Every culture has some way of putting bodies on display through dance. An obvious argument is that this is a display of sexuality. And it most certainly is. However what it is displaying is not always direct sexuality, but instead, fitness for every aspect of raising progeny.
Granted, there are forms of dance that get right to the root of sexuality. African tribal dances display a very pronounced hip thrust that can only be interpreted as a statement of how well the dancer can do the nasty. This has spawned “twerking” which was popular for some time. And now music superstars try to see how much farther they can take it. How close can they display the sexual act without actually doing the sexual act on stage?
But those are the exceptions. They represent only a small portion of what can be called dance. The rest is far more subtle in it’s sexuality and display far more than a direct sexual invitation.
I pay attention to my own male reactions to female biomechanics. For me seeing a woman move well using Shou’ Shu’ principles is extremely excitatory. More so than watching a woman skillfully dance. Fortunately for me, my wife is a very skilled martial artist. I am likely highly biased in this area. I think that is at least in part that I can see the subtleties of motion whereas most cannot. However, I know other men are the same in this reaction. There are far to few women who can move in this way to know if the reaction is universal. Or at least evident among a subset of men. So, for now, it has only been observed among a few.
Attraction to strong women is certainly not unique to men skilled in the fighting arts. We can look to the popularity of movies with these “Bad Ass’ women characters. Laura Croft of Tombraider is an example. My personal infatuation with Eliza Dushku in Dollhouse is revealing. My observation is that this attraction is more evident among young men and juveniles.An even more popular character is the subserviant woman. Diving into the reasons for this are far beyond the scope of this book. I only bring this up to point out that there is a sexual attraction, at least in some men, towards strong women. A portion of this comes from nurture but it seems to me that a portion also comes from nature.
Lately, I have been fascinated by shuffle dance. Made popular on the Tik Tok platform this dance has been popular with young women. Although the girls that are performing these dances are quite young and beautiful, I notice that that is not what captivates my attention. Yes, initially my eyes are drawn in by the allure of a sexual hip motion. But that is only the initial signal to watch. It’s like a sign that says watch what I can do. After that initial moment it is the footwork that thrills me. The hips get my attention but it is the skillfulness of the dance that keeps it.