well by in the past -- young people, people of
> color, queer people, trans people... the list goes on.
>
>
> I would never suggest that these discussion not take place.  But at some
> point, the discussion must end with action either being taken - or not.
> This particular discussion has been going on for many years, with very
> little new information, with both sides feeling more polarized, and there
> being no to little movement in the community at large.  We’re beating a
> dead horse.  At what point does this become more divisive than cohesive?
> How is renewing this discussion by rehashing things that have been said
> over and over again on both sides of the issue being helpful more than
> harmful?
>
> Call it a walk around. Call it a gypsy. Call larks/ravens. Call
> gents/ladies.  Call the moves as you see fit. But let’s stop the constant
> arguing about it that has become tiresome and divisive.  Minds really
> aren’t being changed after years of rehashing the same points.
>
> And with that, I will no longer rehash MY point!
> _______________________________________________
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