Why don’t men learn to dance anymore?

I’ve always loved to dance. In fact, when my mom told me that before heading into sixth grade that I would be doing Cotillion I was super excited. Since I was a kid I have dreamed of living a moment during the time of Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice (minus the girdles) where dancing was a part of every occasion and everyone joined in. Unfortunately, I discovered quickly that the boys were not as enthusiastic about dancing as I was and when I did come across a guy who loved to dance and wasn’t afraid to twirl around the dance floor it was like finding a unicorn.

I first asked this question about 15 years ago as part of my research for a documentary film I was producing about whether men and women were really so different or if it was society that was predetermining our likes and dislikes and personalities. I was also preganat at the time and very interested in the fact that when I walked into Pottery barn kids the store was divided pink and blue and “girl” stuff and “boy” stuff. Before my baby was even born society and marketing were telling her what color she should like and that she should prefer a play kitchen instead of a firetruck.

From my research I discovered the the dissolution and abandonment of learning to dance as a male pas-time took at least a century to take hold. Ballet had been a men’s dominated sport before the advent of the stereotypical ballerina. Then in in the early 19

. I wanted to know women were drawn to some activities while boys were steered away and encouraged to Honestly, I couldn’t understand why more men didn’t want to be like John Travolta, Patrick Swayze and even Danny Kaye who not only killed on the dance floor in their movies looked like they were having a blast doing it.