Sticks and stones………………

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but calling names can’t hurt me!”  - just one of those little rhymes that I recall from the playground. None of us really believe the chant. We mouth those words as a defense against stinging, spiteful words, especially when the words dig deep, carving a gaping wound.

Reading the “Course Reader  - Professional Ethics” -  the case study: ‘The Dance Class’ got me thinking as it is particularly relative to the questions I have raised in my blogs and my rationale towards my line of inquiry. This is a sceanario where the teacher belittles one dancer in particular throughout a lesson. I have witnessed this behaviour and been the victim of such behaviour many times at college. My personal view is that this behaviour is ‘bullying’ and is ethically wrong. However I thought I would seek the view of someone else who is a teacher as this may be my subjectivity here as I am particularly sensitive to bullying issues and could my view of what is morally wrong be clouded because it is my belief it is wrong?.

I discussed the issues with my mum who is a singing/piano teacher. She agreed with me that the teacher’s behaviour in this case scenario was unacceptable and morally wrong. Her opinion was,  
“Everyone has a right to be treated with respect and uphold behavioural standards by law and this should work both ways in a teacher/student relationship. It does not matter whether the teacher has good intentions behind what he says, it is how it is received by the recipient. The teacher’s attitude in the case study is bullying because it is degrading and humiliating to the individual. He is using his position of power as the authoritative figure of the group to be intimidating  and to gain control. By using demeaning behaviour to one in the group he is stamping his control on the whole of the group. He is therefore abusing his position of authority. It is very often the case in this type of scenario that the individual feels helpless to question or complain about the behaviour for fear of a rebuttal.” 

Ok back to the reader and Moral relativism?
 Moral relativism is concerned with the difference in moral judgements across different people and cultures -
    descriptive relativism points out that people frequently disagree over what is the most moral course of action
    meta-ethical points out that justification for moral judgements are relative to the traditions, convictions and practices of an individual group of people
    normative is the position that suggests we ought to tolerate the behaviour of others even when it is against our personal or cultural standards.

Bhikkhu Bodhi an American Budhist monk wrote:

“……. morality and ethical values are not mere decorative frills of personal opinion , not subjective superstructure, but instrinsic laws of the cosmos built into the heart of reality.”

My understanding then of this is whilst there may be a difference of subjective opinion about the methods used by the teacher in ‘The Dance Class’ in different cultures or religions, in reality the individual is protected by law.

My mum pointed me in the direction of the Equality Act 2010.
I checked out the Act on line; http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010.aspx
“The Equality Act 2010 provides a new cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.”

The Act replaced most of the anti – discrimination laws and  sets out in legislation that there is no discrimination in the workplace to anyone due to age, disability, race, sex, gender, religion etc and this includes direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation.
Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and with respect and any unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour in breach of those rules should be reported and acted upon.
 Interestingly The Equality and Human Rights Commission is producing statutory Codes of Practice on the Equality Act 2010.

Harassment is defined as “unwanted behaviour that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creates a degrading, humiliating, hostile, intimidating or offensive environment”. Under the Act, someone can complain about behaviour they find offensive even if it is not directed at them. So in our case scenario all members of the class are protected.

I wondered why then this type of behaviour is still particularly predominant in dance?

Back to my mum for her opinion again.
She said, “It could be historical. Behaviours are often carried forward and have their roots in the person’s own past. They could be cultural if a teacher has come from a different ethnic background as happens in the dance world. It is very likely that they copy the behavioural patterns they experienced as students themselves.They often don’t realise the effect their comments are having on the individual and just what distress they are causing. Most would be mortified if they knew they were making someone’s life a misery.”

She also told me a story from her childhood which she’s never mentioned before to me. When she was learning to play piano her teacher regularly tapped the back of her knuckles with a ruler if she couldn’t play her scales and arpeggios correctly. Whilst she doesn’t think this actually caused any long term psychological damage, just some very sore knuckles, it had the required affect that she practiced her scales like mad. She did assure me she did not carry this method forward to her teaching practice. We had a laugh about it because she said probably some of her students would take the ruler and hit her back these days if she even tried but back then it was an accepted way of reprimanding someone by piano teachers!.

Fortunately we now have legislation in place that protects children from that type of humiliation and abuse. However the point is not that long ago teachers could use physical abuse on students but now there are laws to stop that behaviour but what is relevant here is that using words and insults and constant negative comments can be equally damaging and often people forget that. Many people do not consider “words” are abuse.
 
This made me think again of Adesola’s comments to me on a statement I used in a previous blog. “............ embedded in my culture, geography and historical time and I have been influenced in my thoughts and opinions by my upbringing, my parents, peers, education and tutors and this all plays an important part in how I learn and the conclusions I draw from that information and any experiences." 

In my blog, “Professional ethics, morals and codes of conduct, traditional values and cups of tea!”, I discussed how I thought this statement related to me and how I was influenced by my traditional values and upbringing. Turning this around to focus on the behaviours of a teacher, they could well have certain methods within the way they teach that are embedded in their past that influences their behaviour towards their students? Are they only emulating their peers? Do they actually have an honest belief that it is the best way to coerce a student into being what they want?

 In the case of tutors I had, I know that is exactly what they thought. One was ex Royal Ballet and so had that ‘mind set’. They thought they were doing the best for their students – a genuine belief they were preparing us for the professional world. Is this ‘meta-ethical’? Does that justify the moral judgements as relative to the traditions, convictions and practices historically used in the dance world?

Someone who is bullied often becomes a bully. Behavourial patterns often repeat themselves. So is this ‘bully mentality’ way of demeaning dance students a way of achieving their dominance – ‘rankism’? A sort of “if it was good enough for me, then it is good enough for you” approach, ‘I survived and so will you”.  In the case study the teacher’s explanation of his behaviour is he is preparing the student for the real world. In my opinion this cannot be a justification for unethical behaviour.

The UK currently has no definition of bullying but there are laws against it in the USA.

Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus defines bullying as when a person is
"exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons." He defines negative action as "when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways".In the case scenario the student is repeatedly exposed to negative actions.

In the worst case scenario a person can be so dehumanised by the bullying that they can have a complete mental breakdown or even take their own life. In the film “The Full Metal Jacket” we see character Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence, an overweight, clumsy, slow-witted recruit who becomes the focus of the seargeant’s  attention for his incompetence and excess weight, making him the platoon scapegoat. He eventually becomes the model soldier but the effect has been that he has a complete mental breakdown, turns pyschotic and shoots his sergeant and then himself. An extreme example I know but it shows the effect of victimisation in it’s extreme.

My lines of inquiry are developing around promoting the health and well-being of the dancer. Methods of teaching that damage the self-esteem, confidence and morale of the individual can cause serious health problems such as eating disorders, depression, self harming, obsessions and injuries and in the very extreme mental breakdown or even suicide.

It seems to me that however much we promote healthier dancers through education on nutrition, health  and well being it is no good if there are no support mechanisms in place. Who do students go to when they are subject to inappropriate behaviour? How many colleges provide a free confidential counselling service? How many students would actually feel comfortable reporting a peer for inappropriate behaviour?

Many dancers/students who are subject to this form of harassment are in a minority and feel isolated, they begin to believe it is their own fault and they are a failure. Other students often don’t see the damage either. Certainly in my case after one particularly ‘bad hair day’ in a ballet class a fellow student said to me,  “Are you ok? All I could think throughout that lesson was thank god that’s not me. I felt so sorry for you !”  Others were indifferent, “It’s in your best interests!”, “You have to learn to toughen up!”.

I think that is the most frustrating thing about the dance world – there is an apathy to the problems, it is accepted this is the way it is and has been for years so “put up and shut up”, as we say in my part of the world. Many just submit to it!
Is this moral – relativism in it’s normative descrition  - which suggests we ought to tolerate the behaviour of others even when it is against our personal or cultural standards. Don’t we all have a moral obligation and responsibility to ensure this type of behaviour is not allowed to happen?

Despite vast improvements and the work of such organisations as ‘Dance UK’ to promote healthier dancers there is still a long way to go in embedding that in the profession and changing attitudes towards the body image of dancers, what is ‘perfect’ and how dancers are perceived aesthetically and how they are taught  – this I think is evident from the little bit of research I have conducted already and information I have got through the SIG and talking to outside practitioners.

It seems the dance world still finds this a very embarassing thorn in their side and are reluctant to open up and discuss that there are problems. Eating disorders in particular are one area of the dance profession that are still swept under the carpet – it’s almost like “he who cannot be named!” [Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling]


Mina (fellow BAPPer) pointed me to a very interesting article in the Daily Telegraph via the SIG –
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/8392840/Ballet-Girl-Kimberly-Jaraj-makes-weighty-pointes.html
“Kimberly Jaraj, the actress, speaks of the pressures at the Royal Ballet School, where pupils are regularly weighed. The actress, 22, who attended from the age of eight, says: "I never felt the pressure for being skinny, but other girls definitely did. They did weigh us frequently and they would say things to me like, 'Your mother's 5ft 6in and your father's 6ft, so why aren't you taller?' I'd think, 'How am I supposed to know?'. The smallest thing, like if you didn't have your little pink ribbon in your hair, you'd panic. They would tell you to sit out. You're in competition with your friends every day." She claims: "They didn't really warm to other ethnicities. They weren't that accepting of somebody who wasn't white or Christian.”
A Royal Ballet School spokesman says: "Students are elite athletes. The school is committed to ensuring that each student's fitness programme enables them to perform at their best and includes maintaining a healthy weight. The school welcomes students from all backgrounds. Pastoral care is a priority."


Excerpts from reports of the death of ballet dancer Heidi Geunther in 1997 –
“The death of a 22-year-old Boston Ballet dancer, Heidi Geunther, two years after Boston Ballet Company officials suggested she lose weight and six months after they told her she was too thin and should stop losing weight, has cast a shadow over the company and the ballet world.
Lola de Avila, who taught Guenther at San Francisco Ballet School for seven years until she joined Boston's second company in 1994, said Guenther did not need to lose weight at that point, "but in her last year here her body was changing when she became a young lady." De Avila remembered her student as ‘teeny, small-boned, and very energetic. She was very young, and her body was like a young girl's body’.
The newspaper said "several dancers said ballet members had become noticeably thinner as Holmes took over more and more duties from artistic director Bruce Marks." The newspaper alleged that "the [Boston] ballet ... acknowledged that Guenther, and several others, had been told that they must lose weight, especially if they wanted to dance principal roles.At 5 feet 3ins and 100 pounds, she wasn't truly emaciated, but everyone at the Boston Ballet had watched Heidi struggle a bit too successfully with the pressure to stay thin. "Please do not lose any more weight," company officials had urged the 22-year-old dancer in a written evaluation in January. On June 30, Guenther collapsed and died suddenly of apparent heart failure. The ballet company speculated that the death may have been ‘precipitated by an eating disorder’".
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_n9_v71/ai_19719650/


If you type eating disorders into Amazon.co.uk you get dozens of pages of  ‘kiss and tell’ books written by ex ballet dancers from elite companies all over the world who all tell the same story of  bulimia, anoerexia, obsession with body image etc . Are the schools/companies saying these are all false claims? There seems to be too much evidence to the contrary. Whilst a film like ‘The Black Swan’ is criticised for it’s lack of authenticity it has certainly got the dance industry in the news again and brings all the ‘issues’into the public arena again for discussion. Some feel it sets the image of ballet back 50 years [Deborah Bull ex ballet dancer Royal Ballet] but can the dance industry not recognise itself in the film to some degree even though many of the issues may be over exagerated for the purpose of Hollywood?  I mean the two leading actresses were required to lose 20lbs each  to be suitable to take the roles – doesn’t that say something in itself? Neither actress could be described as ‘overweight’ beforehand!


I have several friends who have mentioned to me in conversation a recent programme on Sky that featured the Birmingham Royal Ballet. I unfortunately missed the programme but maybe some of you caught it and can comment and give your views. Certainly the ladies at my Zumba class thought the girls were all skeletal and looked ill and despite the claims that ‘weigh ins’ do not take place they were shown as part of the daily routine as a way to maintain healthy weight? Another friend of mine who is a performing arts teacher said she thought they were all beautiful dancers but they didn’t look ‘normal’, they looked like children not young women.   


 I have contacted several outside practitioners involved in the dance profession and some ex and current students of dance and hope some of their views may help guide me towards my final line of inquiry. I am still waiting for replies to be able to reflect and analyse their views and I am currently designing a pilot questionnaire to use through the SIG and blog to see what those results reflect. If anyone has any comments on any of the above I would find other opinions most useful.
Perhaps a different ending should be given to the playground idiom ……. “sticks and stones may break my bones but please don’t call me names it could well destroy me!”   


Reference:BA Professional Practice – Course Reader 5 – Professional Ethics ( Middlesex University)
Equality Act 2010 - http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010.aspx
Wikipedia     -          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/8392840/Ballet-Girl-Kimberly-Jaraj-makes-weighty-pointes.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_n9_v71/ai_19719650/