Diversity Issues in Movement Observation and Assessment

摘要

Dance/movement therapy (DMT), like any psychotherapy, must operate in ways that embrace and articulate diversity issues, making sure that power, privilege, and difference are navigated skillfully on nonverbal as well as verbal levels. This includes issues that arise in movement observation and assessment. This article, by reviewing and extending existing literature in DMT and other fields, attempts to suggest ways in which movement assessment may unconsciously enact bias by subtly pathologizing how the “different” body moves and acts. This article also suggests ways dance/movement therapists can contribute to social justice pedagogy as it pertains to the moving body and to actively work for social justice for those with bodies different from sociocultural norms.