Beautiful and good woman: gender role negotiation among Taiwanese women who belly dance

Confucian values have strongly influenced gender stereotypes in Taiwan. Although socioeconomic change and the globalization of the culture industry have contributed to the construction of modern images of women as independent, feminine and beautiful, the traditional ideal has not been totally displaced. Contrary to traditional gender expectations, the display of the female body is exceptionally encouraged in belly dancing. Utilizing data collected from 21 experienced belly dancers in Taiwan, this study examines the conflicts that women face when taking part in belly dancing, but also how they merge belly dancing with ideal gender images without conflict. The results show that, whilst few of the women experience inner conflicts, some experience external conflicts, usually with family members. However, by viewing belly dancing as a leisure exercise, a frugal and natural approach to acquiring femininity and beauty, the participants sought to differentiate themselves from the ‘bad others’ to construct a ‘beautiful-and-good’ female image. More generally, we have sought to demonstrate that critical analysis of the physically active female body must always be cognisant of the specific characteristics of those societies towards which the research is directed.