Hmmm...Perry, as you probably already know, I agree with the principles you outline here. I'm 100% behind equality of opportunity in every possible context. In dancing, having the right and ability to decline any particular act is important. However, I feel like even the use of a term like "decline" suggests at most a temporary suspension of a lead/follow dynamic because it is a defensive/reactive thing, not an expression of leadership. Sort of like civil protest. But please bear in mind, my present comments are intended to add to a discussion of how things seem to be now, not how we might wish to change/improve it in the future. Idealistically I'd love the concept of being led half of the time even if I danced as a gent exclusively (which is rare), just as I'd love being asked to dance half of the time. (Actually, the latter does happen to me every so often.) Brian Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android