Dramaturgical Packet.

Sexuality, Modesty, and Dancing in 1930’s Ireland

Since women were viewed a symbol of sexuality, and dance was considered sexual in movement, the church deemed dancing as a sin, especially for women.  When referring to sexual matters and dance, there is a specific emphasis placed on the role of young women. Sex was viewed as a disease and sin which existed in the temptations of women’s bodies until it was appropriately part of marriage and procreation. Sexuality, therefore, had to be controlled through modest dress and restrictions on dancing. “Unless it was controlled, it would awaken the most grotesque animal passions.” (O'Connor). Women had to be careful in the way they both dressed and acted. The goal for unmarried women was chastity, poise, and modesty. This is very well captured in a scene in Brian Friel's play Dancing at Lughnasa, in which five sisters, “who have been working quietly and dutifully in the kitchen”, suddenly emerge from their seats into wild dancing when an Irish song begins playing on their new wireless set. One critic views this dance scene as a “metaphor for the threat posed to the social and sexual order by these women living in a household without 'real men" (O’Connor).