Modern-day dancers are challenging the use of this term.
Names have power.
Neither language uses the name of any body part in its name for this dance form. It is associated with beer bellies, belly laughs, jelly bellies, and bellying up to the bar. This approach is particularly popular in Pagan circles, where the dancers want to honor the abdomen as the center from which new life emerges. Many artists today have experimented with blending belly dance with other dance forms such as African, jazz, and modern dance. Once movements that are not inherently Middle Eastern in nature have been added to the dance, it becomes something that is no longer truly Middle Eastern dance.