Dance Movies, T.V. Shows, and Costumes

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age..." -Titus 2:11&12

I read a wonderful article a couple weeks ago on Focus on the Family's website that was sent to me one morning in an e-mail by one of my pastors. It was about how people's views shift over the years because we are becoming more acceptable of sexuality in our nation. The focus was on the film Dirty Dancing and the T.V. show Dancing with the Stars. When Dirty Dancing came out, there was a lot of shock value in it. People were going wild over the idea of a teenager with an older mature man, the grinding in the dance (which keep in mind as well that this film was based in the 60s, but came out in the 80s), and the sensual provocative imagery.

The television show Dancing with the Stars is one I saw a few years ago a few times while visiting those who enjoyed the show and had to see it. It is quite shocking to see what some of the women wore.  They were very open and very low in the back. The fabric was extremely tight fitting and the skirts were so very high. There were bellies and cleavage everywhere. One of the outfits looked more like a skimpy bathing suit that would be modeled in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition magazine, Maxim magazine, or Victoria's Secret catalog. It doesn't help that when they dance with their partner there are sexually suggestive body movements and lots of hand placements on body parts. People watch these things saying, "It is beautiful! It is artistic!" but it is also something that is erotic and will entice young people and arouse people. I remember getting a little nervous while watching the show and eying down my husband with a raised eyebrow. Most of the time he didn't pay attention to it, but I was pregnant and feeling unattractive, and here he was watching these toned female bodies prancing about sensually. I do admit that some of the dances were gorgeous (when clothed! I liked those! because they were really fun to watch and without the distraction of their bodies being exposed). It got to the point where we made sure we would leave those we visited before they watched this show.

While we watch certain films and T.V. shows, we tend to make excuses for why it should be "okay" to view them. We say things like, "dance is a form of expression and art. There is nothing wrong with expressing yourself!".  It doesn't help that today in the dance scene, young girls are put in costumes that make them look like 20 year olds more than 12 year olds.  Some of them will happily dress similarly outside of the dance studio or stage. They grow up being the excuse because their parents allow it to be excused, therefore finding nothing wrong with it.

We are able to express ourselves, but there are ways to do it without being showy. I remember someone once told me that certain dances reminded them of sex, so much so that it was arousing. When I attended a Protestant middle school, many young boys were excited to see girls do dance routines in Chapel because they'd see the form of the girls-wearing less than t-shirts and pants, as they were used to seeing their classmates in.  I saw The Nutcracker ballet in the city as a teen, and it was absolutely stunning, but I remember hearing people snicker with glee when they'd see the guys prancing about in their revealing costumes, so this applies for not only females dancers but for male dancers and female viewers of dance.

I absolutely adore watching different types of dance. It is beautiful, but the way it is done and what is worn can twist our perspectives of right and wrong. There are some dances that are known to being more dressed than others (mainly various cultural dances). One problem I have is that when you go to even these modest dance competitions, there are young girls getting undressed or dressed right in front of you. I went with my husband (who was my new boyfriend at that time) to watch his sister perform Irish Step Dancing competitions.  All around me I saw these girls walking around half naked and their parents putting their dresses on them here and there in the open, or other girls getting out of there dresses once they completed dancing. There were teen girls walking around in underwear! Men and boys were present! I loved watching the dancing, but there was no way you couldn't help but see what was right there. My husband was 17 at the time and there were some 14 year old girls running around in hardly anything, maybe even some our age. That is not comforting to any girl who just started to date the boy of her dreams, especially not knowing he had a lust problem, as most teen boys have!

The public high school I attended put on these dance shows every single year where there would be two teams that girls and boys in every grade were placed on if they signed up to be involved. I was a senior when I attending these dances for the first time (since I never participated). The boys and girls would dress together in the same locker room. I went in a locker room at one point to visit my friend and sister-in-law who were on the same team. There were girls undressing everywhere around me. Then there were the boys slowly getting dressed (all seemed to have pants on, but most were shirtless). I watched their eyes lurk around. They were having a great time seeing girls in their bras and panties. It was probably heaven for them. Of course when asking the girls how they could be a part of that environment (keep in mind I was very immodest at this time myself but was appalled) they made it seem like it was okay because the boys were "well behaved". If high schools have dress codes and also allow opposite sexes to change together, that is definitely going to send mixed messages. Why even bother with different locker rooms as it is in that case? We in society are very acceptant of what goes on and what our kids do or see. If my child were involved with such a show they'd have to dress at home! Do parents really even care about the well being of their children and to protect them from harm anymore?

My question to you is how much are you going to shrug off? How many films or shows do you think you should like less because of the sexual content or outfits?

[photos taken from here and here]