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Many of the sentiments in this thread I couldn't agree with more! I'm a white man and I dance..but I wear Northern Traditional MEN'S clothes. The one question I had in my mind when I read your very first post was "WHY?" WHY would you want to cross dress? Sure, there are switch dances at powwows, but that's mostly a novelty..and I know some people don't look upon that favorably.
Like me, you're white. You already take the chance of "ruffling feathers" just by donning regalia in the first place. You take that chance because this is not your native culture. You are asking to be accepted as a guest in this circle. Just as when you're a guest in someone's home, you don't offend your host! Pardon my french, but why in the HELL would you even THINK of doing something you KNOW has such a high liklihood of ruffling feathers, as you put it?
The rule of thumb I tell non-indian people interested in dancing to attempt to stay as "middle of the road" as they can get. I say this all the time concerning dancing and clothes....just because you see one or two people doing something, doesn't mean you should do it, too. This is not your culture...You're a guest here. You should try everything you can to not step on toes.
If you want to dance, find one of the women's styles that inspires you, research the dance and regalia, put the clothes together to the best of your ability, and dance to the best of your ability. Show respect to the style, those with whom you dance, and those that came before you.
Like me, you're white. You already take the chance of "ruffling feathers" just by donning regalia in the first place. You take that chance because this is not your native culture. You are asking to be accepted as a guest in this circle. Just as when you're a guest in someone's home, you don't offend your host! Pardon my french, but why in the HELL would you even THINK of doing something you KNOW has such a high liklihood of ruffling feathers, as you put it?
The rule of thumb I tell non-indian people interested in dancing to attempt to stay as "middle of the road" as they can get. I say this all the time concerning dancing and clothes....just because you see one or two people doing something, doesn't mean you should do it, too. This is not your culture...You're a guest here. You should try everything you can to not step on toes.
If you want to dance, find one of the women's styles that inspires you, research the dance and regalia, put the clothes together to the best of your ability, and dance to the best of your ability. Show respect to the style, those with whom you dance, and those that came before you.
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