Artistic Sublimation and Vulgarism in Tango

Humans are able to draw on common nature or essence of things and abandon their individual and non-essential property in order to formulate a transcendental concept. For example, in the minds of men, the word "woman" refers not to a specific female person, but an abstract idea, as Carlos Gavito put it, "She's a dream of something I want in real life, but that ideal does not have a face." Abstract thinking is one of the things that separate us from animals. While it may lead to generalized biases such as racism, it is also the origin of art. Beauty, after all, is an abstract concept. We take common properties of all women to formulate a goddess with perfect face, figure, curves, hips, legs, softness, flexibility, temperament, character, intelligence, sexuality, fertility, etc., - an ideal lover, companion, partner, friend, wife, and mother of human offspring (see The Conceptional Beauty of Tango).

In fact, desirable features are often highlighted. Statues of women usually have exaggerated curves, fuller breasts, narrower waist, wider hips and longer legs. Such abstraction is found in nearly all artistic expressions. We read even in the Holy Bible such verses, "Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle." (Song of Songs 7:3) "How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights! Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit." (Song of Songs 7:6-7) The woman echoed, "I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment." (Song of Songs 8:10)

Tango as an art form is in line with the holy words, which sublime our common humanness rather than vulgarize it. A culture that separates decent humanity from vulgarism and endorses the former, I believe, is more civilized than that equates the two and disapproves both. Innocent intimacy between the sexes is human, moral and beautiful. This idea has been accepted by the public, attested with tango. Tango women need to know that using their femininity to attract, please and bring contentment to their male partner is part of their role in tango (see Close Embrace and Open Embrace (I)).

The same is true for men. As Perri Lezzoni wrote in his essay A Little Machismo Goes A Long Way, "One of the most difficult things leaders have to learn is how to put some machismo into the tango connection. The tiniest amount will do but exuding it without offense is not easy. It is the most important spice in the stew; without it there are no women and without women there is no tango... Machismo is the expression of a person’s inner warrior and it is not solely manufactured by men. It is the fighter inside of us that the follower finds so alluring."

Men must understand that what makes us attractive to women is the making of us, our manhood, masculinity and machismo, not political correctness. Women like to rely on our broad shoulder, melt in our strong arms, feel our muscles, admire our strength and enjoy our protection. It is of their nature to seduce us, get our attention, arouse our hunger for them, and submit, surrender and follow our lead. Using our masculinity to support, protect, lead, comfort and bring contentment to them is an essential part of our role in tango (see The Gender Expression in Tango).

The innocent intimacy and playfulness of tango serves our common humanness, fulfills the innate human desire for connection, quenches our thirst for affinity and affection, and strengthens the bond between the two sexes. Despite the criticism that tango is a politically incorrect dance by those who promote a "sanitized version" featuring open embrace and gender neutrality, their claim that tango enhances gender inequality and sexual harassment contradicts the reality. Tango dancers all over the world can testify that though an intimate dance, tango is not sexual. Like ballet, figure skating and other similar art forms, tango is an artistic sublimation. Moral defenders are either outsiders who know nothing about tango, or hypocrites with dubious intentions. Instead of blaming tango, they should get to know the dance first. They should understand that good manner is the first card people play in tango, that nobody will dance with you if you show no respect for others, and that bad behavior will not be tolerated by the tango community, so the "sanitized version" is superfluous. (See Tango and Gender Interdependence.)