Let George, and all boys, dance to their own beat
There is once more the pitter-patter of little feet at Kensington Palace – not thanks to a new royal sprog joining the increasingly long line for the throne, but because Prince George has taken up ballet, which his father says he “absolutely loves”. His new pastime attracted mockery on US daytime television last week, after which Lara Spencer, the co-host of Good
Morning America, posted an apology urging the six-yearold to “GO FOR IT,” adding: “I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions.”
Passions, however, can feel harder to pursue when people are laughing at you for doing so, and Spencer’s initial reaction spoke volumes. What’s childhood about if not a little experimentation?
Over the weekend, Chris O’dowd, the actor, spoke of his belief that the patriarchy has been “damaging” to his gender, leaving little boys like him to grow up thinking “we are there to protect, not to feel, and to be aggressive… [it] isn’t healthy,” he said.
I don’t know whether a pas de chat is the answer to the masculinity crisis, but it’s likely closer to it than reinforcing tired assumptions about what little boys can and can’t do.