MANY are the new dances spawned in recent years by the age of rock ’n’ roll music. They tend to last a short time and are soon replaced by others. Though fast dancing is preferred by some, others like the slow kind in which the man and woman dance together, holding each other. Among youths in some lands so-called “no touch” rock dances have become popular, the partners not actually touching but making a variety of movements.

“NO TOUCH” DANCING

In virtually all rock ’n’ roll dances done by youths, the partners do not touch. The twist is viewed by many as having been the beginning of this type of dancing. An interviewer for Look magazine reported awhile back:

“The characteristic dances of our new age of revelry are all variants of the twist. . . . The dancers do not touch, they do not talk. . . . Each does whatever charade the name of the dance calls for. . . . They look as if their bodies are screaming.

“‘It’s a kind of fertility rite, designed to combat the sterility of modern life,’ says a young medical student, asked to account for his generation’s dancing style. But this is fertility magic without bodily contact. . . . A student nurse . . . says, ‘It’s sort of sexy . . . all those bodies grinding, but never touching.”’

Though rock dancing varies considerably, the movements in some of them are thus similar to those in fertility dances, and the effect can be the same. To the extent that any modern dance is an imitation of the erotic gestures of some pagan dance, then Scriptural principles would rule it out for Christians, since God’s Word warns against “shameful conduct” and “things which are not becoming.” (Eph. 5:4) Christian women are counseled by God’s Word to dress in a modest manner and to display “chaste conduct,” principles that also apply to the conduct of men. (1 Pet. 3:1, 2; Titus 2:4, 5; 1 Tim. 2:9) But many of the “no touch” rock dances are hardly modest or chaste.

It is important to keep in mind that it is not necessary for physical contact to take place for persons to have their passions aroused. Simply observing the movements of dancers may well excite passionate feelings. In particular, the male is powerfully affected in an erotic way by what he sees. That is why almost all pornography is sold to men. Hence, a young girl may not realize that dancing without touching can stimulate a young man tremendously, yet it can.

When there is fast rock dancing, with attention focused on an area of the body where the reproductive organs are, the girl may actually think it is inoffensive. Yet she is laying herself open for trouble. She may think that nothing is happening, but the boy’s passions may be whipped up, and he may want the girl in a sexual way.

Therefore, a girl should consider what kind of attraction a boy may feel for her. Is he attracted to her on the basis merely of the sexual arousal he gets from her? But he can get this pleasure from lots of other females who dress in tight clothing, gyrate their hips, and make various erotic gestures. So a girl needs to ask herself: Do I want to attract a man simply on that basis? Or do I want the kind of man who likes me for what I am? for my conversation? for the things that I feel are important in life? Am I interested in the kind of man who takes pleasure in doing things for me, or only in one who likes me for what he can get from me?

Some Christians may find enjoyment in dancing; but when any dance involves immodest behavior or is sexually suggestive (highlighting erotic movements of the breasts and hips), then they wisely avoid it, instead of feeling that they ought to follow the crowd. (Rom. 12:2) Some may laugh at you because you do not go along with the crowd, but the important thing is that you have a good conscience toward God.​—1 Pet. 4:3, 4.

EFFECT OF MUSIC

Another thing to consider is the effect of some rock music. Concerning rock music, High Fidelity magazine said:

“No wonder parents flip at rock​—sex is a cornerstone of the rock mystique, . . . ‘Let’s spend the night together’ urge the Stones, and their manager cynically states, ‘Pop music is about sex, and you’ve got to hit them in the face with it.’ Which raises the disturbing question, how much of all this is deliberate pandering to adolescent awakening physical desires?”

The dancers to such music may say that they do not listen to the words of a song; ‘they just dance.’ But if the words are immodest or immoral, or verging on such, these thoughts are still impressed on the youthful minds. In fact, the dancers can often repeat the lines they profess not to listen to. But it is not just the words of such rock music that at times goes beyond the bounds of modesty; it is the effect of the music.

Recently a researcher for the United States President’s Commission on Pornography made a study of what arouses the sexual feelings of young girls. In her study, this authority, Mrs. Patricia Schiller, found that young girls are often sexually aroused by pop and rock ’n’ roll music, especially when they are with boys. She said: “Music, by playing on girls’ emotions to arouse love and affection, frequently serves as a catalyst for love and thereby a stimulus for sexual arousal in the adolescent female. . . . The music surfaces this feeling.”​—Denver Post, July 23, 1971.

So youthful Christians need to be careful as to the kind of music to which they dance. Since females, more so than males, are affected by what they hear, this is particularly important advice for them. Rock music that stirs up passionate feelings or incites to wild abandon is something that wisely should be avoided if they desire God’s approval.