Submitted on Behalf of Serena Zhou

SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF SERENA ZHOU
From an indignant white woman to Amira Jarmakani.
To the woman I questioned during the 2001 NSWA conference:
Greetings. I hope this letter finds you in good health. 
I saw that you mentioned me in your little article. Funny that you would find my presence 
worth emphasizing; perhaps that should speak to the quality of your presentation. 
I’m sorry that I offended you, or your people, or the elusive “they” to whom you often allude. My intention was to dance, and my question still remains. You have yet to answer precisely why my dancing causes such an uproar to your ears and serves as such an offense to your eyes. You wrote of dehumanization, yet in our short time together I always treated you as a human being. 
Dancing brings me joy, income, stability. It is an expression of myself through the vessel of your culture. I do not understand why my survival is of any concern to you or your own livelihood. Is not my job my own, my body my own, my action mine and mine only? Why must you rob me of my ability based on some higher moral concern? You used me as an anecdote, so I shall present you with one of my own: my Muslim friend once approved of my dancing as a form of appreciation. If her voice is not to represent the sentiments all Muslim women, then who is to say that yours can?
Take my thoughts into consideration. 
Sincerely,
The White Woman in the Crowd

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