Text Ning Fan
PhD candidates explain the most thought-provoking proposition in their thesis. This time it’s Helena Donner, who received her PhD on 23 September for her research on aphid endosymbionts in nature and agriculture.
‘I have been passionate about ballroom dancing for eight years and am involved in the Wageningen Ballroom Dance Association (WuBDA). I have lessons there and during my PhD I started teaching the beginner classes. Ballroom dancing is for couples, with a leader and a follower. Traditionally, the leader is a man and the follower is a woman. In student competitions, there is no rule about who should lead or follow. Men often lead, but it’s not mandatory, and both same-sex couples and switched couples compete. But in official competitions, such as those organized by the Dutch Dance Board (NABD), the rules specify that the couple must be a man and a woman, and the described steps for the leader are named ‘man’s steps’ and those for the follower ‘lady’s steps’.
‘One common explanation is that the follower should ideally be shorter than the leader, and women are generally shorter than men. However, my own (male) dance partner, for example, is shorter than I am, showing that height differences are not a valid reason to impose such rules. This regulation, in my view, is not only outdated but also sexist. In some sports the distinction between men and women is relevant because of the difference in muscular strength, but this is not an issue in ballroom dancing, which is mainly about technique, creativity and expression. By enforcing these old-fashioned rules, we miss the opportunity to make ballroom dancing a truly gender-inclusive sport.’
