Calling to the Gents

May 25th, 2013
contra, gender
I was recently at a contra dance where the caller would say "put her on the right" to remind dancers how they should end a swing. This is a call directed at the gents, but about what both people should do. At one point this was standard: if you look through old calling books you'll find that they're generally written with the calls addressing only the active gent. In the 1970s, however, the community norm changed. While this was controversial at the time, it's pretty much resolved now. If you're going to pick out one member of the couple to address with phrases like "put her on the right" you should sometimes pick out the other and say "put him on the left".

(I'll often say "end the swing with lady on the right", which has the same problem to a lesser extent. I should get myself in the habit of saying "end the swing with the gent on the left" as well.)

Comment via: google plus, facebook

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Look! A therapy technique people don't already know!

via Thing of Things May 14, 2025

Workshop House case study

Lauren Hoffman interviewed me about Workshop House and wrote this post about a community I’m working on building in DC.

via Home April 30, 2025

Impact, agency, and taste

understand + work backwards from the root goal • don’t rely too much on permission or encouragement • make success inevitable • find your angle • think real hard • reflect on your thinking

via benkuhn.net April 19, 2025

more     (via openring)