I’m not describing an imaginary theoretical utopia. I’m describing an actual social institution that used to exist. It’s called a dance hall and the pairings are called partner dancing. There are many varieties, including waltz, swing, and salsa. Dance halls used to be the place young people went to hang out [and find mates].
I thought young people still did that, although the outward forms have changed over the years. They call it “going out clubbing” and the “dancing” is unstructured writhing without formal organisation into pairs, but it serves the same purpose. But the music, whether recorded or live, is too loud for polite intellectual conversation, so it selects for people who have none.
Where do jefftk’s posts about playing the music for dance events fit into the cultural milieu? Is that scene only a small niche in the larger scheme of things?
In my experience, going out clubbing is a very different, asymmetrical experience compared to partner dancing. You can quantify this objectively by measuring the equilibrium gender ratios. Popular clubs are constantly trying to get more women into the club and restrict entry by men. Unpopular clubs tend to end up with a gender ratio where men outnumber women. In this way, the unbalanced gender dynamics are similar to dating apps.
As for jefftk’s posts, I believe he writes more about contra dancing than partner dancing. Contra dancing is awesome too. I love contra! However, while contra dancing is still really good for meeting opposite gender people compared to most of modern atomized society, contra isn’t quite as ruthlessly optimized for that target as partner dancing is. Instead, contra dancing loses a little bit on the romance side of things to buy a really strong community.
I thought young people still did that, although the outward forms have changed over the years. They call it “going out clubbing” and the “dancing” is unstructured writhing without formal organisation into pairs, but it serves the same purpose. But the music, whether recorded or live, is too loud for polite intellectual conversation, so it selects for people who have none.
Where do jefftk’s posts about playing the music for dance events fit into the cultural milieu? Is that scene only a small niche in the larger scheme of things?
In my experience, going out clubbing is a very different, asymmetrical experience compared to partner dancing. You can quantify this objectively by measuring the equilibrium gender ratios. Popular clubs are constantly trying to get more women into the club and restrict entry by men. Unpopular clubs tend to end up with a gender ratio where men outnumber women. In this way, the unbalanced gender dynamics are similar to dating apps.
As for jefftk’s posts, I believe he writes more about contra dancing than partner dancing. Contra dancing is awesome too. I love contra! However, while contra dancing is still really good for meeting opposite gender people compared to most of modern atomized society, contra isn’t quite as ruthlessly optimized for that target as partner dancing is. Instead, contra dancing loses a little bit on the romance side of things to buy a really strong community.