One of the things that still amazes me the most about living in the UK is the strange conception of political correctness that people seem to follow. I thought it was more a matter of what you can or cannot say to people, but that this day and age, and particularly through a medium such as contemporary dance, you could say what you wanted when you went onstage.
Yes, a very idealist thought, as I've found out.
I recently created a piece for a student platform called 'Ain't No Closet Big Enough'- a piece about the desire to be straight when you're gay, in a nutshell. The first part of the piece had a text from a Spanish gay author, which talks about cruising and the first time he was kissed by a girl, who happened to be Asian and 'a bit morbidly obese'.
I was very happy with the result, and got a lot of positive feedback- people loved the piece and laughed all the way through, at which I was very surprised, as I thought much of the text- particularly the cruising bits- were a bit sad.
After such good reactions to it, I was in a bit of a high, when I was suddenly stopped in my tracks. I was told that there was a reference in my text that could have been read as very offensive, and that I had to be very careful with.
I ran through a list of the things I thought could have been offensive, and came up with:
- 1. The use of the words 'fuck', 'tits', 'fiercely pointing nipples', 'sperm'...
- 2. Suggesting that all gay men go cruising in dark parks
- 3. My slightly mysoginistic approach to women (within the context of the piece)
- 4. A display of violence against women when I pushed one of the female dancers and threw her on the floor, whilst smiling.
- 5. Dressing one of the other female dancers like an 80's hooker.
The list could go on, as the more I thought about it, anything, if you wanted to read it that way, could be offensive. But none of these seemed to be the problem. Where I messed up was by saying that the first girl who kissed me was 'Asian' and 'morbidly obese'.
Before I go on, I just want to say that I am extremely sorry if anyone was offended by these two words, I have absolutely nothing against Asian or morbidly obese people, and the point of the piece was not, in the least way possible, to make fun of them.
Apparently, the Arts Council is endeavouring to create all sorts of performances that reach out to all races and unite them and the whole nine yards. Which of course if a beautiful thing to do. And which in turn makes my reference to the unsuccesful kisser something completely banal.
But I wonder: if the girl had been, say, Spanish and morbidly obese, would there have been so much trouble?
And I am not in any way comparing races but I do find that the actual thought of thinking that saying 'Asian' and 'morbidly obese' is offensive is actually more racist than going onstage and saying it. Are we not, by having to walk on eggshells when it comes to particular races, making the divide even bigger? I have seen numberless references and jokes about Spanish and gay people in the UK- onstage, TV, everywhere- and never have I been offended, because within the context of humour you need to understand references for what they are- jokes.
And that brings me to another point: why was it only offensive that I mentioned the Asian girl, and not that I implied that gay men like to and are destined to go cruising, or by depicting women purely as sexual beings, or by throwing a woman around the stage? Is it only particular races and physical conditions that deserve this sort of propiety? Is it alright to be as offensive as you want to the gay community and women?
This has been a very discouraging experience. For once I went onstage and spoke about something that was real to me and, in many ways, heartfelt. I communicated with my audience and we had a good connection. And I am told off for it, which makes me think that I should perhaps go back to the abstract contemporary dance that has very little to say.
But I can't see that as the way to go. It may be a matter of the place where I am now- and their views on what dance artists should or shouldn´t express- but for me, contemporary dance is about contemporary life, about bringing out what is inside and around you. I see absolutely no point in exploring time and space endlessly, as we seem to be asked to do. I don't care about either of them, but I do care about my self and what I experience. And it seemd like people would rather watch my insides than my exploration of two abstract concepts which our beloved Merce and Trisha already did to the point of exhaustion.
My conclusion: political correctness is an incredibly ironic thing that applies only to some and leaves many out, and is a perfect way to censor individual voices.
