ABSTRACT
In the flamenco tradition that has emerged with new vigor since the 1950s, men have typically done the singing while women have handled the dance. The very fact that a verbal activity has been staked out by men whereas women have specialized in non-verbal movement, should be enough in itself to raise concern about exaggerated gender dimorphism in flamenco. Like the dance of a Greek rebetis, flamenco dance presents hypermasculinity with a 'brusque swagger' that serves as the 'potent image of masculinity'. In flamenco dance, the aggressive behavior of males is said to reaffirm patriarchy. As in so many other styles, aggressive postures and angry gestures help to create an 'abject masculinity,' a male style that represses all the intimations of a feminine oceanic consciousness. The flamenco dance that has been so much a part of Andalusian cultural life for the past century and a half, reveals linkages to its larger social context.
