Christy Adair's "Women and Dance" addressed the subject of the influences of society on bodily behavior through dualism, 'the natural,' 'the essential self,' and 'the feminine.' Claiming that institutions such as the family and education have illustrated such influences, Adair said that these social constraints have limited the body in its potential. Physical education has also lost perceived value as people are sent contradictory messages of the importance of the body and of the mind.
             The contradictory messages we receive in society, said Adair, are illustrative of dualism, which concentrates on two independent principles of perception. Dualism in dance restricts the dancer with its notion that the body is separate from the mind. Instead of the body is merely an instrument, the dancer should think of himself or herself as a 'living body.' In this way, dancing can no longer be thought of as only physical training but must be considered a study of the body and mind as one.
             The body is also limited through the dual portrayals of women as either the virgin or the whore. Identified with the body, women have had to struggle with society's perceived notions that women could not be involved with such areas of study as politics and economics. While women are associated with the physical and men identified with the rational mind, both sexes have been restricted in their bodies' potential.
             The 'natural,' according to Adair, cannot be called natural at all due to the differences that exist in gender among various societies and cultures. Victorian England was considered as natural with men having superiority over women, while other cultures with less control over sexuality were thought of as 'primitive.' Yet the Victorian age was used to justify women's confined roles in society. Marianne Wex, said Adair, claimed that body positioning in men and women was influenced due to the ideas of a patriarchal society. Illustrated by photogr...