On 4/11/2013 5:18 AM, Richard Mckeever wrote:
I think we are making a bigger deal out of this than needs to be. You go to
any other type of dancing and you will have some difficulty finding 2 men
dancing together. It is not the social norm and so it makes people
uncomfortable. It has nothing to do with homophobia. I will admit - I prefer
opposite gender swings - Am I homophobic and just don't know it?
I worry most about new dancers - we try very hard to make them comfortable and
same gender swings don't help with that objective.
This sounds like something that deserves a few words at the beginners'
session. "Some folks like to switch roles as they're dancing, so you
may find yourself swinging another man, or another woman. No big deal.
Here's a symmetrical hold you can use if you're not sure how else to
swing. It'll help you enjoy _all_ your partners..."
If you can make it less of a surprise and thus defuse a little of the
awkwardness for someone who's never danced with another man/woman
before, seems like that might smooth out a bump or two.
Kalia
