Penelope where is your home dance?
All good questions. Currently terminology is the caller's decision. So it goes back and forth from gendered to non gendered. That is not mentioned on the website, but I do know that at least one of our callers has requested that the Lawrence board make a decision about it so the callers don't have that responsibility and possible fall out from it.
As far as I know there are no young board members on the Lawrence board currently, but I don't know for sure who is on the board anymore. LBDA Board membership is by invitation, not election. I resigned from the board in spring 2023 and I have not asked lately about who is on now. At that time I was the youngest at the age of 56. If I learn some gems from you my plan is to share them with Lawrence and Kansas City board members as appropriate. I have attended some of the KC board meetings which are open to the community. Kansas City is one hour east of Lawrence and I dance at both.
What I infer from your questions/response is that:
1. Younger people will be more likely to come and stay if we use non gendered terminology.
2. Either way it needs to be publicized on our website so people know what to expect. I know some callers feel "thrown under the bus", and understandable so, when they have to make that decision.
3. We need to figure out how to prevent creep factor. How do you suggest to do that?