Gendered bodies and leisure : the practice and performance of American belly dance / Rachel Kraus.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kraus, Rachel, author.

Series:

Interactionist currents

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Belly dance--United States.

Belly dance.

United States.

Physical Description:

ix, 202 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017.

Summary:

With its roots in Middle Eastern and North African dance, belly dance is a popular leisure activity in the West with women (and some men) of all ages and body types pursing the activity for diverse reasons. Drawing on empirical research, fieldwork, and interviews with participants, this book investigates the social world and small group cultures of American belly dance, examining the various ways in which people use leisure to construct the self and social relationships. With attention to gender expectations, body image, sexuality, community, spiritual experiences, and the process of identifying with a leisure activity, this book shows how people engage in the same pursuit in a variety of ways. It sheds light on the manner in which dancers strive to deal with the challenges presented by internal power struggles and legitimacy bids, public beliefs, narrow cultural ideals of beauty and often sexualized assumptions about their art. A fascinating study of identity work and the reproduction and challenging of gender norms through a gendered leisure activity, Gendered Bodies and Leisure: The practice and performance of American belly dance will be of interest to students and scholars researching gender and sexuality, the sociology of leisure, the sociology of the body and interactionist thought. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The social world of belly dance 1

2 Performing gender 21

3 The belly dancing body 40

4 Friendship and community 61

5 A spiritual dance 83

6 A belly dance identity 103

7 "There's enough drama in belly dance" 123

8 Negotiating erotic images of belly dance 142

9 The finale 162.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781472419736

1472419731

OCLC:

955533024