# are ballet dancers really gay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589 "2003-01-04T10:36:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/1 "2003-01-04T10:36:28Z")
After watching “Billy Elliot” we had a group discussion on whether male ballet dancers are predominantly gay. In my youth (as in the film) any boy doing ballet would have been labelled a “poof” and would have had a terrible time. Are there any ballet artists out there who could , or any reliable stats? My suspicion is that ballet is largely hetero, but would be interested to know. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/2 "2003-01-04T10:37:36Z")
bad preview "…who could inform us… ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/3 "2003-01-04T11:04:22Z")
A female choreographer-dancer that I knew said that about half of the male dancers she knew were straight. ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/4 "2003-01-04T12:48:48Z")
From first hand? \duck and run\> ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/5 "2003-01-04T13:57:25Z")
How much of it is due to straight men who could be fantastic dancers being scared off by being considered homsexual? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/6 "2003-01-04T19:05:06Z")
I suspect that the the theatre and performing arts naturally attracts people of a certain flamboyant nature, which was also a safe haven in the past for gays who would have been outcasts in any other profession. I don’t know whether that is so true any more, which is why I posed my question. ---
**Author:** ![Payne\_N.Diaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Payne\_N.Diaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payne_N.Diaz)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/7 "2003-01-04T20:54:20Z")
Something I heard about hairdressers, and I suppose ballet dancers as well, is that when you are working in close proximity with someone, you tend to pick up their mannerisms, etc. So hairdressers, and by extension, dancers, who work with women all day long, would unconsiously start to model their behavior. This makes the males look more effeminate, whether they are actually gay or not. I bet I hear about this one… ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/8 "2003-01-05T02:11:22Z")
" are ballet dancers really gay?" Nope, just the gay ones. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ballet-dancers-really-gay/146589/9 "2003-01-05T02:23:56Z")
As an aside, the proper term for a male ballet dancer is danseur. I learned this from a (definitely straight) friend who does ballet.