Now gender zealots take aim at country dancing in schools
TRADITIONAL country dancing has long been a rite of passage for every child schooled in Scotland.
But it seems that learning the Dashing White Sergeant, Strip the Willow and the Gay Gordons could soon be a thing of the past.
Some experts have warned that teaching traditional reels during PE lessons can result in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) children being bullied.
And campaigners fear that the less-masculine pupils can suffer ‘hurtful’ and ‘very explicit’ remarks from classmates.
It is also claimed that some youngsters experience anxiety because they fear being picked last.
Concern about the bullying of LGBTI children comes after a leading charity noticed that there was a marked increase in calls from pupils seeking help when their schools were teaching social dance.
Karen McCubbin, general secretary of the Scottish Association of Teachers and Physical Education, claimed the ‘gender-specific’ nature of social dance could provide a link to bullying and homophobia.
She added: ‘Do we drop social dance for the curriculum, perhaps, or do we shift the way it’s taught?’
The best option would be to delve deeper into the ‘cultural
‘Proving ground for masculinity’
heritage’ of social dance and open up ‘the debate about why girls and boys would be paired’, she said.
Hugh Torrance, executive director of Leap Sports Scotland, which campaign for greater inclusion of LGBTI people in sport, has said that his charity notices a spike in calls from pupils when the time comes for social dance to be introduced in PE classes.
Although he has not called for dance lessons to be scrapped, Mr Torrance believes more needs to be done to sharpen the lines between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
He explained: ‘We work with young people in schools and dancing brings up some issues because it’s not always clear what is “banter” and what’s not. Dancing tends to bring up issues because PE is still one of the areas where boys and girls are segregated, but they’re brought together at Christmas, for country dancing.
‘The novelty of bringing all the class together for social dancing on an annual basis creates another layer for a proving ground of masculinity.
‘There generally tends to be a lot of uncomfortableness and the pupils feel it’s amplified.
One recent story was when a boy pulled his sleeve over his hand so he didn’t have to touch the ‘gay boy’ in case he caught it.’
Mr Torrance added: ‘Over 20 years ago, when I was in school, I remember similar types of things so it has not moved on.
‘We’re absolutely not calling for it (dancing) to be taken out of schools but nobody has the definitive line on what is OK and what is not.’
Certain dances, such as Strip the Willow and the Eightsome Reel, are thought to provide safer territory for teachers as these are performed in larger groups.
Across the UK, 42 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual school pupils claim that they have been bullied in a PE changing room, making this the most common location for such behaviour in the country’s schools.
And 32 per cent of gay and bisexual boys say that they have been bullied during school sport.
Jim Healy, chairman of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) said: ‘The RSCDS feels that children in Scottish schools should be able to learn about their cultural heritage. This includes Scottish country dancing.
‘We want children to appreciate our traditional music, enjoy learning to dance and be able to become fitter and healthier through it.
‘Just as with the evolution of the dance itself, so the teaching of it has been evolving.’
Mr Healy added: ‘The RSCDS is not imposing a rigid approach – teachers are at liberty to use non-specific gender roles where appropriate when teaching. Anyone can dance with anyone.’