Monday, July 21, 2014

Is same-sex dancing repugnant in Britain?

The Telegraph has the story:
Ballroom may soon be strictly off limits for same-sex pairs 
"Women have traditionally paired up at tea dances and ballroom events when there has been a shortage of male partners , but members of the British Dance Council may be about to ban the practice"

"Members of the British Dance Council (BDC) are to consider changing its rules to define a partnership as “one man and one lady”, for all amateur and professional competitions, unless specifically stated otherwise.

"Critics claim that the change in rules would mean same-sex couples may be “banned” from competing in all but a handful of specially designated competitions, despite facing no impediment to their participation until now. The dispute is understood to have stemmed from a rise in the number of successful same-sex couples on the ballroom dancing scene.

"Same-sex couples — both men and women — currently compete regularly across Britain, and have appeared on international versions of television show Strictly Come Dancing. Complaints have been raised arguing that, in the case of men, they have an advantage, due to their superior strength.

"Supporters of the proposal argue it is merely bringing ballroom dancing in line with other sports, where participants are already divided by gender. The proposals are to be debated on July 21, and critics claim that they could, if adopted, contravene equalities legislation."

No comments: