We are gathered today on this solemn occasion, to bid goodbye to our old fad: twerking.
Oxford dictionary defines twerking as a “dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.” Urbandictionary.com defines it as the “rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a lascivious manner with the intent to elicit sexual arousal or laughter in ones intended audience.” I define it as… a hot mess. What started as a fun dance, seen in clubs and in music videos, has turned into a daily, degrading, mockery of hip-hop culture. We’ve all seen the videos and tilted our heads in amazement, thinking, “How in the world does she do that?” Maybe have even watched a few “How to Twerk” lessons on YouTube (don’t judge me), but the time has come to put the fad to rest and move on.
Let’s just start off with a little twerk history. Miley Cyrus DID NOT invent twerking! In fact, it has been around for decades, as seen in many old school hip-hop videos like E.U.’s “Da Butt” in 1988 and of course Sir Mix-A-Lots’ “Baby Got Back” in 1992. Twerking has also been mentioned in songs like: Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack,” Beyoncé’s “Check on It” and Juicy J’s “Bandz A Make Her Dance.” However, it was Miley Cyrus who introduced the dance to the rest of the world and it has been “popping” ever since.
Twerking has become a part of today’s culture, especially on social media. Kids are twerking, men are twerking, and even senior citizens have joined in. According to the Huffington Post, the dance has been banned from several high schools across the country, because it is seen as inappropriate and degrading to women.
In this day in age when women are CEO’s and presidential candidates, twerking is only another thing holding us back. It emphasizes the belief that women are only valued for their bodies and for the pleasure of men. Men sit back and watch us shake our butts for their enjoyment. Some women take so much pride in their “skills” that you’d think they would put it on their resume, when the only job it could get them is a cameo in a 2 Chainz video. Sure, your twerk skills will get a guy’s attention, but it is not attracting the right guy with manners and long-term goals. To put it a different way, your twerking will get you a ring of your phone at two in the morning, but not a ring on your left hand. How many love stories start with, “I saw her twerking in Walmart by the cleaning supply section and I’ve loved her ever since”? None…well, excluding a Justin Bieber romance.
So ladies, in the year of 2014, twerking has died. When you’re at the club, by all means, do what you have to do, but let’s stop the Vines, choreographed YouTube videos, and the twerk contests for fifty bucks. It’s not cute, classy, and it’s no longer cool.
Twerking is dead… let’s have a moment of silence.