“Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine.” Song of Songs 7:2 Whatever translation of the Old Testament you prefer (I am using New International Version® here), you have to agree that Solomon's Song of Songs is splendid in every word. It is a titillating celebration of the female body, among other things. So, how did we go from cheekily calling out the navel as something extraordinarily beautiful to navel jewels meant to cover up - specifically - f

Happy International Day of Myths and Legends, everyone! In case you didn't know - and I didn’t either until the idea of Myth of the Month rubric as part of The Feral Dancer blog was proposed - it is celebrated annually on October 11th. This inaugural post was inspired by ongoing debate and attempt at “damage control” that a lot of us in the belly dance sphere engage in. Lo and behold, the heavy weight of the belly dance world: “There is no sexual undertone in indigenous Eg

Allow me to adjust your expectations from the start and blatantly state that this post is not intended as the end-all be-all research sourced academic article aiming to answer all the controversy surrounding the use of the term “belly dance”. This is a mere teaser that hopes to send you off on your own journey into a rabbit hole or two. So, what’s in a name? Well, the quick answer is “a lot!”. Buckle your seatbelt Dorothy, ‘cause we're goin' places! It ain't gonna be a short