Google the term “belly dance” and the first images the search engine offers are of white women in flowing, diaphanous skirts, playing at brownness. How did this become acceptable? The term “belly ...

As a dance that was created by women of color, is amenable to a wide diversity of bodies, and is often described by its disciples as "empowering" and "liberating" one would think that "belly dance" is ...

Egyptian belly-dancers Amie Sultan (C), Safaa Said (L), and Menna Emmam (C), full-time instructors at the Taksim Belly-dance Institute, take part in a rehearsal in Cairo. (Image credit: AFP) As belly ...