So You Think You Can Dance Gender Representation

Since approximately the early 2000s, reality television has been a staple on most networks in many countries. There are numerous categories within this genre, including docu-soap, competition, makeover, and paranormal. While not all series are the same, most share one identical principal: they are not truly reality. Many edits go on behind the scenes, actors are cast to fill specific roles, and sometimes scripts are written in order to enhance the “storyline”. This may seem contradictory, but it is necessary in order for the shows to remain on the air and for the networks to earn more revenue. So You Think You Can Dance is a Fox-produced competition style reality TV show in which the viewers vote to choose “America’s Favorite Dancer”. Contestants audition and must go through various rounds in order to prove they have what it takes, allowing the audience to get invested in their backstories and progress through the season.
In order to examine to examine the various cultural codes found within So You Think You Can Dance, I looked primarily at season 12, the most reason season. Since the format was “Stage versus
First, during season 12, Hailee and Jaja performed a jazz pieced centered around women’s’ empowerment and embracing femininity. It went very well with the chosen song, “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves, which says that women have a voice in society and should not always be given the “victim” stereotype (“Jaja & Hailee”). In contrast, JJ and Kate’s routine about the sexy pin-up girl persona consisted of revealing costumes, immature choreography, and was degrading for the female dancers to perform. The song, “A Different Beat” by Little Mix, may have been discussing independence and freedom from conformity, but the dance showed anything but that (“JJ &