AGEISM IN TANGO - Women and ageism: a real problem, but there are ways around it. Guest: Melina Sedó

AGEISM... oh, boy. So, I posted a really interesting collaboration with Robin Thomas, a man who has been either brave enough, or (in his own words:) stupid enough to publicly discuss some really awkward tango topics, and his take on ageism blew up a perfect storm of clicks, likes and comments that were partly supportive but also sometimes very critical, even harsh. You can find a link to Robin's popular, yet controversial video below... Now, someone suggested to me that I should also invite a woman to talk about ageism, and specifically about how women perceive ageism and maybe also how they talk about it among themselves. To give you some background: I think it's pretty safe to establish that women suffer more from being judged on their looks, which means age can work to their detriment, and make it hard to compete with their younger rivals. So, I decided to contact Melina Sedó, a famous teacher with a lot of experience, to see whether she wanted to say anything about this topic. It turned out that Melina discusses the issue of ageism quite often with her friends and with her students, and she felt like she could definitely bring up a few more points beyond what Robin already said. Looking back now, I think it was a great decision to contact Melina, because this video will offer you a rather comprehensive overview of the issues women in tango face because they are judged more on age and appearance than men, and at the same time, Melina also sustains there are many different ways to improve your outcomes in tango as a woman and avoid getting stuck in a victim's mindset. All in all, Melina is a joy to listen to and I like her positive and constructive way of addressing an issue that is probably more complex and nuanced than most people think. She does this not just from the "helicopter view" of a teacher who wants people to improve, but she also relates it to her own, very personal difficulties as a social dancer in the past. And last but not least, she surprised me by raising an interesting point about ageism apparently working against older women in the teaching business, which is something I had never thought of, but following her explanation, it makes a lot of - unfortunate - sense. Age is surely a messy factor in society, after all. 0:00 Introduction 2:56 Melina & Detlef actively mixing age groups at their events 7:44 Ageism is real, but you can influence your outcomes 10:51 Let's face it: ageism is worse for women 15:50 But DON'T blame ageism for everything: strategies to have a better time as a woman in tango 22:57 Women, there are many awesome female leaders you can dance with 28:54 Managing expectations, so that you can feel happier in tango 32:22 Ageism against female teachers in the tango business... SUBTITLES: Automatically generated - but corrected - subtitles are available in many languages. Previous video about ageism with Robin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hcQNMhwC_M