Sexism in Ballet
- Amelie Zosa
- Dec 23, 2022
- 8 min read
While the origin of ballet traces all the way back to the 15th century, today, ballet has remained one of the most elegant and influential art forms. Famous ballets have been adapted into movies, songs from famous ballets are easily recognizable to the common ear, and many children passionately dream of being ballerinas when they grow up.
Some examples of “balletcore” outfits, courtesy of NYLON
It is undeniable that ballet is mainstream, especially with the rise of the “balletcore” aesthetic on social media, a style that aims to emulate the world of ballet and ballerinas by capturing their clothing style, grace, simplicity, and overall femininity. However, the lesser known fact is the hardships ballerinas face on a daily basis. Ballet is often viewed as an extremely delicate art. There is something breathtakingly dainty about it that forces the audience to forget they are watching real people, not mythical beings. Possessing this quality, of course, is ballet’s intention. Ballet strives to look effortless, to be whimsical and pretty without any indication of struggle. It is the ability of ballerinas to uphold this painless facade so well that causes the over-romanticization of ballet, hence, the popularity of “balletcore.” People forget how difficult ballet is, and how hard ballerinas work to create the illusion the audience grows accustomed to. Professional ballerinas train tirelessly for long hours each day to fabricate the image other people ask of them. Ballerinas are often viewed as clay to be molded, rather than as real, authentic people, imposing a pattern that directly parallels the objectification of women that has occurred since the beginning of mankind. In realizing this unfortunate reality, it is easy to understand the overlap between sexism and ballet.
Courtesy of Dance Data Project
According to Dance Data Project and the New York Times article “Do Men Still Rule Ballet?”, “At the largest 50 ballet companies in the United States, 71 percent of artistic directors from founding to [January, 2022] have been men” (Fuhrer), even though most ballerinas are women. Even in female dominated industries, men still find a way to come out on top.
It is true, as many may argue, that femininity is highly celebrated in ballet, rather than put down. Yet this veracity does not mean that the appreciation of femininity and avid sexism cannot coexist. It is in putting a man’s idealistic version of femininity on a pedestal that reinforces the belief that women are more like pretty, delicate objects to be constructed by men than flawed, but strong and hard working, human beings. Although ballet is largely associated with high femininity, sexism continues to be an extremely prominent factor in the classical dance industry, as its companies are filled with mostly female ballerinas led by primarily male artistic directors who enforce constrictive body standards on women, push strict gender binaries, and celebrate misrepresentative stories of damsels in distress.
Witnessing a dance performance is a visual experience, and thus, many who have fatphobic beliefs incorporate the shape of a ballerina’s figure into their evaluation of the ballerina’s skillfulness in ballet itself. While initially this may not seem like a product of sexism, the body standards for dancers are more often targeted towards women than other genders, though this is not to say fatphobia does not exist for men and those outside the gender binary. In any case, ballet requires all dancers to be incredibly strong, yet female ballerinas are expected not to exhibit muscle. They are not permitted to appear “masculine” in that way, and instead are expected to be very thin and fragile-looking. These expectations are completely unrealistic based on how women’s bodies are naturally shaped, and how ballet trains them to be.
All people, including ballerinas, are born with very different body types, and to force them all into one blueprint of what society thinks they should look like enforces toxic frames of mind. The New York Times article “What is a Ballet Body?” notes that in ballet, “Weight, with its bulk and bulges — including, yes, breasts — …can interfere with a seamless, sculptural quality [that ballet is meant to have]… Ballet is subjective; what looks good, what becomes a kind of standard, is set by the company director — typically a man, and a white one at that” (Kourlas). This is yet another example of men telling female ballerinas who they should be. The natural shape of a woman, which, for many, includes flesh and breasts, are especially visible in the standard female ballet uniform: a figure-hugging leotard and tights. The more curvaceous, weighty, or muscular aspects of women are found to be unacceptable by many company directors, as these attributes are seen as contradictory to the graceful nature of the art form. The belief that the muscles that they worked for and the bodies that they were born with are good enough to carry them through life, yet are not good enough for ballet, diminishes many ballerinas’ confidence, establishing insecurities. Some women take drastic measures to fit the “ballet body,” eating an unhealthy amount less than what their bodies require, proving that attempting to maintain a body type that is unnatural for one’s body can be detrimental to one’s health. Body standards are sexist and extremely damaging in a variety of different ways, which is especially apparent relating to ballerinas and ballet.
Left: women en pointe, courtesy of Turning Pointe School of Dance
Right: male ballet jumps, courtesy of Classic FM
Furthermore, ballet in itself pushes to enforce the gender binary, assigning very different, prejudiced roles to men and women in ballet. These roles are not only very specific and nearly opposite of each other, but they are based on the belief that women are weaker than men. Aside from having different dress codes, the gender binary has women and men dance stylistically in very different ways. Women dance daintily en pointe, seemingly weightless as they balance dangerously high on the very tips of their toes, demonstrating the epitome of poise. Men engage in powerful jumps through the air, asserting their great and obvious strength compared to that of women. Ballet is not friendly towards genders outside of the gender binary, as it does not have a specific assigned role for them.
A classic pas de deux, courtesy of George Balanchine Trust
A staple of classic ballet is the pas de deux, a French phrase that means a dance for two. Most pas de deuxs consist of one man and one woman. In the vast majority of cases, the man plays the supporting role in the dance, potentially lifting the woman up into the air or holding her by her waist to stabilize and assist her as she turns. This ascendancy reinstates the idea that men are physically stronger than women. The role is reserved for men to display their strength and produces a dynamic that puts men in a position of power over women, as they are the main support controlling the woman’s every move. In a pas de deux, without the man, the woman would fall. The implications this relationship gives do not put women in a positive light, as they claim that women need men in order to be successful. Women are not given the opportunity to perform the supporting role, and instead are required to dance with the assistance of a man. Sara Komatsu of The Harvard Crimson explains that “these positions that dictate female visibility on stage are once again ultimately controlled by men… As dance critic Alastair Macaulay considers, is the male partner behind the ballerina ‘serving her or controlling her?’” (Komatsu). Despite ballet giving women a platform to perform beautifully, it does not let them exist without a man to lean on. The roles assigned to each gender in ballet are inherently sexist and reinforce stereotypical beliefs about the different capabilities of women versus men.
Additionally, ballets are stories, and the stories told often portray women in a negative light; they often include women that are beautiful, but weak, they are of high status, but they need the help of a man. Unlike some other dance forms, ballets are structured similarly to a movie, or a play. Through a sequence of many dance numbers, ballets follow storylines, complete with characters and plot. Though it is not uncommon for ballet companies to perform newer, modern ballets, they often stick to the older, more traditional ones.
Death scene in Giselle, courtesy of Opéra national de Paris
Unfortunately, the majority of the most traditional and widely recognized ballets, which are often considered “romantic” tales, frequently portray women as utterly reliant on a man’s love or guidance for stability: in Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadère, and many more, women die as a result of their inability to be with their beloved, commonly diagnosed with a “broken heart.” These classic ballets are centuries old and remain widely untouched by modern choreographers, despite their degrading portrayals of female dancers. They tell stories of women dependent on men, as if women are simply overly sensitive and compliant, with none of their own character or willfulness.
Many artistic directors of ballet companies choose to preserve these ballets by performing them exactly as they were danced when they were first created, in order to keep with tradition. Thus, these stories of feminine longing and helplessness continue to be the markers of the classical ballet genre. Alastair Macaulay argues that the lead female characters in ballets, especially those by famous choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910), “although doing far more of their ballets’ dancing, lead lives shaped by their men. Such was the late-19th century world that Petipa knew, in which few women shaped history or were allowed to create important art of their own” (Macaulay). Because the most famous ballets are so extremely outdated, the sexism laced throughout their storylines is far from hidden. The women in ballets cannot live their lives without men. The women in ballets are dramatic and uncomplicated. The women in ballets fall in love with men at first glance, and then die. In ballets, men exercise control over women in the storylines and during pas de deuxs. Though other ballets exist that tell tales of more equality, Petipa’s are by far the most popular. Female characters in famous, classical ballets, are without their own thoughts, ideas, or personalities in comparison to male characters, thereby spreading a narrative contradictory to how women operate in the real world.
The ballet industry faces sexism to as big or more of an extent than every other industry, despite its feminine complex. The very nature of ballet is an endless cycle of praising women and putting them down. In many cases, female ballerinas are only celebrated when they comply with exactly what society wants from them, rather than when they are true to themselves. Women are shamed for not fitting a body type unnatural to them, and are viewed as needing a man’s assistance both as themselves, the dancers, and as their characters in the ballets. The presence of women and femininity in an industry does not prevent sexism in the slightest. When the women and femininity present are there under an unjust man-in-power’s orders, sexism may even increase, especially due to the stereotypes many believe of what femininity means. Therefore, the sexism faced by female ballerinas in ballet is an extremely relevant, genuine issue to be combatted, and raising awareness for it only helps society do so with understanding and empathy.
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