Yes! Real men dance-which comes as quite a relief to this man who spent hundreds of hours in front of a mirror mastering the dance steps to the Temptations' 'My Girl.' And they always have danced-from mining camps to tea lounges, army bases to discos. Combining deft historical excavation and discerning interviews, Maxine Craig shows men hogtied by an ideology ... Read moreof masculinity that leaves them barely able to sway against the wall. Her book will help them heed the urgings of so many singers, from Sly Stone to David Bowie. Let's dance.
Michael Kimmel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, SUNY Stony Brook
Rich with insight, Sorry I Don't Dance maps the ever-shifting field of dance and movement, its entanglements with race, sex and sexuality, social class, the meaning of American patriotism, and morality. Craig draws together a range of materials that permit both historical analysis of masculine dance practice and a fine-tuned analysis of the everyday landscape of contemporary men and masculine embodiment. A sensitive investigation of a complicated topic.
Amy Best, author of Prom Night
For anyone who has tried to get a man to dance, Maxine Craig shows how a man's refusal or acceptance has little to do with his would-be partner and much to do with how he was raised, in what communities and time period, and whether he experiences dance as threatening or enhancing his masculinity. Craig weaves together sophisticated analyses of the race, class, gender and sexual dimensions of embodied performance with evocative and eye-opening stories and interviews.
Miliann Kang, author of The Managed Hand
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