THAR 301-502 19th April 2017

Alaa Abdalla
Thesis and Supporting Sections

Men Dont Dance: Dance, Masculinity and Male Dancers in the Middle Eastern Culture

Outline:
Acknowledgment
Abstract
Introduction
Background Information About Involvement of Male Dancers Throughout history (in
the Middle East region)
View of the Relation between Homosexuality and Male Dancers: The Eye of the
Society.
Political, Religious and Cultural Reasons Behind the Prohibition of Male Dancers
Counter Examples: Stories of successful male dancers in the Middle East
Conclusion and Reflection
References

Details of Supporting Sections:

I) Introduction:
This research paper looks at male dancers in the Middle East region, and the dominant
perspective of associating male dancers with homosexual stereotypes. The researcher tries to
examine the cultural and political reasons behind that perspective, as well as following it to
the roots to know when did this view started to evolve. The researcher goes a step further to
argue against that perspective by giving examples of male dancers who challenged the
society and marked success.

II) Background Information About Involvement of Male Dancers Throughout history

(in the Middle East region):
To understand the case we are looking at, it is very important to study its history first.
In this section, the researcher is looking at the history of male dancers in the Middle East.
The researcher is trying to find whether male dancers were accepted from the society at one
point, or they were always rejected, as suggested by Shay.1 Also, this sections looks at the
different forms of dance that male dancers are involved with, and whether some of these
forms are more accepted from the society than others.

1
Shay, Anthony. The Male Dancer in the Middle East and Central Asia. Dance Research Journal 38, no. 1&2
(2006): 137-62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20444668 (accessed April 14, 2017).
 III) View of the Relation between Homosexuality and Male Dancers: The Eye of the
Society:
This section is to familiarise the readers from outside the Middle East Region on how
male dancers are regarded by the society, and how they suffer if they decide to go against the
norm and dance. It is important to note here that the problem is not always with the dance
itself, but with the lens that the society uses to look upon male dancers.2 This set the
perspective for the reader before moving on to the next section to know the actual reasons
that helped to form the society point of view.

IV) Political, Religious and Cultural Reasons Behind the Prohibition of Male Dancers:
This section discusses the reasons that helped forming the stereotype in peoples mind
about male dancers. There is more than one factor that contributed to that, including political,
religious, and cultural factors. There is not a single cause that can be pointed out, but
stemming support from Stravros Karayanni who is a scholar in that field, it can be pointed
out that the root of the problem was formulated by the government and they were the ones
who decided whether a certain performance was regarded as acceptable or not. Hence, they
affected the peoples point of view.3

V) Counter Examples: Stories of successful male dancers in the Middle East:

To challenge those who are against male dancers, the researcher will give the readers
examples of male dancers from the Middle East who succeeded and were admired by the
society. One example is Mahmoud Reda who is regarded by Egyptians as one of the greatest
dancers in its history.4 His name is marked on movies, theatre, and a band till today. Those
examples will help to encourage the society to rethink their perspectives and perhaps even
change them.

Side Note:
Some of the sections I included in the outline are of no use for this assignment (for
example, abstract, conclusion, and acknowledgment) as there is not an actual research paper
written. I only included them to make the structure of the outline looks complete.

2
Burt, Ramsay. The Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacles, Sexualities. London: Saqi, 1989.
3
Karayanni, Stravros Stravrou. Dancing Fear & Desire: Race, Sexuality and Imperial Politics in Middle
Eastern Dance. Waterloo, Ont: WLU Press, 2004.
4
Shay, Anthony. The Male Dancer in the Middle East and Central Asia. Dance Research Journal 38, no. 1&2
(2006): 137-62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20444668 (accessed April 14, 2017).