I'm female and once did a showdance number in which my pro and I reversed roles for a portion of it. I certainly was not leading. As the "front-follower" I simply did what I try to do as a regular follower: I let my pro move his body first and then I moved my own body in response. The only real difference for me between regular following and front-following was that I was facing down line of dance for most of the front-following portion.
I grant you - that's not the ordinary scenario. It was a one-off showdance number, it was great fun to do, the judges appreciated the "effort" and the audience LOVED seeing the male pro "follow." So, who got hurt? (I'm sure you'll tell me.)
Your point seems to be that male pro-ams are subject to a tug-tug-lug-lug kind of backleading from their female pro teachers. Maybe that's true of inexperienced female pros. But I just don't see experienced female pros such as Shalene Archer Ermis, Jolanta Mosteika, Tommye Giacchino, or Larinda McCraven doing a tug-tug-lug-lug movement with their male students.
By the way, I've seen many an amateur-amateur couple in which the female does the tug-tug-lug-lug kind of backleading of her partner. So, I'm inclined to think that it's more a result of inexperience rather than solely a pro-am issue.(Again, I'm sure you'll enlighten me as to why that isn't the case.)
