Project Plié: Bringing Color To Ballet’s Corps

Project Plié: Bringing Color To Ballet’s Corps

As we begin our reading of Susan Bordo and analyzing the cultural construction of beauty and disciplinary practices involved, a timely reminder about the ways beauty is not an “ideal” to which all can aspire, at least not until we expand the look of and spaces for what is considered Beautiful. Case in point,  persistent lack of diversity in classical ballet’s professional troupes. And, one woman’s (dancer Misty Copeland’s) determination to catalyze a cultural (mind)shift in ballet…

NPR (September 27, 2013)– If you’ve ever attended a ballet performance, you may have noticed the lack of diversity on stage. But a new initiative,Project Plié aims to bring some color to the art form. Guest host Celeste Headlee learns more from dancer Misty Copeland and American Ballet Theater CEO Rachel Moore.

 

Highlights of Trans People making the News in 2012

Highlights of Trans People making the News in 2012

2012 International Trans Year In Review

Trans people around the world broke ground and made headlines in 2012. Monica at TransGriot has collected her list of highlights from the international Trans Community.

“X: A Fabulous Child’s Story” by Lois Gould

“X: A Fabulous Child’s Story” by Lois Gould

One of the most iconic works of the unisex era is Lois Gould’s short story, “X: a fabulous child’s story”, a tale of an “Xperiment” in gender-free child-raising. It first appeared in Ms. in 1972, and was expanded into an illustrated children’s book in 1978. (The Gender Centre in Australia has the story online.)  An interesting way to consider how issues of gender norms and raising a gender neutral child have changed in the 40+ years since this book’s initial publication and how they haven’t.