Opinion: Men Who Ogle Belly Dancers

This is an opinion piece, and I hope you'll use the opportunity to jump in and voice what you think about the issues I've raised! Please use the "Start A Discussion" option at the bottom of this page to make your own views heard!

Prior to January, 2001, there used to be about a dozen clubs on Yahoo that served as a gathering place for men whose erotic fantasies centered on belly dancers. They filled the photo album section of the club with photos of belly dancers, most of which were taken from dancers' web sites without their permission. They used the message board primarily to make arrangements for exchanging homemade copies of videos featuring belly dancers.

Eventually, some activists from within the dance community provided the right kind of information to Yahoo to document the fact that the primary activity of these clubs involved theft of intellectual property (copyright violation), and based on their efforts Yahoo shut down all these clubs.

That has touched off a series of interesting discussions within the dance community. Some of the questions that have been part of the debate:

• Does it do any harm if men collect photos of attractive belly dancers that they can ogle?
• What if those photos are collected by going to dancers' web sites and copying them to post elsewhere on the web?
• What if the men go to shows featuring belly dancing and shoot their own photos, then post those on the web for their colleagues to admire?
• What about online clubs/forums where the message boards are used primarily for the purpose of making arrangements to make copies of videos featuring belly dancing?
• What about men who discuss their erotic fantasies involving belly dancers?

Here are my own thoughts, and I hope you'll make your own opinions known in the discussion area here at Suite101.

First, I don't see any harm in men who admire attractive belly dancers. I've been known to admire attractive shirtless construction workers. It's human nature to admire attractive individuals of the opposite sex.

However, I DO have a problem with theft. Stealing pictures from dancers' web sites and posting them in a Yahoo club without first getting their permission is a Bad Thing. And making homemade copies of dancers' videos to swap with friends is a Worse Thing.

A new Yahoo club has arisen called Belly Dance Photo Gallery which is intended for men (and women) who want to admire pictures of belly dancers, but this one has a rule: a dancer's permission must be obtained before her picture is posted. The tag line on the home page says, "No Nudity. No Crude Language. No 'Fetish' Crap. Violators shall be ejected." I respect what this club is aiming to do. There are dancers who'll want to promote themselves by sharing their pictures in this club. There are others who'll prefer not to. I respect how its founder has positioned it.

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