Hi Wendy,

I have somewhat of a different take on this–I think it absolutely does matter. We CHOOSE the people with whom to share our lives. And your boyfriend needs to understand that part of his responsibility as a partner is to respect and protect your passions. It isn’t easy to dance in public. Or publish a book. Or start a company. All of those take tremendous courage. And that does require the respect of our partners.

Sure, his friend’s views are not his. But as a boyfriend his job to protect you. I disagree that dancing is the issue– it’s not. Nor is you caring what other people think. The issue is that what your boyfriend thinks and does DOES matter to you–as it should. And by not standing up for you, or setting his friend straight, he showed that he himself maybe doesn’t understand how important this event was to you. And that is a problem.

Discuss where you are coming from with your bf. Maybe he’ll get it. Maybe he just needs to get used to you dancing. But if he doesn’t get it or continues to allow other people to behave disrespectfully, please don’t let thirty years go by and just suck it up. Voice your concern. Stand up for yourself. This isn’t about dancing, but about respect. We all deserve it–and ESPECIALLY from the people we choose to share our lives with.

Good luck!
Pink:)