In Lysistrata, a play written by Aristophanes and performed in Athens in 411 BC, the women of Greek cities withhold sex from their husbands to resolve the conflict with the Spartans, using their bodies to enact peace throughout the ancient world and ending the Peloponnesian War (Wasson). Lysistrata demonstrated how women can use their bodies as a source of power and how men continuously misinterpret this power, which they reduce to mere sexual transactions devoid of intelligence and wisdom. In this paper, I will delve into the use of the female body and dance in political unrest, showing how women have reclaimed ownership of their physical power and use their bodies to pursue justice. Throughout history, dance has emerged as a profound form of rebellion within male dominated spaces, offering a unique avenue to reshape societal perceptions and instill a fresh worldview. As an art form deeply rooted in physical expression, dance serves as a potent vehicle through which individuals take ownership of their bodies, challenging established norms and redefining cultural narratives. I will explore how dance, in two cases of political unrest, becomes a transformative tool, imparting new perspectives and fostering empowerment by reclaiming agency over the body.
To understand the basis of dance as a form of activism, there is a need first to demonstrate that the body, in its simplest form, is resistance itself. This is what the feminist scholar Silvia Federici establishes in her essay “In Praise of the Dancing Body.” Federici argues that the body holds the power to act and to transform, as it is “a ground of resistance;” it can therefore unleash this power through the movement of dance. (Federici). Federici’s theory revolves around the concept that the body, particularly the female body, has been a site of struggle and resistance throughout history, especially in the context of capitalist exploitation and patriarchal control. The body has the ability to recognize exploitation consciously or subconsciously, and in this skill lies the body’s inherent power. Federici explores how dance becomes an available tool for seeking justice and understanding the exploitation of the body.. She argues: “for dance mimics the processes by which we relate to the world, connect with other bodies, transform ourselves and the space around us. From dance we learn that matter is not stupid, it is not blind, it is not mechanical, but has its rhythms, has its language, and it is self-activated and self-organizing. Our bodies have reasons that we need to learn, rediscover, reinvent” (Federici). Dance allows us to understand the history of oppression as well as the steps necessary to achieve change. In analyzing Federici’s argument, I believe our power is within ourselves, and understanding an empowering one’s body provides a path to justice. In areas of exploitation and human rights violations, dance is rebellious because it disrupts the established power structures. Furthermore, since the body is common to all, it’s a place of mutual and deeper understanding. As Sherry Shapiro asserts in “Dance as Activism: The Power to Envision, Move and Change” the body, because it is common to all, can “disrupt the familiar;” the act of dance, therefore, contains a “transformational possibility” (Shapiro 10).
The intersectionality of gender and ownership is represented in Michele Alexandre’s “Dance Halls, Masquerades, Body Protest, and the Law: The Female Body as a Redemptive Tool against Trinidad’s Gender-biased Laws.” Alexandre opens her research with a powerful quote: “Male domination of the female body is the basic material reality of women’s lives; and all struggle for dignity and self-determination is rooted in the struggle of actual control of one’s own body” (Alexandre 177). As Alexandre claims, ownership is rooted in a society driven by men. For women whose bodies have always been the sight of exploitation, dance provides an access to a much deeper bodily autonomy.
The transformative power of dance lies within its ability to deconstruct gender power dynamics, as we shall see in the two examples I study here. Kristie N Smith, in “Dance for Development: Uyghur Women in the Chinese Diaspora Creating Self-Empowerment through Dance,” researched how Ugyghur women reclaim power in a suppressive state. The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority group in China, residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Reports and investigations by various human rights organizations and governments have indicated severe human rights abuses against the Uyghur population by the Chinese government. There is evidence of the erosion of Uyghur women’s religious, sexual, and reproductive rights. In 2011, Uyghur Women were forced to remove their “veils, either hijabs, niqabs or burkas, in the name of China’s ‘Project Beauty’ campaign” (Cawte 1). In 2021, the BBC reported that the camps, disguised as a form of “re-education,” subject the women to systematic rape. Allegedly, each night, women were removed from their cells to be sexually abused and electrocuted, which can be read as a corollary to China’s One Child Policy that has empowered new intrusive ways of birth control. There is no system in which women can speak against these horrific acts due to fear of further torture or potentially being placed back into the re-education camps. At the center of the abuse, lies Uyghur Women’s reproductive rights, stripping away any ownership of their bodies down to the ability to reproduce.
In her research, Smith discovered the active use of dance for women to self-empower and share dialect within the community. Efforts by China to erase cultural beliefs have left the Uyghar community at a loss. This study established the impacts of dance in political unrest and the ability of dance to reclaim power, subsequently creating a dialect for justice. In this harsh reality, dance emerges as a powerful form of political resistance, a defiant assertion of identity and empowerment. Smith’s work emphasizes how dance becomes a critical tool for Uyghur women, not just for reclaiming control over their bodies but also for preserving and asserting their cultural identity. Through dance, these women rebel against the Chinese government seeking to erode their heritage, viewing it as a means of defiance against cultural suppression. In an interview conducted by Smith, Uyghur women said dance serves as a unique form of storytelling, allowing them to channel their narratives through movement. As the “re-education” camps are trying to silence the Uyghur population, women channel a new form of language using dance. Further, the women’s ability to spread cultural knowledge offers another avenue of reclamation of power. Smith upholds this claim saying that women are the “primary transmitters of cultural knowledge within their community” (Smith 15). As nurturers, teachers, and caretakers, women embody the essence of cultural transmission, and dance becomes a potent medium for them to express, preserve, and disseminate their culture. It’s through this expressive method that Uyghur women find a pathway to resist the erosion of their heritage and reclaim their sense of self amidst societal pressures to assimilate. As their culture and bodily autonomy are under threat, dance becomes not just an act of resistance but a profound reclamation of power.
Women in Trinidad and Tobago, who face many different issues than Uyghur women, have incorporated dance into their everyday lives to disrupt accepted power dynamics. In Trinidad and Tobago, women face multifaceted challenges including economic disparities (such as unequal pay and limited job opportunities), societal pressures stemming from gender stereotyping and cultural expectations, prevalent instances of domestic violence, inadequate enforcement of laws protecting against discrimination, restricted access to reproductive rights and healthcare, underrepresentation in political leadership, and the compounded effects of intersectional discrimination, particularly for women belonging to marginalized groups. These issues hinder women’s autonomy and social agency, prompting ongoing efforts by activists, organizations, and the government to address and mitigate these discriminatory practices.
In response to this, women in Trinidad and Tobago have begun to use dance in everyday scenes; in dance clubs and neighborhood streets. Alexandre took notice of a woman’s use of dance as power in Trinidad:
In addition, she often uses the movements of her body to exert control over her male partner. For example, she might use speedy and strong hip movements to throw her male partner of balance. Consequently, we often see an inversion of the mating dance where the man be comes the hunted and the woman the powerful huntress. (Alexander 10).
If historically women in Trinidad and Tobago are the hunted and men are the hunters, these dances are used to transform and rewrite patriarchal society. With just the slight movement of the hips, women can reclaim agency over their bodies and invert the power dynamics. These everyday acts of dance have further created discourse in the community. As men are unaware of the suffering women endure, these dances, for better or for worse, create a conversation about what the women are doing and why. Dance is a transformative tool because dance does not know it is able to move beyond the past wrongdoings and tortures of women, and gives women the gestural agency to communicate their beliefs and establish their power.
Through my research, I’ve uncovered the profound significance of dance as a transformative force, a medium that transcends cultural barriers and serves as a tool for rebellion and empowerment, especially for women within oppressive social and political contexts. Exploring historical instances starting with Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, I found a recurring theme: the innate power of women is often misconstrued or confined within narrow perceptions, primarily revolving around sexual transactions. This perspective limited the recognition of women’s true potential, overlooking their intelligence and wisdom. Building upon Federici’s theories and Shapiro’s arguments, I’ve come to understand the body as a ground for resistance. Dance, arising from this understanding, becomes a means to challenge norms and power structures, offering a platform for the defiance of societal constraints. Michele Alexandre’s work shed light on the intersectionality of gender and ownership, emphasizing the fundamental struggle for women’s self-determination and dignity, firmly rooted in controlling their bodies. This resonates deeply, especially when observing the Uyghur women in China who, amidst severe human rights abuses and cultural suppression, utilize dance as a means of resistance and cultural preservation.
In Trinidad and Tobago, I observed how women harness dance in everyday settings to disrupt established power dynamics. Their movements serve as a tool for subversion, challenging traditional patriarchal roles and sparking crucial conversations about women’s experiences and societal constraints. In essence, dance is a language and a powerful expression of resistance, resilience, and cultural identity. It is a testament to the strength and determination of women, transcending geographical boundaries, asserting their right to self-determination and freedom through a universal language of movement and expression.
Bibliography
Alexandre, Michele. “Dance Halls, Masquerades, Body Protest, and the Law: The Female Body as a Redemptive Tool against Trinidad’s Gender-biased Laws.” Duke Journal of Gender andLaw Policy, 2006, 177–202. Web.
Federici, Silvia. “In Praise of The Dancing Body- RITONA.” A Beautiful Resistance, 22 August 2016, Web.
Hasenson-Gross, Mia. “What Uyghur Women Face and What You Can Do to Help Stop It.” René Cassin, 27 Sept. 2023. Web.
Shapiro, Sherry Badger. “Dance as Activism: The Power to Envision, Move and Change.” Web.
Smith, Kristie N. “Dance for Development: Uyghur Women in the Chinese Diaspora Creating Self-Empowerment through Dance.” Web.
Wasson, Donald L. “Lysistrata.” World History Encyclopedia. Web.
