My blog title

                                                                                    the willingness or desire to dance with same sex partners indicates femininity
         When more women than men attend a dance, women often dance                 and, thus, homosexuality.
together with one leading and one following. Men are less likely than women                  Only a few women expressed disdain at the thought of dancing with
to dance together to compensate for sex imbalances. Interviewees believe this is    other women. They tended to be women who never dance with other women.
because men’s sexuality is more likely to be questioned than women’s even with      Like the men, they conated the idea of gender and sexual identity. One said, “I
the safety of gendered dance parts. Donna, a 40-year-old dancer, believes this is   don’t want to give people the idea I’m a lesbian.”
why men nd imbalances more upsetting than women.                                            Men who enjoy dancing together feel uncomfortable around men like
                                                                                    Gene but not uncomfortable enough to stop “playing and having fun.” Tony
         The men get more upset than the women at an imbalance. I think it’s        claims that “it is awkward to dance with other men because there are so many
because people, men especially, make a bigger deal about men dancing with           homophobic men, even in this group.” Some men claim not to be bothered
each other than when women do. I like dancing the man’s role sometimes. It’s a      by homophobic attitudes. Barry, a 49-year-old, says that he receives enough
challenge, and it lets me get to meet more of the women.                            support from the group to feel comfortable dancing with other men.
         Participants believe men may face a double jeopardy by dancing with
same sex partners. They claim that dance carries a feminine connotation in U.S.              Dancing with men is permitted in the OTDC although there is a
society, overall. Thus men who willingly risk their gender identity by dancing               continuum. Some people are really surprised; some are delighted. But I
may be reluctant to add another risk by dancing with same sex partners. On the               enjoy it and enough other people do too. I think it’s a good way for men
other hand, women’s gender identity does not seem to be affected by dancing                  to play together.
with other women.
         Several men feel that dancing with other men threatens their masculinity.  Some men dance with other men on a regular basis whether a gender imbalance
However, not all interviewees express the same level of fear. Older men and men     exists or not. Dale, a 19-year-old, claims he does it for fun but also hopes to
from other cultures are less likely than younger, U.S. natives to dance with same   change people’s attitudes about gender.
gender partners. Moreover, some men are very uncomfortable with the idea of
other men dancing together. Gene, a 37-year-old, not only refuses to switch parts            I really enjoy it [dancing with other men]. It doesn’t mean you’re
but also objects to other men dancing together.                                              changing your lifestyle. It’s just about having as much fun with men as
                                                                                             you do with women. I’m trying to make inroads into the idea that men
         I have absolutely no desire to dance with other men. I have trouble                 can only dance with women. Women dance with other women. Why not
         with homosexuality. It’s not so much that I think they are wrong, or                men?
         anything like that. I really don’t. I just don’t see anything wrong with
         heterosexuality. Sometimes people try to make you feel guilty if you       At the same time, men who dance together acknowledge that not everyone
         are heterosexual. [So the men in the group who dance together are          responds positively. Several described instances of responses that ranged from
         homosexual?] Oh no, nothing like that, or at least not that I know of. But disdain to delight.
         when you see men touching and stuff, it does make you wonder.                       Although some men feel discomfort with same sex dancing, many of
                                                                                    the newer dances include instructions for same sex dance moves. Thus, the
Gene’s ambivalence about homosexuality was shared by many men in the                willingness of the majority of both men and women to dance together, at least
group. OTDC participants tend to label the group as liberal and tolerant.           occasionally, coupled with same sex dance instructions supports the practice.
Consequently, those who do not feel tolerant of some of the normative practices     Both men and women who switch parts claim they have become better dancers
in the group often made contradictory or apologetic statements such as Gene’s.      from learning both dance parts. Women learn the importance of giving clear and
         As mentioned previously, Lorber (1996) claims that sex, gender, and        appropriate leads. Men learn to become more sensitive to the size and physical
sexual identity often become conated. Similar to Lorber, I nd that some OTDC      comfort of women partners.
participants conate dance parts with both gender and sexual identity. Phar
(2001) points out that normative masculinity restricts affection among men to
sports and war. Old-time dancing requires a great deal of touch and eye contact,
activities typically viewed as affectionate. Some men in the OTDC believe that

part and women, the follow part. In old-time dance, gender prescriptions
attach to the dance parts and not to the person dancing the part. This allows
both men and women to switch dance parts without risking their personal
gender status since they are merely “playing the part of the other gender.”
Thus members can step in and out of opposite gender dance parts with little
risk of gender degradation.
          Two characteristics of old-time dance create a safety net that Thorne’s
and McGuffey’s subjects did not have. Whereas many forms of play include
role expectations for only one gender, old-time dance includes roles for both
genders. For example, Thorne (1994) observed children playing football and
jumping rope, activities prescribed for single gender players. Players who cross
gender boundaries to participate in single gender activities have no gender
appropriate role to fall back on when people question their gender status. They
must drop out of the game or risk degrading their personal gender status.
Framing dance parts as gendered allows both men and women to move in and
out of dance parts because they have gender appropriate roles to fall back on.
          Moreover, since gender attaches to the dance part rather than the dancer,
it is the dance position on the oor that signies what part a dancer is taking.
Lead parts stand to the left of the follow part in most dance moves unless
otherwise specied by the caller. Unlike single couple dancing where the leader
decides which dance steps the couple will execute, group partner dancing
requires that all dancers follow the instructions of the caller so that the dance
may be executed without chaos. To do so, all leaders and followers must be in
the same positions respective to one another. Dance calls are addressed to dance
parts (positions on the oor) rather than men or women, per se.
The Old-Time Dance Community
          The old-time dance community is an informal national network of old-
time dance groups in the U.S. Although no formal national organization of
the OTDC exists, approximately 600 local old-time dance groups around the
U.S. are linked by several national and regional liaison organizations, folk
schools, dance and music camps, and Internet forums. Who participates in the
OTDC? Although people from infants to the elderly attend dances, 78 percent
of my survey respondents were between 30 and 50 years old. Approximately 98
percent of the survey respondents were white, and 76 percent have a four year
college degree or higher (see Powell 1997 for OTDC demographics). The survey
results correspond with my observations.

to the prompting of a caller rather than as single couples choosing their own
choreography. Callers are persons who guide the dancers through a specic
sequence of steps by calling out instructions. Old-time dances are typically
danced to live bands playing “old-time tunes” that have their roots in the British
Isles.
         Whereas all partner dancing reproduces gender through the traditional
gendering of dance parts, old-time dance also reproduces gender through the
language of the dance calls. Dance calls are verbal prompts given by the caller
to guide the dancers through the dance. Many old-time dances were written
centuries ago. Dances written more recently tend to use the same language
so as not to confuse dancers. Old-time dance calls refer to the lead part as the
“gent’s” part and the follow part as the “lady’s” part. For example, “ladies
to the center and back right out” directs the followers whereas “gents to the
center for an allemande left” directs the leaders regardless of whether the
dancers are male or female.
         Old-time dance also differs from most other partner dancing in that
it is considered a playful, community building activity and, thus, dancers
are expected to switch partners after each dance. In addition, old-time dance
etiquette mandates that the only acceptable reasons to turn down an invitation
to dance are if you already have a partner or if you are sitting the dance out to
rest. These traditions allow persons to come to dances alone or with a partner
and still be assured an opportunity to dance. As a result, many groups tend to
have high numbers of singles in their groups and be thought of as a single’s
scenes. On the other hand, other groups have as many married couples as singles
in their groups (see Powell 1997 for group dynamics). Regardless of whether the
group is composed mainly of singles or a mix of singles and married couples,
old-time dance tends to be very playful and irtatious. According to Cecil Sharp
(1909), a dance historian, most of the dance moves in old-time dance are rooted
in coquetry.
 

Rasby Marlene Powell
Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, University of North
Carolina, Pembroke
          Abstract: This qualitative study shows how members of a voluntary
          recreational association known as the Old Time Dance Community use
          traditional gender norms to expand gender. Data include 49 open-ended
          interviews from participants in 15 states, participant observation at
          dances in 21 cities in 10 states, a survey of 243 participants from a
          convenience sample, and archival data. In old-time dance, gendered
          dance parts allow dancers to play with gender without risking their
          gender status because the gender norms are attached to the dance parts
          rather than the dancer. Thus dancers can move in and out of gender role
          in ways not possible outside the dance group such as cross-dressing,
          and irting with same gender partners. This study nds that OTDC men
          expand gender by learning to be more playful and affectionate with one
          another. Women expand gender by learning to be less competitive with
          one another and by enjoying their femininity without guilt.
P   revious research nds that males and females, regardless of age, risk their
    gender identities when they cross or transgress gender boundaries. By
gender boundaries, I mean the different expectations and prescriptions for
masculinity and femininity (see Thorne 1994; Lorber 1996). Even though both
men and women sometimes step outside their expected gender roles, research
shows that most people in the U.S. tend to associate one set of attitudes and
behaviors with men and a different set with women (Lorber 1996; Lorber 2001).
          Although everyone faces risks for crossing gender boundaries, the risks
differ by gender and age. Boys who act in ways designated as feminine risk
being called names that question their masculinity (Thorne 1994). They also
risk physical aggression and exclusion (McGuffey 1999). Similarly, men risk
homosexual labeling, exclusion (Nielsen 2000), and physical violence (Bronski
2001). In contrast, girls risk being considered masculine by adults (Thorne 1994)
and boys but not by other girls (McGuffey 1999). Even girls who retain feminine
Journal of Mundane Behavior, volume 3, number 1 (February 2002), pp. 7-22. ©2002, Rasby
Marlene Powell and Journal of Mundane Behavior. All rights reserved.
displays of affect risk being sanctioned by boys, but not girls, if they wear boy-
type clothing or play boys’ games (McGuffey 1999). Women who cross gender
boundaries face direct and indirect remarks that situate them as sexual objects
(Nielsen 2000).
         While masculine and feminine gender roles have expanded to include
more options for both genders over the past few decades, the conation of
sex with gender and gender with sexual identity (see Lorber 1996 and Nielson
2000) makes individual efforts to change gender risky. By sex, I mean whether
one is male or female. By gender, I mean the social constructions of femininity
and masculinity. By sexual identity, I mean whether one considers oneself
heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Conating sex with gender leads to
the assumption that females will necessarily be feminine and males will be
masculine. Conating gender with sexual identity leads to the assumption that
if a male person is acting in ways considered feminine, he must be homosexual
and vice versa. As Lucal (1999) points out, even when people try to bend gender
by refusing to follow their prescribed gender roles, they are simply assumed
to be acting like the other gender rather than trying to change gender itself.
Gender prescriptions tend to be less rigidly enforced in both informal settings
and voluntary associations than in formal and professional settings, but crossing
gender boundaries in any setting involves risk (Thorne 1994; McGuffey 1999)
         This grounded theory study extends both Thorne’s (1994) and
McGuffey’s (1999) studies on gender play among children in two ways. First,
I focus on how adults, rather than children, use play to negotiate gender.
Second, I examine gender negotiations within a voluntary association rather
than a formal organization. Both Thorne (1994) and McGuffey (1999) found
that gender organizes behavior among children. Thorne nds that, through
play, children can cross gender boundaries for short periods without sacricing
their masculinity and femininity as long as they return to appropriate gender
behaviors after play. McGuffey (1999) nds that high status boys can transgress
gender for short periods without risking teasing from other boys. On the other
hand, she found that high status girls who cross gender boundaries gain the
support of other girls but receive negative sanctions from boys. Both boys and
girls, but especially boys, risk their gender status if they cross gender boundaries
for more than short periods of time. Both Thorne (1994) and McGuffey (1999)
found that, even under the auspices of play, there are limits to how far and how
long children can cross gender boundaries without sanctions.

work of Michel Houllebecq and male ressentiment that develops from exclusion.    About        the       Guest        Editor:      Kimberly         Mahaffy
McNamara offers an alternative vision of sexual relations.                       (kimberly.mahaffy@millersville.edu) is an assistant professor of sociology
         The only personal essay in this collection is by Guthrie. His vignette  at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests are
depicts an ordinary Sunday stroll in the park until a young woman comes along.   gender, transitions to adulthood, adolescent fertility and sexuality, and
After that, there is nothing mundane about this story.                           lesbian identities. When she is not teaching or conducting statistical
         Returning to sex, gender, and sexuality, Altman argues that social,     analyses, she enjoys bicycling, restoring furniture, and watching videos.
political, and economic forces shape these everyday experiences. His global      She spends far too much time on email and the internet. Reliable sources
perspective and persuasive writing link such diverse issues as adolescent sex in can vouch for that.
Uganda and Thailand, Japanese pornography, Irish women seeking abortions
abroad, the Fiji NGO Coalition on the Right to Sexual Orientation, and the
“gay marriage” issue in the United States. Although we have included only
a portion of Altman’s book, Global Sex, I highly recommend obtaining a copy
and reading it from cover to cover.
         A review of Young’s Ordinary Pleasures, written by Larry Rosenberg
is also available.
         Acknowledgments: I would like to thank the following people who
generously gave of their time to review manuscripts for this issue. They are
Lynn Comella, Solomon Davidoff, Ted Lowe, Jill McCorkel, Myron Orleans,
Rebecca Plante, Lisa Reshaur, Pedro Rodriguez, Scott Schaffer, Nena Stracuzzi,
Joe Thomas, Kelly Train, Nadine Wasserman, Sandra Willis, and Yung-Hsing
Wu. Barbara Dills typed Altman’s chapter for our use and deserves a medal for
working with that pesky program MS Word.

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