http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds5iEXwhUlo
Go-Go dancing is popular in many nightclubs all around the world. Go-Go dancing consists of women dressed up in very revealing clothing, dancing usually on elevated objects to various music that is played in the club. In the Youtube video two females are depicted and revealed as Go-Go dancers who are under subjectivity of the male dominance.
The question of do we all see the world from a male point of view is very relevant in the case of this particular body practice. Susan Bordo piece reveals that this is very much true due to the fact that “female bodies become docile bodies-bodies whose forces and energies are habituated to external regulation, subjection, transformation, ‘improvement’. (p.166) When we evaluate Go-Go dancing we must look at the object/subject aspects. Now the intention behind Go-Go dancing shows that it is men who are placed in a superior position and are essentially made more superior. This is done through the process of which Richard Leppert talks about that “a man’s look is directed outward toward others, a woman’s inward toward herself” (p.212) The Go-Go dancers are there to attract men and are positioned to be looked at. Therefore the Men look at the Go-Go dancers while they themselves watch the men looking.
How is this so, if women are able and do attend nightclubs as well? Why are there very few male Go-Go dancers around? This type of gender hierarchy example can be observed with many aspects of the Western culture in which patriarchy is very embedded. These women are under such subjectivity due to this exact cause of gender hierarchy in which men are positioned as superior beings.
While I do agree that this is subjecting women to a whole lot of objectification by putting them on display such as this, I don't think it is to make the male look more superior. I think that it is assuming a male point of view, but there are similar type venues for women. Not to mention similar things for homosexuals of both genders! They are just harder to find because of the demographic they are playing to. Women are brought up to repress any blatant sexuality and play up a more coquettish sexuality, whereas mens sexuality and desires are much more accepted. The go-go dancers described in this post are under much subjectivity, and it is caused by gender differences, but I refuse to think it is because men are positioned as superior beings.
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