One of the scenes in this unit that displays the dynamics between masculinity and femininity

is Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ Dancing Cheek to Cheek. This clip was filmed in the
early to mid 1900’s, the Golden Age of Hollywood. As the text states, “Astaire and Rogers’s
virtuosic, expert performance appealed to the hearts and minds—and wallets—of people
living through the insecurity of the Depression.” The film and theater industry thrived by
giving Americans an escape into the ideal, unproblematic, and often romantic lives of
musicals. The content of the films also reflected the cultural negotiations of the time, in
topics like race, patriotism, and as this Astaire and Rogers scene displays, gender. By this
point in history, women had the right to vote and were making their way into the workforce.
This started to evolve the definition of femininity, but very slowly. The ideal, feminine woman
was very much still beautiful, polite, and refined. This is exactly what Rogers embodies in
the movie clip. She is quite shy, but wouldn’t dare deny Astaire when asked to dance. As
they start to sway around the party ballroom, she is reserved in both her emotions and her
physical movement. She lightly grasps her partner's hand and shifts her weight from foot to
foot to the beat of the music, always following where he leads. As for Astaire, it is his job to
embrace the masculine role in this dance scene. Men were expected to be strong, both
mentally and physically, in charge, and of course, charming. He persuades Rogers’ shy
character to dance with him, and instantly turns on the charm, sindiscussionging to her
about how wonderful it is to be dancing with her. He leads each dance move, and eventually
leads them away from the crowd. Is only when they glide along to an empty dance floor do
they begin to dance more skillfully. This more private setting is where the romance starts to
blossom, as it would be inappropriate to show that type of emotion in public, according to
social norms. As they whirl around the room, she clings to him for stability as she is thrown
into a dip or twirled many times. They also dance side by side, gently holding hands, lightly
tap dancing and playing with balance. However, they always end up in the same stance
where Astaire leads and Rogers relies on him. This is a representation of the belief that
women had to rely on men in that society, and that men were in charge. Richard Dyer even
goes so far to say that such dance scenes “insist on the correlation between gender and
power, men relishing having power, women luxuriating in surrender.” However, whether or
not this was the message that this clip intentionally aimed to display is not clear. The
relationship between masculinity and femininity in dance is certainly a fascinating and ever
evolving topic.