Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
This article is the result of ethnographic fieldwork among amateur dancers, mainly among gay adolescents from the outskirts of Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), who label themselves as “flexible”. This self-definition arises out of bodily flexibility techniques, cultivated through intense physical work. B...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-02-01
|
| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/2/72 |
| _version_ | 1797396518879100928 |
|---|---|
| author | Maycon Lopes |
| author_facet | Maycon Lopes |
| author_sort | Maycon Lopes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article is the result of ethnographic fieldwork among amateur dancers, mainly among gay adolescents from the outskirts of Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), who label themselves as “flexible”. This self-definition arises out of bodily flexibility techniques, cultivated through intense physical work. By focusing on specific training situations, such as stretching exercises, I trace understand how the “flexible” body is built. I propose that the language mobilized by these young people offer an important guide to understanding the distinctive elements of this practice. The practitioners’ accounts and my own observations of the practice indicate that the embodiment of acrobatic skills occurs in a process that weaves body and environment. Following Ingold, I argue that an ecological approach help us to comprehend this kinesthetic practice as spatial realization, as well as providing useful insights into its learning practices exploring the richly sensory dimension of learning practices and development of motor sensibilities, such as the sound and the imperative pain experience. Furthermore, I analyze how my interlocutors’ concept of body fits the theoretical idea of how bodies should not be defined by what they are, but rather by what they are able to do. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:51:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-60f416ae93124bb0acf69a9503a69dcc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:51:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-60f416ae93124bb0acf69a9503a69dcc2023-12-11T17:08:13ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602021-02-011027210.3390/socsci10020072Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, BrazilMaycon Lopes0School of Philosophy and Human Sciences, Federal University of Bahia, Estrada de São Lázaro, 197-Federação, Salvador 40210-730, BrazilThis article is the result of ethnographic fieldwork among amateur dancers, mainly among gay adolescents from the outskirts of Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), who label themselves as “flexible”. This self-definition arises out of bodily flexibility techniques, cultivated through intense physical work. By focusing on specific training situations, such as stretching exercises, I trace understand how the “flexible” body is built. I propose that the language mobilized by these young people offer an important guide to understanding the distinctive elements of this practice. The practitioners’ accounts and my own observations of the practice indicate that the embodiment of acrobatic skills occurs in a process that weaves body and environment. Following Ingold, I argue that an ecological approach help us to comprehend this kinesthetic practice as spatial realization, as well as providing useful insights into its learning practices exploring the richly sensory dimension of learning practices and development of motor sensibilities, such as the sound and the imperative pain experience. Furthermore, I analyze how my interlocutors’ concept of body fits the theoretical idea of how bodies should not be defined by what they are, but rather by what they are able to do.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/2/72embodimentapprenticeshipLGBTQ youthdanceleisuregymnastics skill |
| spellingShingle | Maycon Lopes Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil Social Sciences embodiment apprenticeship LGBTQ youth dance leisure gymnastics skill |
| title | Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil |
| title_full | Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil |
| title_short | Learning Body Techniques: Dance and Body Flexibility among Gay Black Teens in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil |
| title_sort | learning body techniques dance and body flexibility among gay black teens in salvador de bahia brazil |
| topic | embodiment apprenticeship LGBTQ youth dance leisure gymnastics skill |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/2/72 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mayconlopes learningbodytechniquesdanceandbodyflexibilityamonggayblackteensinsalvadordebahiabrazil |