How Upholding and Teaching a Comprehensive Understanding of Consent Protects Our Children from Coercion and Exploitation
“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 […]
Beneath the Surface of Hyper-sexualized Dance in Children
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 […]
Healthy vs. Harmful Children’s Dance
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 […]