clevermanka (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clevermanka) wrote2004-07-28 09:38 am
clevermanka) wrote2004-07-28 09:38 am
Uncomfortable? Or pissed? I'm waffling.
Last night I discovered an ugly piece of information. I knew that the Renaissance Festival administrator types decreed a couple years ago that they would not hire bellydancers for the Smoker (a special pay event where you got a turkey leg, 2 beers, a cigar, and a short bellydance show) unless the women submitted a full body photo with open costume that showed their figure. In other words, they didn't want fat, ugly chicks dancing the smoker. That angered me, but I could understand management's reasoning. They didn't want to pay for a dancer that nobody wanted to watch. I might not like the politics, but I understand the economics. However, last night I was told that RenFest management specifically uninvited the dancers from a certain neighboring city from participating in the Middle Eastern weekend because the girls were "too ugly".
Now, let me be clear: the bellydancers you see performing for Middle Eastern Weekend (or Caravan Weekend or Sultan's Treasure or whatever bullshit name management thinks won't scare off the xenophobes) do not get paid for our two days out there that weekend. We come and dance because we want to share something that makes us happy. And for some of us, show off the kick ass costumes that we don't get to wear very often. We are not under contract, we're out there for only one weekend, and we do not have anything to do with the script, nor do we interact much with the regular performers. We're there to dance for that one weekend. If we're lucky, we get one comp pass for each day of the weekend. That's it.
But now, there's a group of dancers who don't get to do even that anymore because they don't fit management's concept of what bellydancers should look like. This really really pisses me off. To the point where I'm having second thoughts about dancing this year. I love to dance and perform. But I feel like putting myself on their stage places me in the position of supporting the management who say No Fat Chicks.
I realize that there are a lot of assholes out there and my doing or not doing something doesn't change that. But do I want to, when it comes down to it, support their asshole-ness? I don't know. Just really don't know.
Dammit.
Now, let me be clear: the bellydancers you see performing for Middle Eastern Weekend (or Caravan Weekend or Sultan's Treasure or whatever bullshit name management thinks won't scare off the xenophobes) do not get paid for our two days out there that weekend. We come and dance because we want to share something that makes us happy. And for some of us, show off the kick ass costumes that we don't get to wear very often. We are not under contract, we're out there for only one weekend, and we do not have anything to do with the script, nor do we interact much with the regular performers. We're there to dance for that one weekend. If we're lucky, we get one comp pass for each day of the weekend. That's it.
But now, there's a group of dancers who don't get to do even that anymore because they don't fit management's concept of what bellydancers should look like. This really really pisses me off. To the point where I'm having second thoughts about dancing this year. I love to dance and perform. But I feel like putting myself on their stage places me in the position of supporting the management who say No Fat Chicks.
I realize that there are a lot of assholes out there and my doing or not doing something doesn't change that. But do I want to, when it comes down to it, support their asshole-ness? I don't know. Just really don't know.
Dammit.
no subject
Back when I first joined LiveJournal, I remember a post you made (http://www.livejournal.com/users/chernobylred/32206.html if you're curious), were you talked about heckling a performer you didn't care for. You were of the opinion that it was acceptable to heckle a performer you didn't like. While the situation you described in your previous post is different that the subject of this one, one could extend your previous argument to say that you would also consider it acceptable for patron to make vocal comments about dancers they found unattractive, but it's not acceptable for the festival management to set standards for the performers they cast in their show.
I have to agree with Denise that IF dancers were not invited back to perform due to their body type, it more than likely has to do with patron feedback, or at the very least perception of patron desires. Whether or not a group or individual is performing for free or not, is totally irrelevant. For most of us, the cost of doing the renfest far exceeds whatever compensation we receive. Certainly, very few patrons are going to know (or care) which performers are volunteers and which are paid.
I felt I needed to comment on this as I found your ire over the required attractiveness (if any) of the belly dancers to be at odds with your opinion on heckling.
no subject