Child ballet students and men. Putting the gender identity of apprentice dancers to the test

Of Petits rats and Men. The Trouble with Boys’ Ballet Students. Based on a study about Paris Opera Ballet students and their families, this article questions the role of gender to understand how boys become ballet dancers. Because classical ballet is considered a girl’s activity, young boys engaged in professionnel ballet school are in a complex situation: on the one hand they are facing social stigma related to the transgression of the gender order, on the other, they take advantage of their atypical calling. The research shows that responding to a dancer calling requires to negociate the gender identity for which social and familial conditions play a decisive role.