Guest Article: Cordisco & Saile LLC; a law firm that is dedicated to helping victims of child sex abuse. Below is an excerpt from an article they wrote about protecting children from Sexual Abuse. Preventing Child Sex Abuse The responsibility to protect children from sexual abuse falls to all adults around them, including counselors, teachers,
Guest Blogger: Tamara Kelly Hyper-sexualization and porn addiction are two issues that are becoming increasingly prevalent in our society. The hypersexualization of women and children in media and advertising has become so normal that it is often not even noticed or questioned. This has led to a culture where women and children are objectified and
Guest Article: Artem Maksimenko Childhood is a time of innocence, exploration, and discovery, and this should extend to all areas of a child's life, including dance. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend toward the hypersexualization of children in dance. As parents, educators, or concerned adults, it's essential to understand how to
Guest Article: Erin Sanchez How can we ensure as teachers that we create healthy environments for young dancers who want to dance as a professional career? I believe that all of us who are working with dancers have a responsibility to create environments that will not only protect them from harm but will also give
“It changed; this is what you are wearing now” the assistant said… “It was me, by myself. I had no one to advocate for me… So, I cleaned myself up, wiped away my tears and went out and did a show” (Chand, 2021). Consent. It is a concept that has always been and continues to
Growing up, I learned to split the light and dark sides of life. My conscious self lived in the light, while my unconscious self lived in the dark. Because no one in my conscious life spoke of this darkness, I too learned to never speak of it and ultimately to forget it entirely. I was
At the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation USA (NCOSE) 2021 Conference, Mary Bawden, Founder of DA:NCE, presented a talk called ‘Healthy or Harmful Dance: What Do the Experts Say About Hypersexualization?’ At the 2022 Conference, Mary Bawden spoke on a panel about ‘Wholesome to Hypersexualized: What Happened to Children’s Dance’. Our friends at NCOSE generously
I started dancing at the age of four in the 1970s and I have been a dance educator since 1991. Becoming a parent of young dancers in the early 2000s allowed me to revisit the dance studio environment with new insight and inspired me to conduct research on contemporary trends in dance training for children
Guest Bloger: Heather Harrington “I would have put myself in a better position if I had just worn red lipstick,” explains Kayleen Babel (2021) who gives advice for trying out for college dance teams on her YouTube channel. She later explains that make-up and hair are part of your appearance score, and that you should
My first in-depth experience with the internet began at 13 years old. For years I would watch my friends play online games and I was annoyed with my parents for not allowing it until I was mature enough. But finally, they said yes to a free game online and sat me down to lay some
