cariously relived through the music.Another situation where the type of music being played greatly affects how your actions are perceived is at a dance club or a party. This past Thursday I studied the actions of many people at a popular dance club in Austin. The next night I observed the actions of others at a party. The actions of most of the people were similar at both places. At both places, the connecting element seemed to be the music. Inside a dance club or at a party, it is not uncommon for perfect strangers to engage in very provocative dancing. Many of the dance moves exhibited in these situations are extremely sexually suggestive. The rhythm of the music is one of the causes for this behavior. Many of the songs played at these places contain repetitive, pulsating tempos that resemble the tempo of sexual intercourse. Thus, the dance moves are concentrated around the hips and torso areas. There is a culture that is associated with much of the music in clubs and at parties. This culture involves, among other things, promiscuous sexual activity. Even if one did not participate in the cultural aspect of the music they may imitate some of the principles of the culture. A second reason for these actions is that the music is so loud that there is no pressure to engage in conversation. With this pressure absent the sexual relationship accelerates much faster. The fact that the music is so loud provides anonymity for those involved in the dancing. No identity is placed on one’s dancing partner, they are merely a temporary fulfillment of one’s natural urges. One could participate in these sorts of activities with a completely random person and never have to see that person again. The music provides an escape for the two strangers. For a small amount of time they are able to move to the beat, and be stimulatingly close to a person that they have no commitment to. If two random people were to begin provoc...
