[Callers] Re: preference for dancing with opposite gender?

Hi Ken! Changing the subject line as others suggested. I would say there is a difference between telling someone "quietly" and telling someone "furtively" :) We do the former and not the latter! In our group - which for sure is not the same for everyone - but in our group we the organizers/volunteer helpers have expressly committed to a gender-free environment - so it is important to us not to draw attention to the past association between gender and the two dancing roles. Most of our dancers have no clue there used to be an association: I love that. It has honestly been magical for our group to witness the transformation that ensued in the "vibe" of our dances, once they went gender free. It used to feel more intense, socially - there was more pressure to get the appropriate dance partner, there was more discomfort if you didn't match with the one you had hoped to, there was discomfort in avoiding some people. I'm not saying that has disappeared - but it is palpably less. Many ppl have commented on this. and in our case, our dance numbers are comparable in the gender-free environment to what they were previously  (45-90 people per dance), so I feel confident that our dancers like this approach just as much as we the organizers do... Kat K Mar 11, 2024 12:18:34 PM K P <kenwp1(a)gmail.com>om>: