Thesis
Expressing, liberating, and celebrating the sexual body: dance, performance, and sexual wellness in dance/movement therapy
Master of Arts (M.A.), Drexel University
Jun 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001971
Abstract
This culminating project is a journal article manuscript exploring the role of dance and performance in liberating, expressing, and celebrating the sexual body as a way to create space for sexual wellness in dance/movement therapy (DMT) practice. Despite the inherent relationship between sex and the body, it has been observed that sexual wellness is rarely explored within the DMT setting. Negative cultural attitudes towards sex have contributed to sexual shame and repression, especially among women and queer individuals, as well as minimized sexual health as an important aspect of holistic wellbeing. While knowledge and research exist on using DMT to support healthy sexuality, it exclusively focuses on the internal and using the body to promote interoceptive awareness. This project explores how the creative, expressive, and performative elements of dance can contribute to the development of healthy sexuality in women and queer individuals by providing opportunities for actualization of the sexual self, through the moving body. It also discusses implications for DMT in utilizing choreography and performance as therapeutic tools to advance discussions of sexual wellness within the therapeutic setting. This journal article manuscript was written in accordance with the submission guidelines for a commentary article in the American Journal of Dance Therapy, with the exception of missing criteria for number of references.
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Details
- Title
- Expressing, liberating, and celebrating the sexual body
- Creators
- Bianca I. Schemankewitz - Drexel University, Drexel University (1970-)
- Contributors
- Sherry W. Goodill (Advisor) - Drexel University, Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- iv, 52 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Creative Arts Therapies; College of Nursing and Health Professions; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021872801104721