Of course, inside the dance team is likewise a place where existing unequal social relations exist and even reproduce. First of all the differences between rich and poor, urban and rural, etc. are also manifested within the square dance team, for example, in some square dance teams with both urban and rural populations, the latter rarely become the leading role but are usually on the periphery. The square dance team is not a utopia where people with high cultural and economic capital are mixed with those with low cultural and economic capital. Therefore, the same social structure and segregation that operates in the current society is also reflected and operates in the square dance community.
But on the other hand, dance teams do shape new possibilities. A kind of camaraderie that cuts across the differences between rich and poor and even class can also be found in dance teams, and an alternative kind of social relationship that does not fully adhere to the rules of commercial society is also taking shape in square dancing. For example, in my survey, there was a "rich woman" who became good friends with a "dancer" from an ordinary background because she was touched by her optimism in facing cancer. In contrast to the positive energy of square dancing for its participants is the social stigma attached to the group. People refer to the not-so-young women who participate in "square dancing" as "big mamas," a term that is derogatory in the northern dialect, but which has now become synonymous with the image of loud, somewhat fat, and no longer sexy middle-aged and older women. Not only that, "square dance" and "square dance auntie" have become the regular "baggage" and joke material of many talk shows and joke programs, but also the way people talk about aunties and refer to square dance in their daily life. The way people talk about and refer to square dancing in their daily lives also illustrates the fact that square dancing mothers suffer from stigmatization.
Besides being stigmatized, being ignored is also commonplace. The author encountered a competition in the name of square dancing during his fieldwork, and the title unit hired a number of young dancers, including a few pregnant women, to perform belly dancing at the same time because it was worried that the square dance performance alone would not be attractive enough. In the ensuing media coverage and talk, the young women's performances became the center of attention, while the older women became a sporadic accent. After the competition, the leader of one of the square dancers said, not without sadness,
"What saddens me the most is that we thought this competition was really designed for us, but as it turned out, we're still doing it for someone else."
The somewhat bitter words are actually a true reflection of the marginalized position of square dance moms in society.