Ever Thought that Ballet Shoes Could be a Symbol of Racism?

Welcome back to Fifty Shades of Nude!

Okay, I'm going to ask you do close your eyes for a moment and image a ballerina. What is their gender? race? What does their outfit look like? Now keep that in mind as I explain how ballet has upheld institutional racism through dance.

I searched "ballet shoes" on safari and went to images... this is what I found.

This screen-recording speaks for itself in all honesty.

Since the death of George Floyd the BLM movement has brought to the surface many different institutionalized 'norms' that uphold systemic racism... everywhere. Once again the term 'nude' is not an applicable term to be used when it comes to ballet shoes (and from the premise of this whole blog... it is not an applicable term to use in general because nude means white). The traditional color of ballet shoes is pink because "traditionally" the ideal color of a ballerina is white. Pointe shoes are what make ballet, ballet. They are help the dancers navigate through complex turns and jumps that make up the art of ballet. Ballet is possible because of these pointe shoes and has been since the 1500s.

Because ballet has been dominated by white dancers, pointe shoes were strictly made for white people forcing black ballerinas to cover their shoes with makeup or paint. Not only are black ballerinas getting mistreated and underpaid because of the color of their skin REGARDLESS, they also have to deal with something as simple as the shade of color of their shoes marginalizing them more.

To some people this may seem like a small issue, or that its not that big of deal... but no matter how 'big' or 'small' something may seem to the average person, you never know how enormous that minute issue may have on someone else... always have to keep that in mind.

That being said, when women of color are forced to wear "traditional" pointe shoes when performing with other "traditional" ballerinas, they look off place or not as professional as the white dancers JUST due to the color of their shoes not blending with their skin tone.

This can have many many aversive effects on those women's careers!! Just. because. of. the. color. of. their. shoes.

Since the uproar of the BLM movement following the death of George Floyd has shed light onto this issue and have evoked change within the ballet community... thank god. Black ballet dancers have been heard and because of the BLM movement Bloch and Capezio, major ballet shoe companies, are launching pointe shoes of darker shades (as soon as this fall). This is largely because of social media and women sharing their hardships within the industry. These companies took action because of petitions, some with over 300,000 signatures, that have been shared all over social media. Once again, it is shocking that it has taken over 500 years for this to happen, but it IS a STEP in the right direction.

One very important thing that I would like to mention is that this happened largely due to social media and individuals taking TWO minutes out of their days to post to their instagram stories and sign a petition.... That being said, please understand that YOU can have such an important impact in sparking change, and its so east. One post can lead to a chain reaction of post which can lead to action!!! So like!! Comment!! SHARE!! SIGN!! VOTE!! Your voice matters, your opinion matters, and YOU matter.

-HV