Whatever you think, it's probably worse. There's a love/hate relationship with belly dancing as performance*--people love to see it, it's a cultural celebration, but at the same time there is very little respect for the woman who does the dancing, who is sharmuta or whorish. People love the dancing, but if their daughter became a dancer they'd disown her. It's not that dissimilar to how actresses were perceived in European/American culture in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

*otoh, belly dance in the home with your friends and relatives is just dandy--it's not the act of dancing itself but the putting it on display.